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

Sportsmans Guide is again selling the fabulous Flectar parka combo – liner and parka for $20. Their #JX5M-86391X ( http://www.sportsmansguide.com) I've got four of these (one for everyday use, one for the truck, two for storage) and am thoroughly pleased with them. When the girlfriend BunkerBabe took her shooting class and the weather turned nasty she was immensely pleased to find one of these parka/liner combos stowed in a drybag in the bag of the truck…that was worth $20 right there.Theyre superior to the US issue field jackets in a bunch of ways. It looks like these are seasonal offerings so get 'em while you can. Good stuff.  Zero approved.
=====
I was in Albertsons the other day and found, check this out, extra-humongoid ZipLoc bags. Seriously. ZipLoc is making body bags! (”Keeps freshness out!”) Actually, theyre not quite that big…but they are 2'x2.7' (”XXL”) and 2'x1.7' (”XL”). Not sure I'd trust them on long-term waterproofness but they would be just the ticket for storing your sleeping bags or backpacks in such a way as to keep dust, dirt and moisture off them. These would be perfect if you had to toss your pack in the back of a truck and didnt want the rain/snow to get to it. Multitudes of uses limited by your imagination. I've picked up a couple boxes and will give a review of them later. In KatrinaWorld these would be great for keeping sleeping bags, clothes, portable devices, etc, etc protected from mold, damp and moisture. Im quite excited.
=====

Homemade noodles in chicken broth
1½ cup flour (either freshly ground whole wheat
or white
¼ tsp. salt
2 eggs, reconstituted or fresh
Place flour in mound on board, making a nest or well in the center of the mound. Pour eggs into nest. Beat the
eggs with a fork, gradually bringing the flour into the mix. Work the dough into a ball with your hands, picking up only as much flour as it takes to make a stiff, but workable ball. Knead the dough for about five minutes. It should not stick to the board. If it seems too moist, add a little more flour; if too dry, dampen your hands and knead longer. Divide the ball into quarters. Cover three and reserve one to work with immediately. Lightly sprinkle board with flour and roll out dough, pulling it into a uniform thickness oval. Make it as thin as workable and let rest in a warm, dry place. Repeat with other three quarters. When all dough is dry, but not stiff and brittle, roll like a jelly roll, cutting into desired thickness with a sharp knife. You can then either fluff out to separate and then carefully hang to dry or lay it flat to air dry for an hour. Pour a quart of chicken broth (or use dry chicken granules to make a broth) into a large pot. Add diced, canned, or freeze dried chicken meat, if desired, as well as onion, carrots, and spices as wanted. Bring to a medium boil, then carefully add noodles, simmering just long enough to make them tender. The flour on the noodles provides natural thickening. You’ll get raves for this simple, yet satisfying meal.

=====
One of the things Ive been wanting to buy is map software for printing out your own topo maps. I see alot of uses for this stuff…not the least of which are:

• Evaluating routes and alternate routes out of your area
• Getting a broader picture of a property's layout
• Using in conjunction with a GPS for geocaching
• Scoping out hunting and camping areas

Where it would really shine is if you found a pice of property you wanted to purchase for a retreat or other use, you could generate the top, check it against GPS coords, and then get the satellite image. How utterly cool would that be? Know where every ravine, gully, draw, creek, and neighbor is without getting away from your computer. (Although, obviously, theres no substitute for boots-on-the-ground.)
=====
I was thinking about how if you had survived Katrina, had five gallons of gas in your car, and decided it was time to leave you'd be severely screwed by not knowing what bridges, overpasses and other chokepoints were still usable and which weren't. And you could really use up gasoline in a hurry driving through town looking for a bridge that wasnt washed away. The solution is to first of all know where all these chokepoints are, then find out somehow which ones are still usable. Maybe recon on bicycle? Ask a passing NG, if they look harmless. Tough situation to be in. Just enough gas for one chance and you can't blow it. So, either have lotsa gas or lotsa info or both. And think 'outside the box' in terms of avenues of exits. Roads work, but so do railroad tracks/rightofways, bicycle trails and other usually-not-used-with-a-car avenues. This is where maps come in handy. I like to think that local broadcasting would be making announcements about which avenues were accessible and which werent but we've all seen how relying on gov't pays off, right?
=====
Speaking of the Big Sleazy, it appears the mayor is now going to allow people to start repopulating parts of New Orleans. Never mind that a week ago he had his flunkies enthusiastically shoving grandmothers into cattle cars trucks to be taken for 'processing' for their own 'safety'. FIrst off, as far as Im concerned the mayor of New Orleans is a puppet-figurehead for who's really calling the shots – the feds. And thats fine, I can see him wanting to look like he actually has something to do. But I guarantee you this man's career in politics , anywhere else in the country, would be toast…but Louisiana has a political history that beggars logic. Were it up to me, he'd never have a job in government again..which, unfortunately, means thats exactly what he's going to have.

Speaking of beggars, I want to point out that the biggest recovery efforts in terms of rehabbing buildings, removing debris and the like are being done privately. Businesses are taking the steps to get up and running on their own and thats why they will succeed and rebuild cheaper, faster and better than the government will do it.

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

” '68 Kaiser M715 1-1/4T Jeep, with trailer, $1000 o.b.o”

Hmmmmmm…I bet even if it wasnt running you could part it out and get your $1000 back in a hurry. And who knows, maybe its a military trailer too.

If I had anywhere near $1000 I'd call on it.

C'est la vie.
=====
Hey, Carnival of Cordite is up and the girlfriend is mentioned about a half-dozen times in there. Im getting collateral fame.
=====
You know, I really like the Browning-designed guns … esp. the P35 and 1911. But Im open-minded enough to realize that innovation in design and materials didnt come to a halt after 1935. This is why I've come to like the Glocks. I love the 1911 and P35, but I like the Glock. My problem is that the Glock has no soul, personality or character. Its the difference between a Zippo and a Bic. One's got more substance, history and color and the other is cheap, utilitarian, but efficient.

For the Katrina-environ I would unflinchingly take the Glock in pretty much any caliber. It can get wet, stomped on, dropped, banged around and work every time…but more importantly, I won't care. I'f I'm navigating a flooded dark stairwell the last thing I need is a nagging voice in the back of my head saying “Aw man, youre going to have to clean that 1911 and oil it up or its going to rust.” whereas with the Glock you just. dont. care.

And, naturally, its as reliable as a sunrise.
=====
Speaking of Carnival of Cordite, they had the staple question that gets asked on every preparedness forum from time to time – 'Whats Your Ideal Survival battery of Guns' or some similar phrasing. Now, you and I both know that one size doesnt fit all. Some guns are better for sneaking past military checkpoints, some are better for stopping automobiles and some are better for their portability. Some are long range, some are short range. One size doesnt fit all. Having said that, Im going to say that if it were me sitting out the aftermath of Katrina I'd probably have my Glock, a pumpgun, a snubbie .38(or a micro version of my other Glock) and either the AR or the AK. From a real-life standpoint, though, you'd probably be just fine with a 10/22 and a bunch of 25-rd mags. Most thugs get dissuaded pretty easily when twenty rounds are loosed at them, regardless of caliber, in a few seconds.
=====
The girlfriend has been brushing up on her ham radio stuff. My knowledge of radio theory and practice is shamefull. I do admit to a small fascination with Morse/CW because of its low power/long distance ability. I do have what we used to call an 'export radio' in the bunker. Export radios were regular CB-type radios meant for export to countries with different regulations than ours. They were easily (and I mean, reallly, really, easily) modified to work on other bands. Case in point, the one I have does the 11-meter that the CB is relegated to and then it does 10-meter as well as a couple others. Also USB/LSB and a few other goodies. I picked it up pre-Y2K on eBay for about $150. Whoever used to own it tweaked it in some interesting ways. I still need to get a good antanae for it..I originally just got some wire to length and hung a diploe in my yard and ran it off a charged marine battery. I never transmitted on it but I could hear quite well and sometimes at night could hear as far as Michigan. Given the enthusiasm of the geriatric ham crowd to bring in new blood, maybe I should look into this more. Girlfriend has ordered up “Ham Radio For Dummies” and that'll be a good place to start. I also have the Tech No Code Plus book sitting here.
=====
I received a disc in the mail containing a bunch of stuff from “Backwoods Home Magazine”. There was an article on 'cooking with food storage' and some of it actually sounds pretty good and will be attemtped soon. For those interested, some recipes:
Oriental chicken fried rice
Fried tuna patties
Tamale Pie

Oriental chicken fried rice
2 cups cooked white rice, cooled
½ cup finely diced onions (you may substitute
rehydrated dry)
¼ cup rehydrated freeze dried or air dried green
peas
1 cup rehydrated shredded carrots (or fresh)
¼ cup oil or shortening
1 Tbsp. peanut butter
½ cup chopped cooked chicken
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 eggs, equivalent in dehydrated egg powder
Spices to taste, including garlic, tumeric, hot
pepper
In a large, heavy frying pan, heat oil. Add rice, onions,
chicken, and carrots. Stir frequently with spatula until
rice begins to lightly brown. Add peanut butter (no, it
doesn’t taste “weird”), soy sauce, peas, and spices.
Continue stirring while flavors mix. As rice mixture
appears to be done, quickly add beaten egg mixture
and continue stirring with spatula until egg is cooked.
Serve at once with soy sauce, sweet and sour sauce, or
hot mustard sauce.
=====
Tamale pie
½ cup cornmeal
½ cup white flour or freshly ground whole wheat
flour
¼ cup honey or white sugar
¼ cup shortening
1 egg (equivalent in dry egg powder, rehydrated)
1 cup rehydrated dry milk (+ or -)
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
½ cup cooked hamburger (I use home canned) or
beef TVP
2 cups tomato sauce
½ cup dry chopped onions
¼ cup dry chopped green peppers or chile
peppers
2 tsp. mild chile powder
¼ cup dry sweet corn or ½ cup canned corn
Mix first eight ingredients well, making a medium bat-ter
(not runny or not stiff). Then in medium sized cast
iron frying pan or 8 x 8 cake pan, mix the last six ingre-dients
well, then top with cornmeal batter. Bake at 350
degrees until top turns golden brown. Serve hot with
cold salsa.
=====
Fried tuna patties
2 cans light tuna, drained
1 cup crushed dried bread crumbs
¼ cup dehydrated onion flakes
3 eggs, rehydrated equivalent
½ tsp. lemon pepper
flour to coat patties
oil to fry
Mix drained tuna, bread crumbs, egg, onion flakes,
and lemon pepper. Divide into golf ball-sized portions,
pat into patties, dip both sides in flour. Heat oil to medi-um
heat and gently place patties into frying pan. After
one side is done, turn and finish cooking. This is a quick
and easy alternative to “fish sticks.”

” ’68 Kaiser M715 1-1/4T Jeep, with trailer, $1000 o.b.o”

Hmmmmmm…I bet even if it wasnt running you could part it out and get your $1000 back in a hurry. And who knows, maybe its a military trailer too.

If I had anywhere near $1000 I’d call on it.

C’est la vie.
=====
Hey, Carnival of Cordite is up and the girlfriend is mentioned about a half-dozen times in there. Im getting collateral fame.
=====
You know, I really like the Browning-designed guns … esp. the P35 and 1911. But Im open-minded enough to realize that innovation in design and materials didnt come to a halt after 1935. This is why I’ve come to like the Glocks. I love the 1911 and P35, but I like the Glock. My problem is that the Glock has no soul, personality or character. Its the difference between a Zippo and a Bic. One’s got more substance, history and color and the other is cheap, utilitarian, but efficient.

For the Katrina-environ I would unflinchingly take the Glock in pretty much any caliber. It can get wet, stomped on, dropped, banged around and work every time…but more importantly, I won’t care. I’f I’m navigating a flooded dark stairwell the last thing I need is a nagging voice in the back of my head saying “Aw man, youre going to have to clean that 1911 and oil it up or its going to rust.” whereas with the Glock you just. dont. care.

And, naturally, its as reliable as a sunrise.
=====
Speaking of Carnival of Cordite, they had the staple question that gets asked on every preparedness forum from time to time – ‘Whats Your Ideal Survival battery of Guns’ or some similar phrasing. Now, you and I both know that one size doesnt fit all. Some guns are better for sneaking past military checkpoints, some are better for stopping automobiles and some are better for their portability. Some are long range, some are short range. One size doesnt fit all. Having said that, Im going to say that if it were me sitting out the aftermath of Katrina I’d probably have my Glock, a pumpgun, a snubbie .38(or a micro version of my other Glock) and either the AR or the AK. From a real-life standpoint, though, you’d probably be just fine with a 10/22 and a bunch of 25-rd mags. Most thugs get dissuaded pretty easily when twenty rounds are loosed at them, regardless of caliber, in a few seconds.
=====
The girlfriend has been brushing up on her ham radio stuff. My knowledge of radio theory and practice is shamefull. I do admit to a small fascination with Morse/CW because of its low power/long distance ability. I do have what we used to call an ‘export radio’ in the bunker. Export radios were regular CB-type radios meant for export to countries with different regulations than ours. They were easily (and I mean, reallly, really, easily) modified to work on other bands. Case in point, the one I have does the 11-meter that the CB is relegated to and then it does 10-meter as well as a couple others. Also USB/LSB and a few other goodies. I picked it up pre-Y2K on eBay for about $150. Whoever used to own it tweaked it in some interesting ways. I still need to get a good antanae for it..I originally just got some wire to length and hung a diploe in my yard and ran it off a charged marine battery. I never transmitted on it but I could hear quite well and sometimes at night could hear as far as Michigan. Given the enthusiasm of the geriatric ham crowd to bring in new blood, maybe I should look into this more. Girlfriend has ordered up “Ham Radio For Dummies” and that’ll be a good place to start. I also have the Tech No Code Plus book sitting here.
=====
I received a disc in the mail containing a bunch of stuff from “Backwoods Home Magazine”. There was an article on ‘cooking with food storage’ and some of it actually sounds pretty good and will be attemtped soon. For those interested, some recipes:
Oriental chicken fried rice
Fried tuna patties
Tamale Pie

Cut for length

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

Hmm…one of these is for sale in the local paper today:

Interesting……

Hmm…one of these is for sale in the local paper today:

Interesting……

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

You know, some folks may have some 'problems' with Mormons but if you read this church bulletin, graciously provided by , you can see that these people seriously have their stuff together. Seriously.

I was going to pull out some highlights but, really, it would have just been reposting the whole article. These people really have a handle on their situation. Organization, command and control, nationwide resources, etc, etc. Gotta admire that sort of organizational discipline.

You know, some folks may have some ‘problems’ with Mormons but if you read this church bulletin, graciously provided by saintswife, you can see that these people seriously have their stuff together. Seriously.

I was going to pull out some highlights but, really, it would have just been reposting the whole article. These people really have a handle on their situation. Organization, command and control, nationwide resources, etc, etc. Gotta admire that sort of organizational discipline.

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

The top item on the list of 'wants' for Katrina survivors, right after drinking water, is fuel. (And by fuel, I'm going with the definition of 'a consumable product for production of energy (light, heat, etc) through combustion or burning). Narrowing it further – gasoline.

I originally had a few 5-gallon gas cans but after reading about how in New Orleans if you had some gasoline you could pretty much name your price on whatever you wanted, I've decided a few smaller 1- and 2-gallon containers would be prudent for 'making change' in a transaction. Naturally, they are also easier to transport. The small plastic ones are about $3 ea. at Super WallyWorld. I'm a believer in metal cans for long-term storage and plastic containers for short term use or transport. Plastic cans dont do nearly as much damage sliding around the back of a truck as a stack of metal ones. However, plastic cans are a bit more porous than metal ones when it comes to various off-gassing of ethers and other elements of gasoline that break down and become vapors. At least, thats what I read. (Interestingly, I also read that PRI-G (not Sta-Bil) will restore this compromised fuel back to good as new. Interesting.)

Speaking of transport, in case you didnt know, the ubiquitous and relatively cheap ALICE pack is designed to carry 5-gallon fuel cans (as well as other flat and heavy objects) by use of the ALICE frame and a cargo shelf. Brigade Quartermaster is closing out cargo shelves for $3 apiece, which means buying five of them won't break the bank. ALICE frames and shoulderstraps can be had from pretty much every military surplus website as well as most gunshows. Im the first to admit that ALICE packs are not the most comfortable pack you can buy but they are cheap, already in a good subdued color, are fairly rugged and multitask for different carrying styles and loads. So, next time youre sitting on your mountain bike, waiting in a gas line, you can strap that jerrycan to your back and transport it wherever it needs to go with far more ease than trying to ride your bike one handed while balancing a 40# fuel can with the other. (Might wanna think about a cloth cover of some kind for the jerrycan in case youre worried about looters coming after your butt because you've got 5-gallons of gas strapped to you. And, no, a gunshot wont ignite it….they exhaustively disproved that one on 'Mythbusters'.)

Naturally, a five-gallon can of diesel or drinking water can also be carried in such a manner. Think about it next time you think you might have to transport a large quantity of fuel or water on foot, bicycle, horseback or motorcycle.
=====
The girlfriend has apparently found an admirer in 'Patriots' author James Rawles. He mentioned in an email to her that he reads her LJ. I'm terribly amused.
=====
Speaking of fuel cans, if you hit the Blitz USA website ( www.blitzusa.com ) you can see they manufacture plastic five-gallon (and larger) containers with the correct color codings for diesel, gasoline, kerosene and water. (What, you didnt know theyre color coded? Yup..usually its red for gas, yellow for diesel and blue for kero…and water-blue for, you guessed it, water.) They also make a very interesting product (their part #11050)..a ten-gallon 'fuel station'…basically a cylindrical 10-gallon tank with hose and spigot just like a gas pump. Gravity feed but looks like a nice option to have mounted in your truck or garage for fueling vehicles in an easier manner than manhandling a 40# jerrycan.
=====
Speaking of PRI-G, my UPS droid just dropped off a package containing, surprise, a 32 oz. jug of the stuff. Out. Of. The. Blue. (From 'Survival Unlimited.Com' out of Gonzales LA…you remember Louisiana, right? Its the state where New Orleans used to be.)
Remember in the previous post I mentioned what a tremendous boon it is to have a bunker babe who shares your interests and desire to prepare for the uncertain future? Well, apparently she hopped on the interwebnet and ordered a jug o' the stuff for yours truly. And told me nothing about it. Which is why I'm saying nothing about it. She'll find out that it arrived as soon as she reads this.

Seriously, is she cool or what? And am I one seriously undeserving paranoiac or what?

Her birthday is in four weeks. I better get it right.
=====
I wonder how the Mormons in Louisiana (or anywhere in the hurricane region, for that matter) made out. Anyone have any links or articles? I'd do a search for “mormon hurricane” but it would probably come back with a Salt Lake City high school basketball team.

The top item on the list of ‘wants’ for Katrina survivors, right after drinking water, is fuel. (And by fuel, I’m going with the definition of ‘a consumable product for production of energy (light, heat, etc) through combustion or burning). Narrowing it further – gasoline.

I originally had a few 5-gallon gas cans but after reading about how in New Orleans if you had some gasoline you could pretty much name your price on whatever you wanted, I’ve decided a few smaller 1- and 2-gallon containers would be prudent for ‘making change’ in a transaction. Naturally, they are also easier to transport. The small plastic ones are about $3 ea. at Super WallyWorld. I’m a believer in metal cans for long-term storage and plastic containers for short term use or transport. Plastic cans dont do nearly as much damage sliding around the back of a truck as a stack of metal ones. However, plastic cans are a bit more porous than metal ones when it comes to various off-gassing of ethers and other elements of gasoline that break down and become vapors. At least, thats what I read. (Interestingly, I also read that PRI-G (not Sta-Bil) will restore this compromised fuel back to good as new. Interesting.)

Speaking of transport, in case you didnt know, the ubiquitous and relatively cheap ALICE pack is designed to carry 5-gallon fuel cans (as well as other flat and heavy objects) by use of the ALICE frame and a cargo shelf. Brigade Quartermaster is closing out cargo shelves for $3 apiece, which means buying five of them won’t break the bank. ALICE frames and shoulderstraps can be had from pretty much every military surplus website as well as most gunshows. Im the first to admit that ALICE packs are not the most comfortable pack you can buy but they are cheap, already in a good subdued color, are fairly rugged and multitask for different carrying styles and loads. So, next time youre sitting on your mountain bike, waiting in a gas line, you can strap that jerrycan to your back and transport it wherever it needs to go with far more ease than trying to ride your bike one handed while balancing a 40# fuel can with the other. (Might wanna think about a cloth cover of some kind for the jerrycan in case youre worried about looters coming after your butt because you’ve got 5-gallons of gas strapped to you. And, no, a gunshot wont ignite it….they exhaustively disproved that one on ‘Mythbusters’.)

Naturally, a five-gallon can of diesel or drinking water can also be carried in such a manner. Think about it next time you think you might have to transport a large quantity of fuel or water on foot, bicycle, horseback or motorcycle.
=====
The girlfriend has apparently found an admirer in ‘Patriots’ author James Rawles. He mentioned in an email to her that he reads her LJ. I’m terribly amused.
=====
Speaking of fuel cans, if you hit the Blitz USA website ( www.blitzusa.com ) you can see they manufacture plastic five-gallon (and larger) containers with the correct color codings for diesel, gasoline, kerosene and water. (What, you didnt know theyre color coded? Yup..usually its red for gas, yellow for diesel and blue for kero…and water-blue for, you guessed it, water.) They also make a very interesting product (their part #11050)..a ten-gallon ‘fuel station’…basically a cylindrical 10-gallon tank with hose and spigot just like a gas pump. Gravity feed but looks like a nice option to have mounted in your truck or garage for fueling vehicles in an easier manner than manhandling a 40# jerrycan.
=====
Speaking of PRI-G, my UPS droid just dropped off a package containing, surprise, a 32 oz. jug of the stuff. Out. Of. The. Blue. (From ‘Survival Unlimited.Com’ out of Gonzales LA…you remember Louisiana, right? Its the state where New Orleans used to be.)
Remember in the previous post I mentioned what a tremendous boon it is to have a bunker babe who shares your interests and desire to prepare for the uncertain future? Well, apparently she hopped on the interwebnet and ordered a jug o’ the stuff for yours truly. And told me nothing about it. Which is why I’m saying nothing about it. She’ll find out that it arrived as soon as she reads this.

Seriously, is she cool or what? And am I one seriously undeserving paranoiac or what?

Her birthday is in four weeks. I better get it right.
=====
I wonder how the Mormons in Louisiana (or anywhere in the hurricane region, for that matter) made out. Anyone have any links or articles? I’d do a search for “mormon hurricane” but it would probably come back with a Salt Lake City high school basketball team.