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

Picked up some new shelving the other day. My kitchen, like many peoples kitchens, has two levels of cabinets. You have the usual eye-height cabinets and then another row of inconveniently high cabinets above that. These higher, difficult-to-access cabinets are usually home to things like fondue sets, waffle irons, old china and other stuff that you don’t use often enough to warrant moving them to the lower more useful real estate. Unfortunately, that location is ideal for longer term foods such as canned goods and the like. Problem is, heat rises and when its 105 degerees outside and I’m cooking in the kitchen all that heat rises and the result is that anything stored near the ceiling isn’t going to be getting its full shelf life like it would at a moderate, consistent 65-70 degree clime. So…enter the new shelving.

I don’t have a pantry in my house so storing food away is a bit more work. There is space, its just not conveniently located space. I’d love to have a big door in my kitchen that would lead to an enormous walk-in-closet sized pantry. Aint gonna happen. What I do have is a large basement that is cool even on the hottest days and stays above freezing (usually) in the winter. So, I’ll trade convenience for usability and set up the shelving in the basement.

Anything more complex than just setting up shelving and stacking food on it? Of course there is. First of all, everything has to be in seriously hardcore containers. Everything is either in a can, glass or a sealed bucket. Why? This is Montana..there is no shortage of organisms that would like to sneak into a basement and set up residence in a 50# bag of rice. I have no desire to become the five-star dining establishment for Montana’s rodent population. Additionally, heaven forefend, if a pipe breaks and the basement floods I’d like everything to be fairly waterproof. So – only durable packaging. What sorta stuff is going down there? Well, 80% of my canned goods for starters..the soups, canned tomatoes, canned corn, canned pasta, jars of spaghetti sauce, etc, etc. The rice is already packaged in 5-gallon buckets with liners so I’ll just keep a big jar of the stuff in the kitchen for immediate use. This should free up at least three cabinets worth of space, giving me room to get my cookware put away.

The true long-term stuff (MRE’s, freeze drieds, etc) already live in the bunker where there are safe from temperature extremes and late-night snacking.

=-=-=-=

Quick inventory today shows I still have a decent amount of the Mountain House #10 cans if anyone is interested. Additionally, I’ve still got about three dozen of the AR mags for sale.

=-=-=-=

The more I read the various newswires the more convinced I am that these are ‘interesting times’ as the Chinese call them.

The election? In the back of my mind I can see it becoming an Obama/Hillary Giulliani/Romney ticket. (although I get the impression Hillary would never take second fiddle so it may be a Hillary/Obama ticket.) From a realistic standpoint I don’t think it’ll happen but who knows…I am, however, reasonably certain that the Republicans will lose the White House and I am certain enough that I will spend money and resources based on that belief. Less jet ski’s, more semi-autos.

=-=-=-=

I remember bitching when 7.62×39 jumped from $85/1000 to $100/1000 but I bought some more anyway…and now I pat myself on the back for doing so. My point being that no matter how expensive it is today, I think a year from now you wont regret having bought. But, if you’re an optimist and think prices will be dropping next year do yourself a favor and only buy half as much. That way if prices go down you don’t feel like you wasted as much money and when prices go up you wont feel foolish for not having bought at all.

=-=-=-=

Had a customer drop off 5200 pieces of once fired .40 S&W brass, 6000 9mm brass, 3500 .38/.357 brass and 2500 pieces of once fired .45 ACP brass. Thus, the Dillon RL 1050 is getting a bit of a workout. What does it cost to reload 1000 rounds of ammo these days? Using 9mm as an example, assuming I have saved 1000 pcs. Of brass from previous range outings I’d be looking at $81.20~ per thousand or $4.06~ per box.

=-=-=-=

Thanks to those who dropped a few bucks at the wedding registry. Every bit helps ’cause them .50’s ain’t cheap!

Picked up some new shelving the other day. My kitchen, like many peoples kitchens, has two levels of cabinets. You have the usual eye-height cabinets and then another row of inconveniently high cabinets above that. These higher, difficult-to-access cabinets are usually home to things like fondue sets, waffle irons, old china and other stuff that you don’t use often enough to warrant moving them to the lower more useful real estate. Unfortunately, that location is ideal for longer term foods such as canned goods and the like. Problem is, heat rises and when its 105 degerees outside and I’m cooking in the kitchen all that heat rises and the result is that anything stored near the ceiling isn’t going to be getting its full shelf life like it would at a moderate, consistent 65-70 degree clime. So…enter the new shelving.

I don’t have a pantry in my house so storing food away is a bit more work. There is space, its just not conveniently located space. I’d love to have a big door in my kitchen that would lead to an enormous walk-in-closet sized pantry. Aint gonna happen. What I do have is a large basement that is cool even on the hottest days and stays above freezing (usually) in the winter. So, I’ll trade convenience for usability and set up the shelving in the basement.

Anything more complex than just setting up shelving and stacking food on it? Of course there is. First of all, everything has to be in seriously hardcore containers. Everything is either in a can, glass or a sealed bucket. Why? This is Montana..there is no shortage of organisms that would like to sneak into a basement and set up residence in a 50# bag of rice. I have no desire to become the five-star dining establishment for Montana’s rodent population. Additionally, heaven forefend, if a pipe breaks and the basement floods I’d like everything to be fairly waterproof. So – only durable packaging. What sorta stuff is going down there? Well, 80% of my canned goods for starters..the soups, canned tomatoes, canned corn, canned pasta, jars of spaghetti sauce, etc, etc. The rice is already packaged in 5-gallon buckets with liners so I’ll just keep a big jar of the stuff in the kitchen for immediate use. This should free up at least three cabinets worth of space, giving me room to get my cookware put away.

The true long-term stuff (MRE’s, freeze drieds, etc) already live in the bunker where there are safe from temperature extremes and late-night snacking.

=-=-=-=

Quick inventory today shows I still have a decent amount of the Mountain House #10 cans if anyone is interested. Additionally, I’ve still got about three dozen of the AR mags for sale.

=-=-=-=

The more I read the various newswires the more convinced I am that these are ‘interesting times’ as the Chinese call them.

The election? In the back of my mind I can see it becoming an Obama/Hillary Giulliani/Romney ticket. (although I get the impression Hillary would never take second fiddle so it may be a Hillary/Obama ticket.) From a realistic standpoint I don’t think it’ll happen but who knows…I am, however, reasonably certain that the Republicans will lose the White House and I am certain enough that I will spend money and resources based on that belief. Less jet ski’s, more semi-autos.

=-=-=-=

I remember bitching when 7.62×39 jumped from $85/1000 to $100/1000 but I bought some more anyway…and now I pat myself on the back for doing so. My point being that no matter how expensive it is today, I think a year from now you wont regret having bought. But, if you’re an optimist and think prices will be dropping next year do yourself a favor and only buy half as much. That way if prices go down you don’t feel like you wasted as much money and when prices go up you wont feel foolish for not having bought at all.

=-=-=-=

Had a customer drop off 5200 pieces of once fired .40 S&W brass, 6000 9mm brass, 3500 .38/.357 brass and 2500 pieces of once fired .45 ACP brass. Thus, the Dillon RL 1050 is getting a bit of a workout. What does it cost to reload 1000 rounds of ammo these days? Using 9mm as an example, assuming I have saved 1000 pcs. Of brass from previous range outings I’d be looking at $81.20~ per thousand or $4.06~ per box.

=-=-=-=

Thanks to those who dropped a few bucks at the wedding registry. Every bit helps ’cause them .50’s ain’t cheap!

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

Here you go:
.50 cal. registry

Ignore the registry info for Amazon. Ignore the registry info for a honeymoon. Ignore the registry info for everythign except the One True Gift.

Also, feel free to flog this around the internet…esp since pretty much every gunny on the interweb is familiar with from various ‘post pics of girls with guns’ threads and her work with/by the acclaimed

What? You never saw her stuff? Geez…..

Here you go:
.50 cal. registry

Ignore the registry info for Amazon. Ignore the registry info for a honeymoon. Ignore the registry info for everythign except the One True Gift.

Also, feel free to flog this around the internet…esp since pretty much every gunny on the interweb is familiar with kitiara from various ‘post pics of girls with guns’ threads and her work with/by the acclaimed olegvolk

What? You never saw her stuff? Geez…..

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

http://splodetv.com/how-make-ultimate-smoke-bomb

http://splodetv.com/how-make-ultimate-smoke-bomb

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

I received a gift certificate to Amazon.com so…lets get some books and review them. That’s right, Im spending money so you don’t have to:

The Storm Gourmet – A Guide To Creating Extraordinary Meals Without Electricity. Nikolopoulos, Pineapple Press, 1-56164-334-3
Of the two books in this genre listed here, I prefer this one. Many of the recipes, if you wanna call them that, require no cooking or in some cases very minimal cooking (usually just some boiling water to make pasta). One of the more interesting recipes:

“Curried Chicken
14 oz. (two packages) premium chicken breast, drained
½ cup canned sliced water chestnuts, drained
2/3 canned pineapple tidbits, drained
2 tbsp raisins
1/3 cup slivered almonds
1 ½ tsp curry powder
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp soy sauce
2 tbsp table cream
pepper

Place chicken, pineapple, water chestnuts, raisins and almonds in a medium sized bowl and toss together. Season with pepper. In a screw-top jar combine cream, lemon juice, soy sauce and curry powder, and shake vigorously. Pour over chicken mixture and toss to coat.”

So, yes, definitely more than your usual ‘taco seasonings, instant rice and canned corned beef’. That’s not a bad thing but you have to admit, after a long day of shooting looters and clearing stalled vehicles your probably gonna be in the mood for something a little more … ‘working class’…than Provencale Chicken Pasta, Hearts of Palm Salad, or Honey-Mustard Chicken with Pecans. Still, not a bad addition to the library.

Next up:
Apocalypse Chow – How To Eat Well When The Power Goes Out. Robertson, Simon & Schuster, 1-4169-0824-2
A cook book with a good bit of personal anecdote (hurricane experiences, mostly. They seem very proud of how they were sipping wine and eating crackers with olive tapenade. A little pretentious.) and a bunch of the usual basic preparedness info. Figure ½ cookbook, ½ simplistic preparedness guide. Since we’re all fairly astute and know all those little things like filling the bathtubs, etc., figure that youre paying for half a book.

Unlike the first book, there are more than a few recipes that call for using a food cooker of some kind. Again, its mostly for boiling water for instant rice or pasta. Again, most of the recipes are for food that I would consider a bit more elegant than the situation calls for but then again theres no real way to make a meatloaf over an esbit stove. Not a bad book but the other one has some nice color photos so you can at least have an idea of what things might look like.

I do give mad props for the clever book title though. Given a choice between the two, get the other book. If you can get through the first chapter or two of this book without thinking the authors are a bunch of pretentious elitists who would rather die than eat a Pop-Tart then youre a far more tolerant fella than I. For crying out loud, theres instructions on how to fold napkins into attractive shapes!)

Final book:
Ball Complete book Of Home Preserving – 400 Delicious And Creative Recipes For Today. Robert Rose Press, 0-7788-0131-4
Found this book in a Waldenbooks while I was killing time waiting for my number to come up on a ‘now seating’ restaurant list. Came back the next day and bought it.

Ball is pretty much the first name in home canning these days. This book reflects their years of experience in this field. Most of the recipes are for condiments, spreads, sauces and sides like Corn Relish, Chutney, Chili Sauce, Strawberry Rhubarb Jam, etc. There is a chapter or two on canning meats and foods with meat in them (such as chili). Lots of detail, good pictures, and plenty of how-to explanations for folks that may not be too familiar with how their waterbath canner or pressure canner works. $20 and worth it. Satisfaction from cracking open a jar of your own homemade salsa – priceless.

=-=-=-=-=-=

Oh yeah, before I forget…Im getting married. Next spring, actually. Amongst the usual useless crap that people register for (bed sheets, kitchen knives, dorky glassware, etc) theres also a registry for a .50 BMG. Something with a little more impressive presence than a blender or toaster oven. For those interested, I’ll have a post to the website in the next day or so. Feel free to contribute towards getting the happy couple a nice long-range precision firearm. Nothing says ‘good luck on your new life together’ like a Steyr HS50. (Or McMillan. Or Barrett. Depending on the generosity of well wishers.)

I received a gift certificate to Amazon.com so…lets get some books and review them. That’s right, Im spending money so you don’t have to:

The Storm Gourmet – A Guide To Creating Extraordinary Meals Without Electricity. Nikolopoulos, Pineapple Press, 1-56164-334-3
Of the two books in this genre listed here, I prefer this one. Many of the recipes, if you wanna call them that, require no cooking or in some cases very minimal cooking (usually just some boiling water to make pasta). One of the more interesting recipes:

“Curried Chicken
14 oz. (two packages) premium chicken breast, drained
½ cup canned sliced water chestnuts, drained
2/3 canned pineapple tidbits, drained
2 tbsp raisins
1/3 cup slivered almonds
1 ½ tsp curry powder
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp soy sauce
2 tbsp table cream
pepper

Place chicken, pineapple, water chestnuts, raisins and almonds in a medium sized bowl and toss together. Season with pepper. In a screw-top jar combine cream, lemon juice, soy sauce and curry powder, and shake vigorously. Pour over chicken mixture and toss to coat.”

So, yes, definitely more than your usual ‘taco seasonings, instant rice and canned corned beef’. That’s not a bad thing but you have to admit, after a long day of shooting looters and clearing stalled vehicles your probably gonna be in the mood for something a little more … ‘working class’…than Provencale Chicken Pasta, Hearts of Palm Salad, or Honey-Mustard Chicken with Pecans. Still, not a bad addition to the library.

Next up:
Apocalypse Chow – How To Eat Well When The Power Goes Out. Robertson, Simon & Schuster, 1-4169-0824-2
A cook book with a good bit of personal anecdote (hurricane experiences, mostly. They seem very proud of how they were sipping wine and eating crackers with olive tapenade. A little pretentious.) and a bunch of the usual basic preparedness info. Figure ½ cookbook, ½ simplistic preparedness guide. Since we’re all fairly astute and know all those little things like filling the bathtubs, etc., figure that youre paying for half a book.

Unlike the first book, there are more than a few recipes that call for using a food cooker of some kind. Again, its mostly for boiling water for instant rice or pasta. Again, most of the recipes are for food that I would consider a bit more elegant than the situation calls for but then again theres no real way to make a meatloaf over an esbit stove. Not a bad book but the other one has some nice color photos so you can at least have an idea of what things might look like.

I do give mad props for the clever book title though. Given a choice between the two, get the other book. If you can get through the first chapter or two of this book without thinking the authors are a bunch of pretentious elitists who would rather die than eat a Pop-Tart then youre a far more tolerant fella than I. For crying out loud, theres instructions on how to fold napkins into attractive shapes!)

Final book:
Ball Complete book Of Home Preserving – 400 Delicious And Creative Recipes For Today. Robert Rose Press, 0-7788-0131-4
Found this book in a Waldenbooks while I was killing time waiting for my number to come up on a ‘now seating’ restaurant list. Came back the next day and bought it.

Ball is pretty much the first name in home canning these days. This book reflects their years of experience in this field. Most of the recipes are for condiments, spreads, sauces and sides like Corn Relish, Chutney, Chili Sauce, Strawberry Rhubarb Jam, etc. There is a chapter or two on canning meats and foods with meat in them (such as chili). Lots of detail, good pictures, and plenty of how-to explanations for folks that may not be too familiar with how their waterbath canner or pressure canner works. $20 and worth it. Satisfaction from cracking open a jar of your own homemade salsa – priceless.

=-=-=-=-=-=

Oh yeah, before I forget…Im getting married. Next spring, actually. Amongst the usual useless crap that people register for (bed sheets, kitchen knives, dorky glassware, etc) theres also a registry for a .50 BMG. Something with a little more impressive presence than a blender or toaster oven. For those interested, I’ll have a post to the website in the next day or so. Feel free to contribute towards getting the happy couple a nice long-range precision firearm. Nothing says ‘good luck on your new life together’ like a Steyr HS50. (Or McMillan. Or Barrett. Depending on the generosity of well wishers.)

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

Here’s an interesting products: Midland’s XT511 Base Camp. According to the information I have this radio offers NOAA weather radio, AM/FM and 22 channel GMRS radio. Nothing special until you get to the cool part – it can be run off a handcrank. It also charges 5 watt Midland radio battery packs and anything that has a USB charge port. Sounds like a very cool goody. I would imagine the handcrank would run the AM/FM and the light, but if it also will run the 2-way radio part then you’ve got a unique product there. May have to get one and play with it.

=-=-=-=-=-=

Continuing the saga of the surplus German rain ponchos I ordered from Sportsmans Guide………..

The replacements showed up yesterday. I sent them back three and kept one. They sent me another four. Upon initial inspection they looked fine, however closer inspection showed two had small repairs (with duct tape) and one had a small unrepaired tear. One poncho was perfect. So, Im gonna have to give a conditional thumbs down on these things. If you don’t mind the duct tape repairs then they are an excellent deal. I’ll keep the two good ones (out of the total five) and put them in storage and use the others for daily or vehicle use. It’s a shame, up to this point Id been pretty pleased with SG’s HQ catalog stuff. To be fair, they did take back the return and send replacements in a very timely manner. The repairs escaped my initial notice so it is entirely possible the person packing the order didn’t notice them.

=-=-=-=-=-=

Had a day and a half of rain the other day and it went a long way to reduce (although not remove) the fire-related problems here. The air is much, much clearer and you can see the mountains again. Hopefully this little bit of rain (the first in over a month or so) will give the fire crews a break and allow them to get on top of things. I know several people, including one LMI, who were ordered to evacuate their homes. Fortunately everyone (so far) has come through just fine, but its always good to be prepared.

=-=-=-=-=-=

Happiness is opening a box from UPS and finding it jam packed with lovely new-in-the-wrapper high-quality 30-rd AR-15 mags. (And I think that sentence has set a record for hyphenation.) What I am guessing will be my final batch of the C Products mags arrived today. If you want some, you know whatcha gotta do.

Here’s an interesting products: Midland’s XT511 Base Camp. According to the information I have this radio offers NOAA weather radio, AM/FM and 22 channel GMRS radio. Nothing special until you get to the cool part – it can be run off a handcrank. It also charges 5 watt Midland radio battery packs and anything that has a USB charge port. Sounds like a very cool goody. I would imagine the handcrank would run the AM/FM and the light, but if it also will run the 2-way radio part then you’ve got a unique product there. May have to get one and play with it.

=-=-=-=-=-=

Continuing the saga of the surplus German rain ponchos I ordered from Sportsmans Guide………..

The replacements showed up yesterday. I sent them back three and kept one. They sent me another four. Upon initial inspection they looked fine, however closer inspection showed two had small repairs (with duct tape) and one had a small unrepaired tear. One poncho was perfect. So, Im gonna have to give a conditional thumbs down on these things. If you don’t mind the duct tape repairs then they are an excellent deal. I’ll keep the two good ones (out of the total five) and put them in storage and use the others for daily or vehicle use. It’s a shame, up to this point Id been pretty pleased with SG’s HQ catalog stuff. To be fair, they did take back the return and send replacements in a very timely manner. The repairs escaped my initial notice so it is entirely possible the person packing the order didn’t notice them.

=-=-=-=-=-=

Had a day and a half of rain the other day and it went a long way to reduce (although not remove) the fire-related problems here. The air is much, much clearer and you can see the mountains again. Hopefully this little bit of rain (the first in over a month or so) will give the fire crews a break and allow them to get on top of things. I know several people, including one LMI, who were ordered to evacuate their homes. Fortunately everyone (so far) has come through just fine, but its always good to be prepared.

=-=-=-=-=-=

Happiness is opening a box from UPS and finding it jam packed with lovely new-in-the-wrapper high-quality 30-rd AR-15 mags. (And I think that sentence has set a record for hyphenation.) What I am guessing will be my final batch of the C Products mags arrived today. If you want some, you know whatcha gotta do.