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

I was chatting with someone the other day and they were talking about all the game meat they were planning on putting in the freezer this year. I asked them if the had a vacuum sealer yet and they replied that they did not. Folks, if there is one single item I have purchased in the name of preparedness that has been the most brilliant and pays-for-itself purchase it is the vacuum sealer.

Im sure the Matt Foley survivalists would dismiss them as yuppie toys and proclaim that they can achieve similar or better results with a ziploc baggie and a straw. Not a chance. Spend the $200 and get yourself a quality (which usually means the Tilia Foodsaver brand) unit and a few rolls of bag material. It is the best investment in preparedness you can make. I’m not going to go on any further about it, do a search in the previous posts here and you can find all the details you want about the various uses and cost savings that can be achieved.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Speaking of gear, I have a new Hi-Lift jack on the way. But, what I did not know is that the guys at Hi-Lift are making a special ‘rescue tool’ model with some nice features. Costs over twice as much as the regular jack but it does some mighty cool stuff. Really, though, if you look closely, the thing that makes the difference isnt the jack itself but rather the base/stand that it is equipped with. Nevertheless, the video showing its use is pretty impressive. What I find quite interesting it the ability to be used by attaching the base to chains or straps rather than being forced to have the stand resting on a flat surface. Definitely one of those tools that you’d never need to use very often but when you do…. Of course, when it isnt lifting concrete slabs off of people Im sure it can be used for the more mundane things you’d use your jack for.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
According to this website, if buy bipods for your rifles or MRE’s at a military surplus store and demand ‘privacy’ youre the kind of guy the FBI says fits the description of a potential terrorist. Really, if you think about it, every single human being on the planet is a potential terrorist. I know several businesses that are very big on customer privacy…they sell metals, long-term food,etc, etc….in fact, the customer who doesn’t care about their privacy is the suspicious one. The genius at the FBI that came up with those guidelines should be sent off to the Aleutian field office to count seals or something.