Originally published at Notes From The Bunker. You can comment here or there.

So the great Missoula Gun Show came and went. I played it pretty cheaply, all things considered. And while I bought a few small goodies for myself I did manage to keep from buying the really big tickets I wanted. I love going to gun shows and it’s always a pleasure to just wander the aisles..

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Someone sent me this link about some of the new portable woodburner stoves on the market these days. I’d heard about the Solo stove and have been curious to try one….but, this other stove, Firebox, seems like a real gem, other than it’s weight. Usually when Im just out for the day, I take a little Esbit stove. But for being out in the boonies a bit longer it would be nice to be able to just burn the abundant twigs and other burnable detritus that litters the woods. What’s the difference between these and just building a fire on its own? Generally, these things are designed to create drafts that create hotter burning, more efficient fires. Hey, I’m all about less work at less expense. I went ahead and added the Firebox to my Amazon Wish List and at some point I’ll pick one up and put it through  its places.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Rotated some stored gas today. Fuel from, according to the tag, 2010. About two years of storage. The fuel was treated with a generous dose of PRI Fuel Stabilizer which I’ve found to be an excellent product. Usually, I’ll wait until the gas tank in the truck is down to around 1/4 or less, dump in one five-gallon can of fuel and then fill the rest of the tank with fresh gas. Seems to work so far. Someday, having a stockpile of fuel is going to be very, very important. Heck, even in the not so recent past (Katrina) it’s proven itself to be pretty important. Now that the feds have, essentially, wiped out the scourge of eay-to-use gas cans from the US it’s harder than ever to find a good gas can. Spend the money and buy the ‘Euro’/NATO-style cans…you can find them at many offroad accessory websites. They are far, far better cans than anything Blitz ever out out and I like ‘em better than the plastic cans.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Birthday tomorrow. Another gift came in the other day and I need to do a write-up on it. Its one of these (Freeplay FreeCharge 12V ) and I’m quite eager to experiment with it.