Freezer redux

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A few weeks back I received a little ‘cashback bonus’ check from CostCo. I’d been thinking that I would use it to pick up a second freezer for the basement. Of course, thats a pretty simplistic goal because nothing ever goes easy.

I figured I did not want two freezers on the same circuit. If their compressors both came on at the same time, it seemed like that would be a recipe for popping a fuse. The solution, assuming that I was right and that having two frezers on the same circuit was a problem, is to have each freezer on a different circuit. Well…yeah but.

When I moved into the house, it had an electric stove. I threw that thing away, had a gas line run to the kitchen, and put in a gas stove. So, I have a 220 circuit that is completely unused. Could I not have it made to run a 110 freezer? Short answer: with enough money anything is possible.

I asked several people and they all gave me some variation of ‘drop one leg off the 220 outlet and use that’. Look, maybe I could have done it with enough time on YouTube how-to videos, but then when I was done I’d have to call in a pro to unscrew whatever I screwed up. And when you screw up with electricity you either die or your house goes up in smoke. Why not just save a step and go straight to the pro?

So, gal at work has a husband who is an electrician. I shanghai’d him into coming by and looking at my ancient, ancient panel. He remarked it was older than him. And 75 amp service. He said the normal standard these days is 200 amp. But putting in a new panel would require all sortsa contortions to meet the rather annoying codes in this town.

What we wound up doing was running the 220 down into a new itty bitty subpanel and then running the new outlet offa that panel. Whatever, just get it done.

So, finally got my #2 freezer up and running. My plan is to use it as my ‘everyday’ freezer and use #1 as my ‘storage’ freezer. Y’know, rotate stuff outta freezer #1 into freezer #2 for use…that sorta thing. I like having the extra freezer space..not gonna deny it. I’m actually quite excited about getting to have a much better organized freezer space than what I have now.

So..thats the weekend right there. The wiring took a couple hours, cost me a few hundred bucks, but the real PITA was having to move 60 large ammo cans to the other side of the basement to make room for things. THAT was what really wiped me out.

But, hey, I’ve room for lots more bargain meats now.

Training montage

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Lovely days lately here in western Montana. Time to dust off the mountain bike and get ready for warmer-weather activities.

More than anything else, I need to start an actual training regime at the range. I’ve gone through the trouble and expense of acquiring .22 conversion kits for my rifles, and picking up a .22 Glock 44 to practice my pistol handling skills….now I just need to adopt a plan of shooting drills and exercises, to be performed on a regular basis, to make sure I’m staying competent on decay-susceptible skills.

(And, by the way, the Mantis system I purchased a while back is excellent and I highly recommend it for those times when getting to the range just ain’t gonna happen.)

While Im at it, I need to get back to some form of weight and mobility training. Its been too long since I sat on the floor, did stretches, and moves a bunch of weigh around.

With the end of the world (in some fashion) seemingly just around the corner, I’d like to have a headstart on being able to competently place in the top slots in the upcoming Shoot-n-Scoot Olympics.

There is no shortage of gun drills out there….the Mozambique (later renamed to Failure Drill) is probably the best known…but there’s others out there. I’m curious – if you were going to establish, say, a weekly routine of basic shooting skill drills for rifle and pistol, which ones would you do? Please link to a description/video.

And, for fun……..

Buying

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There’s just never a shortage of things to spend money on these days. Usually, based on my previous history, when an election year rolls around I wind up spending a fair amount of coin on things like AR lowers and standard-capacity magazines. Having done this for several election cycles now, I’m reasonably comfortable with what I have in terms of those items that I no longer feel the need to panic-buy more…although I want to.

But, the world is, hands down, a more dangerous place these days. I know that, for myself, my level of concern for my safety and security has been elevated for the last couple years. We see it on the news all the time — stuffs gettin’ weird. That weirdness can be distant, like Russia/Ukraine/Hamas/Israel…or it can be local, like homeless camps, home invasions, and impending layoffs. Pick your apocalypse, there’s plenty to choose from.

So, rather than just picking up the phone and ordering another couple cases of Magpuls, I’m trying to be more targeted and discrete in my approach. Take, for example, my recent purchase of a light-compatible holster… It’s something I’ve been wanting for a while but it was always a case of “someday’. Yeah, well, someday is now because it’s a weird world out there we’re in. So I’m really just filling all sorts of gaps in logistical, tactical, and strategic quarters. What does that look like? Well, I’ve got a dry erase board up on my fridge with a list that reads like this: Glock armorers tools, Glock threaded barrel, Glock night sights, ACOG TA-44, propane bottles, 10mm dies, part #121G, Magpul sights, Beretta G conversion, MP5 mag clamps, (more) .223 ammo, etc, etc.  It’s a bit of a list. But its a plan..and without a plan you wind up throwing resources around in a very inefficient manner.

And, of course, there’s still that little bugaboo that has been dogging me for years – a chunk of dirt. (Still haven’t seen the perfect place within my price range yet…but I’m being patient and adding to the war chest.)

It’s not an economically easy thing, this whole being a survivalist thing… but, I suppose I’d rather have these things (and their related expense) when I need them rather than the alternative.

 

New holster

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My day-to-day carry guns are twofold. When I’m at work, and have to not be obviously armed, I carry a Smith 642 snubbie in an ankle holster under my khakis. Better than  nothing.

When I can wear whatever i want, I usually carry a Glock 17. If I’m running errands, shopping, at the post office, visiting friends, etc, etc, I am going to be, most likely, toting the G17. My holster of choice is a DeSantis that I picked up brand new many years back and have given a tremendous amount of ‘character’ (read:wear and tear). Its a holster that says “I’ve seen things, man.” Its pretty scuffed and battered. But it works fine.

The problem is, about fifty percent of the time it is dark. And while my G17 has a nice set of night sights on it, when lighting is a bit dim its nice to have a weapon-mounted light. However, carrying a pistol with a weapon mounted light is always a bit annoying because you have to get a holster specifically made to accommodate such a protuberance. But, as the world increasingly gets weird, I am taking my personal safety more seriously than before. So…time to get a holster that will accommodate a light.

I like leather, and my two main go-to guys for gunleather are Galco and DeSantis. Finding a holster/light combo compatible holster is dizzying. You have, generally, two sizes of Glock frame – the 9/40 and 10/45. (Discounting the smaller Glocks.) For weapon-mounted lights you’ve got at least…at least…a dozen variations. So, in theory, thats at least 24 possible combinations that may require a unique holster to fit them. But, where there is a will, there is a way.And, like all new leather holsters, it needs a little elbow grease here and there to loosen it up a little. But it seems like a decent enough product.

More importantly, it adds a bit of advantage in my favor, I believe, by giving me the option of having a way to illuminate a target. And, of course, i can also simply not use the light if I don’t feel the need…but at least its there to give me an option I might not otherwise have.

I know that there is a contingent of people who feel that weapon lights are ridiculous because all they do is telegraph your location to the lurking bad guy. I can see the argument, but I can also see arguments in the other direction. As I said, at least this way I have the option as I deem the situation warrants.

The holster, by the way, is a DeSantis “The Tac-Lite” Belt Holster For Glock 9/40 With Streamlight Right Hand Leather Tan 117TAW8Z0 [FC-792695319375]

One more thing to cross off my list….

Article – U.S. ‘prepper’ culture diversifies amid fear of disaster and political unrest

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Hmm..wanting to be safe and secure isn’t just a white guy thing. Who knew?

LONGMONT, Colorado — Brook Morgan surveyed booths at the “Survival & Prepper Show” in Colorado that were stocked with boxes of ammunition, mounds of trauma medical kits, and every type of knife imaginable.

A self-described “30-year-old lesbian from Indiana,” Morgan is one of a new breed of Americans getting ready to survive political upheaval and natural catastrophes, a pursuit that until recently was largely associated with far-right movements such as white nationalists since the 1980s.

No article about POC (preppers of color) would complete without dialing up the wayback machine to this article about NYC survivalists, and a profile of Aton Edwards who was, at the time, promoting himself as a survivalist. As far as I can tell, that might have been the first media representation of a black survivalist.

Over the years, I’ve met a bunch of survivalists…one of my best friends for a number of years was a gay survivalist. I have another acquaintance who is an Asian survivalist. I also know a Jewish survivalist and at least one somewhat lefty survivalist. I’m less concerned about what you are than I am about who you are.

Interestingly, I dont know any black survivalists but thats mostly because I live in a pretty homogenous place. However, if I met one I wouldn’t have any problem being their friend, assuming we got along on stuff. As a wise man once said, “Racism is a silly philosophy. If you take the time to know someone…really get to know them….you can find a much better reason to hate them.”

A cynic might say “Yeah, got a survivalist buddy who is black/Hispanic/Middle Eastern…that way when the balloon goes up you can have an in with whatever ethnic militia winds up running the show.

Somehow, I don’t think it’ll come to that. But…I’ve been wrong.

If someone wants to take responsibility for their well being, and step up to take care of their loved ones without demanding ‘government should do something’, then we’re probably going to be friends..I don’t care what your melanin count is.

I should also mention I have met survivalists of a much more…unfriendly…type. I used to work with a guy who identified as a white nationalist. Nice enough guy but I would probably keep my distance in a world without 911. Met another guy who said that after the bombs dropped it would be open season on atheists because their lack of religion meant they had no morals to keep them from raping and killing and were therefore a threat to everyone. And, of course, we’ve all met the survivalists whose entire plan for rising out the apocalypse is to simply to take by force from other people (cough*GunKid*cough).

I, for one, welcome anyone into the fold of survivalism who wants the same things I want: safety, security, and liberty.

 

Article -‘Built by preppers for preppers’: See this Wisconsin compound built for off-the-grid lifestyles

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Set on a dead-end road with vantage points, a shooting range, gardens, apple trees and plenty of lumber, Allen says it would be well suited for someone who wants to be prepared to go off the grid.

“Obviously it relates- it makes a lot of sense now with the way that some people feel about the current state, you know, that we’re in,” Allen said. “The way that it’s built and constructed, it probably would cater to so called ‘preppers’ nowadays.”

Kinda sweet. Someone spent some good money to put this thing together. I rather like the idea of earth-sheltered homes but I always wonder about the long-term waterproofness of such things. I think I’d be more interested in earth-bermed homes. Kinda like those ammunition bunkers where they bulldoze berms on all sides.

Anyway, places like these are always interesting to look at, unfortunately the attention sales like this receive kinda negates a lot of the advantage of a place like this.

This one gets the Harder Homes & Gardens tag.

H/T to the person who emailed me about this.

Needle drop

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Did I ever mention my own experiences with the Wuhan Flu?

My Big Boss is out right now with Covid. The other two people I share an office with have had it…more than once. My mini-boss has had it. About 80% of my office, at some point, has had it. So far I have not. And..I’m not vaccinated.

Back in late 2019/early 2020 me and a buddy both got sick for about three weeks. We were miserable. And then came the news that the Chinese had this new virus. I suspect with almost 100% certainty that me and my buddy were one of the ‘early adopters’ of Covid. I distinct;ly remember working at Cabela’s gun counter and we kept bottles of hand sanitizer and wipes on the counter every few feet because ‘theres a really nasty bug going around this winter’. I am certain it was the arrival of Covid.

Since then, I haven’t been sick. No cold, no nothin’.And I dismissed it as a somewhat more virulent version of the flu so I never bothered to get the shot.

For the record, I also don’t get flu shots every year either. I’m reasonably healthy, no comorbidities, am in decent shape, and don’t have any pre-existing conditions. For me, I saw no need to go get a shot that was brand new and without a long track record. I’m not saying vaccines don’t work…I’m just saying I’m not gonna be the ‘early adopter’ who gets batch #0001.

So, I’ve spent the last four years being unvaccinated and not getting sick. I’m no medical expert, and all I have going for me is an opinion, but I think perhaps that ubernasty bug I caught four years ago was The Bug and since then my body has built up some resistance to it. Or I’m just lucky. :::shrug::: All I know is that I never saw the need for a vaccine shot for me so I never got one, and as time has gone by I haven’t regretted it.

I feel bad for people who didnt want to get one but were forced to at the threat of losing their jobs. The ‘vaccinate or else’ crowd has a lot to answer for, in my opinion.

Unfortunately, the whole Covid/Kung Flu experience has been a dress-rehearsal for how to control and clamp down on a population. Fly the flag of ‘health emergency’ and people were lining up to be vaccinated, masked, denied access to healthcare, denied access to grocery stores, denied access to public transport, denied access to…well…everything. It would be a bit intellectually dishonest for me to say that my non-vaccinated status didn’t gave me a bit of satisfaction whenever someone pontificated about how ‘those people’ needed to be brought to heel whether they wanted it or not.

And now…wow..we went from ‘self quarantining’ for 14 days, to a week, to five days, to ‘just stay home if you have a fever’. Hmmm.

The more astute people will say that the current flavor of Covid isnt the same as the one that started all this and therefore the inconsistency in the range of precautions is to be expected. I really can’t respond to that. All I know is that whatever I had four years ago was the last thing that knocked me on my tail and all these ‘new’ variants seem to have passed my unvaxxed butt by.

This has been my experience though. And it was my decision to not get vaccinated. And it was my willingness to accept the consequences of that decision. And I fully recognize that, perhaps, in the long term it was a foolish choice. Or maybe it wasn’t. I guess I won’t know for a while. But I sure am interested in how the narrative has changed so much from what it used to be. It seems like the world basically panicked and threw everything at the wall to see what stuck, and now we’re finding out that perhaps we overreacted. And all it cost us was the economy, jobs, liberty, and vitriol.

But .gov sure made out like a bandit, didn’t they? They got to discover that in addition to using the excuse of ‘security’ and ‘terrorism’, they can now get even better results by claiming ‘health emergency’ and the people will happily accept whatever is imposed on them. Thats the real long-lasting damage from this whole affair, if you ask me.

That pesky upcoming bleak future

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Well, I ordered some new grips for the Ruger Redhawk .357, they arrived,  and I’ll take it out tomorrow and see if that makes a difference. While I’m at it, I’ll also take the CZ457 ‘Jaguar’ .22 out for a spin and see how quiet a 29″ barrel is with another 8″ of suppressor on the end. I expect it to sound like a staplegun.

I didn’t watch the State of The Union speech yesterday because, well, it’s pretty predictable and I saw no need to rush into my first heart attack. Nice of whoever was feeding Biden lines to make sure to get that whole ‘assault weapon’ thing in there. I am amazed at how the Democrats never seem to learn that it’s not an issue that does them any favors. Republicans do the same thing with the abortion issue, and Libertarians just can’t let go of their drug legalization fantasies.

I have spent the last thirty years as a survivalist and I do think that every year I say “this coming year is the one that will justify everything I’ve done”. And…I’ve been right every year.This year will be no different.

Is the economy ‘the envy of the world’ as was said at the speech? Maybe. I suppose when everyone is dying of cancer the guy with ‘only’ diabetes is the envy of everyone else. But if you ran the question of ‘are things better now than they were four years ago’ I think you’d have a strong case for a negative response. Inflation, interest rates, foreign affairs, crime, and the price of gas….there’s a bit to look back at fondly a bit over four years ago.

Nothing is perfect, though, and we tend to look at the past with a bit of rose-tint. The future, on the other hand……is there anyone who thinks good things are in store? “Good” will be defined as things not going as badly as we expected.

As the man(?) said, the avalanche has started…it is too late for the pebbles to vote.There’s no magic pill that’s going to just make things better. Even if you elected the perfect candidate, you can’t unscramble these eggs overnight. No matter who gets elected, it’s still going to be a bumpy ride…just a question of whether its a bumpy ride towards the better or a bumpy ride towards the worse. Either way: bumpy ride.

But, hey, those are just observations and musings. What’s the useful part? I suppose the useful part is that it’s worth noting that no matter who gets elected, the ride is still gonna be humvee-at-55-mph bumpy. So don’t let your guard down thinking that ‘after the election the threat will be reduced’. Nope. Nada.

I’ll continue to do what I’ve always done: stay on top of food and supplies, avoid debt and liabilities, sock away cash and cash-like instruments, be ready for things to go (further) downhill, but also be prepared for them not to. What not to do is get complacent and think there’s a light at the end of the tunnel because someone is going to get/notget re-elected.

Tomorrow, in addition to the range, I’m heading to Winco, CostCo, and WalMart, and continue to keep the pantry full, the gas cans topped of, and supply shelves stocked. Then I’m going to spend time in my budget spreadsheet and make sure I’ve got enough cash tucked away for an emergency. And then it’s a trip to pick up some precious metals. And when it’s all over, I’ll feel like I have some control over my future instead of just being a victim of it. I recommend you do something similar. Weekends are two days: one to do what you want and one to do what you need. Invest a few hours in a more resilient future for you and your loved ones.

Pre-TEOTWAWKI survivalism, a.k.a. ‘life’

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If you polled a group of people about what ‘survivalists’ or ‘preppers’ do, I would wager that the majority of answers are something along the lines of ‘they prepare to survive and live through the end of the world (or some flavor of it).” Now, this is a reasonable, albeit uninformed, opinion to have. I mean, we have camouflage, guns, ammo, bunkers, night vision, freeze dried food, livestock, gold coins, etc, etc. These are things that, normally, are kinda regarded as ‘end of the world’ items. Apocalypse is nigh? Get thee some chickens and rabbits. That sort of thing.

But I disagree. You, right here right now, are engaged in survivalist activity. When everyone is driving their car down to ‘E’, you’re never letting it get below half-full (or half-empty, I suppose). When people blissfully walk out the door of their houses unarmed, you’re slipping some thundertoy in your pocket. They’re buying jet skis and big screens, you’re paying off debt and saving cash. In short, even before the bombs drop and the pathogens spread, you’re engaged in various acts of survivalism.

Survivalism is giving yourself as much advantage as possible for when something big and bad happens. If we were to sum up the nature of survivalism in one word, one idea, it would be resilience. For most anticipated unfortunate events we can’t be 100% proofed against them..a lot of that stuff is out of our control. But, while we can’t control what happens to us, we can control our response to it.

An example… I worry about being unemployed. I increase my resilience to that by trying to do a good job at work, but also by living within my means, keeping as much money as possible, and making sure I’m ready to go find new work if I have to. By not carrying debt, keeping plenty of cash, and keeping my skills up to date, I increase my resilience to losing a job. Contrast this with someone who lives off their credit cards, spends everything as fast as they get it, and never develop or grow professionally.

Another example…when I take road trips my biggest concern is getting stuck somewhere due to bad road conditions, fuel issues, vehicle problems, etc, etc. I increase my resilience to these threats by carrying water, extra fuel, backpacking gear, food, cash (notice that money is a multitool for pretty much every emergency), and that sort of thing. Contrast this with someone who just blithely hops in their truck for a four-hour drive and winds up running out of gas when the gas stations are closed, gets stuck on a closed highway due to snow, or winds up on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere with a busted u-joint.

The message I’m trying to communicate here is that as a survivalist, you aren’t engaging in survivalist activities after the bombs drop, but that you’re actually engaged in them pretty much 24/7 in your pre-TEOTWAWKI life.

Or..at least…you should be.

Here’s a truth that you can absolutely bank on: before the big EOTWAWKI happens you will face many smaller, personal ones. You may be in one right now. What do they look like? Job loss, divorce, medical emergency, foreclosure, busted transmissions, leaky water heaters, tennis-ball-swallowing dogs, vulnerable loved ones, home invasions, unexpected expenses, 2am phone calls, and a thousand other crises that mean nothing to everyone else but are paramount to you because they are happening to you.

THIS is going to happen ALOT more often.....

THIS is going to happen ALOT more often…..

…than THIS.

But if you’re a bit prepared for those events…youve increased your resilience against them…then, guess what, they aren’t EOTWAWKI events. They’re learning experiences. Or pains in the ass. Or simply and only…inconveniences. And I will happily trade EOTWAWKI for an inconvenience all day long.

So, moral of the story here – being a survivalist is an every day affair.