I don’t want to be pedantic but….we celebrate Independence Day, not the fourth of July.
Now, having irritated many of you, I suggest you take that irritation to the range and go shoot some guns. Independence…whether its from other nations, people, ideas, or paradigms…does not come peacefully and without incident*. Be ready… emotionally ready, mentally ready, and physically ready.
“The price of freedom is the willingness to do sudden battle anywhere, any time and with utter recklessness.” ― Robert A. Heinlein
* = I cannot hear the phrase ‘without incident’ without thinking of this incident.
Another year come and gone and…no apocalypse. Well, no apocalypse in the sense of some great run-for-your-lives-we’re-all-gonna-die sort of thing. As individuals, we all have plenty of horrific catastrophes that hit us. But, as a group, no….no big apocalypse this year. But you never know. No boom today, but tomorrow…boom.
2019 was, sadly, another gun-heavy year. Just off the top of my head I can think of at least three shotguns, two or three ARs, at least a half dozen pistols, etc, etc. It really seems to be getting out of hand. However, I still resolutely believe that at some point things will hit a stage where the ability to purchase an ‘evil features’ gun with a ‘high capacity feeding device’ will be curtailed…at which point I will sit back on my armored butt and smile to myself.
Broadly 2019 was a quiet year, which is how I like it. As I get older my goal is security, predictability, and routine. I want to wake up every morning to a warm house, running water, food in the fridge, money in the bank, and all my organs functioning at acceptable level (and one organ in particular operating at its normal superhuman level). This is not to say I dislike new things or excitement, but I want those things because I wanted them..not because Fate decided to throw me a curve ball. I’ve been told, more than once, that I am a person who hates change. Not true. I hate unwanted change. Let me give you an example: someone gets cancer and they complain about it. Would you accuse them of hating change? After all, having cancer is a change for them, isn’t it? No, you would sympathize with them. Cancer is an unwanted change. However, short-sighted narcissists who lack self-awareness will only look at the broad strokes and say ‘you hate change’. Well, duh…find me someone who doesn’t hate change that hurts them. And before you get all Nietzsche on me, yes, that which doesn’t kill you makes you stronger…but usually it just kills you.
2020, unfortunately, will be a year full of change…mostly because it’s an election year. Yes, I voted for him. And I’ll do it again. But I cannot say whether his re-election or loss is a sure thing. And because there is that level of uncertainty, I foresee 2020 being a bit of a chaotic year in terms of markets, legislation, and a few other things. Every year, it seems, I keep beating the drum of ‘buy guns and mags’. And, thus far, every year nothing substantial occurs that prevents our ownership of those things. But…just because something hasn’t happened doesn’t mean it won’t. Make of that what you will.
I hope 2020 is as peaceful and relatively quiet as 2019 was. I hope I’m sitting down at my desk a year from now writing a very similar post about how it was a somewhat uneventful year, and we all grew older and a bit wealthier. But despite the motto of failed Democrats, hope is not a plan. Hoping for a positive result is not how you get that positive result. So, while I hope 2020 is quiet and does me no harm, I will continue to take steps to mitigate the damage just in case.
It’s easy to slack off on being a good survivalist when the lights are on and your job is steady. But thats exactly the time you want to be in high gear getting stuff done and making plans. Learn to swim before the boat sinks.
So, enjoy the New Years holiday, relax and reflect on whats gone past and what is to come. And then cowboy up, grit your teeth, get out there, and make stuff happen for you.
I don’t do Christmas, but I know many of you do. And there’s nothing that says you have to be a Christmas person to enjoy Christmas music. So..one of my faves.
We don’t celebrate the Fourth Of July, we celebrate Independence Day. And the best way to celebrate armed citizenry starting a bullet party with the government is to head to the range and get in the spirit. Time to put some lead in the air!
The big Festivus gift this year? Well, check this out… for the last week or so, the wife has been spending all her time in the living room configuring her computer for some new games that she was interested in playing. Nothing surprising there, after she’s done fighting the forces of evil at her job she often spends a few hours a night fighting them online.
So I open my suspiciously large wrapped gift this morning and inside the box is – a custom gaming PC that she built from parts and spent the last few days configuring and installing, right under my nose. She built it so that it looks like her computer and that way could do all the work on it in front of me without me being the wiser. How cool is that? And the best part? Windows 7….now thats thoughtful! SSD boot drive, awesome graphics card, modular expandable case, etc, etc. and its preloaded with Skyrim, Battlefield and WarCraft.
I’ve been using the same computer for the last seven or ten years and would never have bought one on my own. I tend to just use peoples hand-me-down computers because I’m too cheap to buy a new(er) one. As long as it runs my browser, lets me get email, and that sorta thing Im happy. So a dedicated gaming box…thats quite the toy.
So there you have it….not at all topical or gear-related but still one of the most awesome gifts I’ve ever gotten.
There’s a handful of holidays this month, some secular and some not-so-secular. It would be presumptuous for me to assume everyone has the same belief system, so I’ll just cover all the bases with a ‘I hope you have a happy whatever-holdiay-you-celebrate’.
Kwanzaa, Hannukah, Christmas, Festivus, Solstice, Voodoo Day, whatever……December really manages to pack a lot into it, doesn’t it?
Be safe on the roads, guys…drunks abound on these sorts of occasions.
When I originally started blogging, the purpose was to chronicle the progression of steps towards getting to the level of preparedness I wanted to achieve. So that was around 11 years ago. You’d think that after 11 years there wouldn’t be much left to do…but, of course, there’s always something.
Pretty much all that is left to acquire are the truly big-ticket items – a dedicated vehicle and a place out in the sticks. Both of these are pretty much the final jewels in the crown. Food? We’re good. Guns and ammo? Just ducky. Toiletries, bedding, fuel, generator, tools, security system, etc…yup.
There are still some things that I still haven’t gotten around to, despite years of saying “I need to…” The two that immediately spring to mind are radio communications and a PV-powered battery backup system for same.
Like anything else, the limiting factor is money. Ten years is obviously plenty of time to put some money back for expensive stuff but, sadly, I have a tremendous lack of discipline. Its hard to ‘stay the course’ for a long period of time when people walk in the door or call me and say “Hey, a guy just sold me a couple 1911s…you wanna look at ’em?”
Out of curiosity, what are you hoping to receive for Chrismahanakwanzakah this year? The ‘realistically priced’ gift and the ‘money is no object’ gift.
Well, the Friday of Color sales I wanted to take advantage of turned out to be a bust. Of the few things I wanted, most had sold out virtually instantly. I suppose this is a good thing since it keeps me from spending money.
Or, at least, it was until I noted that silver dipped down to around $15.50 today. Time to call the Pimp. Speaking of the ‘Pimp, he came by the other day with a silver round for me that he said came from someone who reads the website. So, to that benefactor, I thank you sincerely. When the zombie hordes are finally decapitated into the dustbin of history I shall praise your memory as I barter the silver for lapdances from grateful-yet-still-hot survivors at the local stripclub-turned-impromptu-fortress.
Just because I didn’t get the things I was looking for this Friday doesn’t mean there arent bargains and great values out there. Go! Shop! Acquire! Since ‘Black Friday’ has all but become a holiday I figured it was time to add another synthetic holiday to the pantheon of reasons-to-buy-stuff. Thus, tomorrows post is all about Paratus, the holiday of survivalists.
ETA: Dammit. Almost made it out of Sportsmans Warehouse without getting Friday Of Color’ed. But..but…its M855 on stripper clips! $169.99! Its the ballistic equivalent of Doritos – you can’t just eat a few.
“The price of freedom is the willingness to do sudden battle anywhere, any time and with utter recklessness.” ― 
