We have had a nice pretty quiet day. Ran some errands then went to the library for books and DVD's. Their DVD collection is pretty decent. Certainly not a rental store but good for just getting something to break of the monotony of bad TV. Spent the rest of the day hanging out at home. Had dip and chips for dinner which we enjoy and then went for a long walk. Saw the ball drop on some Spanish TV network and watched the fireworks from our window.
Wifey is on the phone to her mother 'from the future'. I am sitting here reflecting on the last year. In some ways it was better than 2008 but in many others it was worse. Honestly in Aug-Oct 2008 there were a couple times I thought our economy was going down. I remember one day when the stock market dropped something like 500 points and a few banks failed. After watching the news on the TV at work I quietly excused myself to go get all the cash the ATM would give me, from two separate accounts. I did that to add to the cash we already had lying around. At that point I probably would have given a 30% chance of a banking holiday over the weekend.
2009 was in many ways a surprisingly anticlimactic year. It was bad but not in a things go all Mad Max sort of way. It was more of a "you might loose your job and taxes are going up left and right while banks continue to randomly fail" sort of way. There was no shooting neighbors to protect your cereal, just a good old fashioned depression. I know that is a technical definition that some economists will give after the fact but a depression by any other name........
We got a new President but as they said in the song "Only the names have changed." There were lots of plans and discussions and hope but little if anything was actually accomplished. The try and pass everything at once plan created a bottleneck where nothing got passed. We started 2009 in two wars and left it still in two wars. The year saw about a eleventy hundred gazillion dollars borrowed and a few gazillion more just printed. Probably more importantly a lot of people lost their jobs. The official numbers are a bit above 10% so once underemployed and such are factored in it is probably more like 15%. The dollar isn't worth much while gold and silver have gone up in price significantly. Our debt to China is becoming a joke that isn't funny because it is so true.
What will happen in 2010?
Maybe the log jam effect of political plans and programs will clear up and some of that stuff folks like me are worried about will get passed. It looks like some sort of health care bill is going to be passed. It will lead to more government control and windfall profits for insurance and drug companies. I imagine in the short term precious metals prices will adjust downward but after that who knows. They will then go up and stay the same for awhile, then go down, then up, then stay the same and then go down again. I think the dollar is going to go up some in value. Not so much because the US is doing awesome (our massive surplus binge doesn't seem likely to end) but because of the recent problems in Dubai and Greece plus looming debt concerns about the UK. It is becoming apparent that other countries did all the stupid stuff the US did though maybe less dramatically and a bit later.
It seems that Iraq is going pretty well though what could happen when we really start drawing down is anybodies guess. Iran's recent power play plus concerns over sectarian issues are all looming. This might however be more like 2011-12 time frame. Afghanistan is the real question mark but we will just have to see how this surge goes. We will likely have a very good idea what the outcome is going to be by fall 2010. Terrorism is going to continue to be a mobile, nation less and motivated threat.
I think the 2010 mid term elections could be very interesting. A swing of the pendulum back towards the right is quite possible. It is a distinct possibility that the Dem's will loose the coveted 60 votes in the Senate.
Personally I think you should keep the proverbial wagons circled. At a minimum keep expenses reasonable and try to pay off as much debt as possible while stashing something just in case. Don't stop living your life but it probably isn't the time to take that two month long epic 5 star trip through Europe or buy a shiny new sports car or do the dream remodel to the kitchen. Buying some guns and ammo if you are in need and working on your food storage and all of that common sense stuff still applies. However being ready for a drastic and potentially long loss in income is probably more useful than say, building a fighting position in the front yard to protect from the Johnson's frontal assault to get your Crispix. It will probably be a boring year of depression.
Maybe I am completely off base. I know for a second I would not have imagined President Obama being elected so it is anyone's guess. We can talk about what happens next year.
Happy New Year!!!
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Book Review: Starting A New Life In Rural America by Ragnar Benson
To be honest last night I felt like the book was a complete waste of my time and money. Guess in fairness it is designed as a guide for people who have a completely urban or suburban background. The book goes into great detail talking about gravel roads and there is literally an entire chapter on firewood. I am glad that I didn't stay up and finish this book last night and write a scathing review.
I have only really trashed one book in a review. In hindsight I regretted that. Not to say that I changed my opinion on the book but I could have gone about it another way. Saying "this book sucks" doesn't have much value and is just negative. Most of the books I read are fairly popular and probably have value to some readers. Just maybe I can help folks know if a book would be entertaining or useful for them, or if their time and resources are better spent elsewhere. Reviews have been done in this manner for some time and likely will continue to be done this way.
Today I finished this book and upon reflection I definitely see some value in it. It didn't knock my socks off like the last one did but I certainly don't think my time or money was wasted. Well worth $10ish and a couple hours of my time. The latter part of the book had some parts that were more useful to me and a bit less obvious.
Anyway to the review:
I suggest this book for people who have spent their whole life in an urban or suburban setting and seek to move to a more rural environment. I would also suggest it to people who plan to purchase and build on rural land, regardless of any previous rural domicile. Growing up on Daddy's farm teaches ton about country life but there are still some considerations of developing raw rural land you might have missed.
For the first group you will get a whole lot out of this book. Vastly out of proportion to its minimal costs (a bit more than $10) you will learn a lot about the everyday practicalities and considerations of rural life. For the second group (or really anyone who is used to wood stoves and gravel roads and combining tasks and errands for the long drive into town, etc) this book might give well help you avoid some pitfalls if you want to buy rurally or especially if you want to develop raw rural land.
I fall into the second group. This reminded me about some of the eccentricities of rural zoning and property rights. Often parcels were originally based on a hilltop and a fence or in the worst case a river or creek. Those parcels were divided and sold and redivided and sold again and often never really properly surveyed. If you are buying a piece of land getting it surveyed might well be worth the money, particularly if the parcel is on the smaller side or important features are near boundaries. A couple feet of land this way or that isn't a big deal unless it is that pond you love or the barn or in the absolute worst case your access to the county road.
A quick hint here. If the sign says 25.85 acres it has probably been surveyed. If it says 25 +/- acres it probably hasn't been surveyed. If all the key features are in the middle that likely isn't an issue but still it might be worth knowing for sure. If you are going to spend 100k for the land and then build a house on top of it getting it surveyed would be very prudent.
Going along with this it is worth noting that rural and very small town people try to deal with problems personally before getting lawyers involved. It might be a disagreement or an issue of property lines or whatever but it is worth at least trying to settle it in a friendly way. Rural people dislike lawyers more than anyone except maybe IRS accountants. While big city people see lawyers as their neighbors who work for some obscure business for rural folk every time a lawyer is involved it costs a ton of money and someone gets a raw deal.
Case in point, My father bought a house on a little piece of land about a decade ago. In the process of his house being built the land was surveyed and it became apparent that the neighbor lady had inadvertently built her shed about a foot and a half over the property line. I remember the conversation distinctly. She walked over to us one day and said she didn't know her shed was over the line and would move it in the next couple weeks. Dad said that she did not need to bother and to just leave it where it was. Later he commented that in a few years it would become hers but he didn't care about a foot and a half of land in the field anyway. She was a great neighbor and always willing to help out with with the odd neighborly stuff. This brings us to an interesting point. Knowing who has legal access or has otherwise been accessing the land you want to buy for years is a good thing. It might keep you out of a situation you don't want to be in.
When it comes to developing raw land the issues of water, power, and phone connections were brought up. These considerations need to be factored into your decision making. Numerous cases of people jumping in with both feet and ending up way over their heads were given. It is also worth mentioning that just about any problems can be overcome with enough money. A properly funded and motivated individual could have a venerable oasis in the Mojave desert or run phone and power lines 25 miles to their new rural home. That being said most of us don't have that sort of money and many folks try to move into a rural area on a shoestring budget. Due diligence and the considerations mentioned in this book will help a person be able to figure out if they can afford to develop a certain lot into what they want it to be. This information could well allow you to either choose a situation in which you can afford to build what you want or otherwise temper your expectations to your pocket book.
One big thing that kept coming up towards the back half of the book is that people move to rural areas with unrealistic expectations. Even worse they move to a rural area and want to change things. This reminds me of Mexicans (some other groups do this too but this seems to be the predominant group) who move to America and all of a sudden want to change it. You are leaving wherever it is you are used to living for a reason. Also you are moving to where they live, not visa verse. If they wanted to live in a big city or the burbs they probably would and you used to and no longer want to so stop trying to change the country into there. For example it is really stupid to buy a piece of land next to a dairy or a cattle lot or a hog farm and then get upset if it doesn't smell nice come summer.
I am going to put this book on the shelf and read it again in a few years when we are looking to purchase a rural home. In any case it was well worth the $10 or whatever it cost.
Tasers 2
Out of curiosity, without the Taser how do you get someone to comply? If you tell some drunk who just spent ten minutes beating his wife to step away from his wife and put his hands in the air and he refuses, what recourse is there? You could go hands-on which is dangerous to the cop, or just shoot him which is dangerous to the drunk. Escalation and parity of force is nice and all, but there are many cases where hand-to-hand isnt enough and gunfire is too much. The taser segues nicely into that middle ground. Does it get abused? I'm sure it does. But its still a far better choice than those other two options much of the time.
-9:48 PM
TOR says: First of all I would like it noted that I never suggested for a second that cops should not have Tasers, "just that they need to be held to reasonable standards, even with Tasers and OC spray." I think OC and Tasers should probably fall between hands on and baton time. To your question.
For that drunken wife beater it really depends. How drunk is he? Stumbling and falling down or just stupid and violent? How big is he? How big is the cop? It is a guy or a girl cop? Is the cop a black belt in Judo? Is the cop alone or with a partner? Is he still playing punchout on his wife's face or is he standing there? So many variables make it impossible to say what the right answer is.
To me escalation and parity of force ARE ABOUT HAVING OPTIONS. I am for cops having OC spray, Tasers, batons, and pistols and whatever other useful stuff we come up with that would fit on their batman belts. Riot guns or rifles in the car are good also. To me it is just that Cops need to answer for their use of Tasers. If they ask some guy to do something (not the drunk above, just some guy) and he doesn't immediately do everything the cop wants they probably wouldn't punch him in the face, so why should they Tase him?
Of course any tool cops have will be abused. Good cops will make a mistake now and then and bad cops will be bad cops. My point is that cops who abuse Tasers should be punished. I admittedly do not have hard data on this but personal experience (people I know, not myself) has shown that cops abusing Tasers are currently not being investigated at all, let alone punished.
In closing I think cops should have Tasers and those who misuse/ abuse them should be investigated and potentially punished.
-9:48 PM
TOR says: First of all I would like it noted that I never suggested for a second that cops should not have Tasers, "just that they need to be held to reasonable standards, even with Tasers and OC spray." I think OC and Tasers should probably fall between hands on and baton time. To your question.
For that drunken wife beater it really depends. How drunk is he? Stumbling and falling down or just stupid and violent? How big is he? How big is the cop? It is a guy or a girl cop? Is the cop a black belt in Judo? Is the cop alone or with a partner? Is he still playing punchout on his wife's face or is he standing there? So many variables make it impossible to say what the right answer is.
To me escalation and parity of force ARE ABOUT HAVING OPTIONS. I am for cops having OC spray, Tasers, batons, and pistols and whatever other useful stuff we come up with that would fit on their batman belts. Riot guns or rifles in the car are good also. To me it is just that Cops need to answer for their use of Tasers. If they ask some guy to do something (not the drunk above, just some guy) and he doesn't immediately do everything the cop wants they probably wouldn't punch him in the face, so why should they Tase him?
Of course any tool cops have will be abused. Good cops will make a mistake now and then and bad cops will be bad cops. My point is that cops who abuse Tasers should be punished. I admittedly do not have hard data on this but personal experience (people I know, not myself) has shown that cops abusing Tasers are currently not being investigated at all, let alone punished.
In closing I think cops should have Tasers and those who misuse/ abuse them should be investigated and potentially punished.
quote of the day
"If you think it is [expletive deleted] stupid, don't do it."
-SFC S
Just a good reminder. Far too often we do things we know are stupid. People spend much more than they make. People eat too much food and wonder why we are fat. They act like a jerk at work and wonder why they get the bad shifts or are the first out the door when it is layoff time. They drive around with a vehicle that has expired tags and a busted turn signal then wonder why the cops are hassling us. Of course life can always come out of nowhere and smack us in the head but if we avoid doing things we know are stupid somehow life womps the back of our head less often.
-SFC S
Just a good reminder. Far too often we do things we know are stupid. People spend much more than they make. People eat too much food and wonder why we are fat. They act like a jerk at work and wonder why they get the bad shifts or are the first out the door when it is layoff time. They drive around with a vehicle that has expired tags and a busted turn signal then wonder why the cops are hassling us. Of course life can always come out of nowhere and smack us in the head but if we avoid doing things we know are stupid somehow life womps the back of our head less often.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Landmark Tasers Ruling
Read the article here. I think this has been a long time coming. All force LEO's use should be in proportion to the threat and the overall totality of the circumstances. The idea that Tasers are a proverbial blank check where force can be used without question or oversight has gone on far too long. Too many Cops have gotten away with Tasing anyone they want to when there is no threat. The same way they are required to think and later be able to justify the use of with a nightstick or a firearm they should be able to show it with Tasers and OC spray.
I am not saying cops should not have the tools they need to protect themselves. I am also not saying that they should be afraid to use these tools for fear of censure. Just that they need to be held to reasonable standards, even with Tasers and OC spray.
I am not saying cops should not have the tools they need to protect themselves. I am also not saying that they should be afraid to use these tools for fear of censure. Just that they need to be held to reasonable standards, even with Tasers and OC spray.
Reader Question
Subject: advice needed
Hey,
I'm looking into these items for my Garand. I wanted your opinion as to which you would prefer and whether one has more advantages than the other. This or this?
The question is should I go with the belt, seeing is how its combat proven or the versatility of the shoulder bag?
Thanks man, love your blog
-Joshua
TOR here: I added the pic myself, just couldn't resist.
In one word: Pouch.
In a sentence: You would be better served by purchasing the pouch.
In long form: Without buying both of these, waiting to get them delivered and fiddling with them a bunch here are my thoughts. I wrote about these buttstock and 'grab and go' pouches awhile ago. I believe they will serve someone who plans to use a Garand for practical purposes and doesn't care about historical accuracy. The leather belt setup is proven but do keep in mind that they were fielded during WWII means they were the most durable, reasonably priced option available during that era. We live in a different era and lots of advances in gear have been made since the big one. I think heavy belts tend to slide down and also the ammunition is poorly placed. Instead of being all in one place it is spread around your body. That inhibits the muscle memory necessary for quick fluid reloads from developing. With the pouch all of your ammo is in the same place which is a good thing. Also the combination of a nice tab and velcro make for very fast access.
Personally I would purchase the buttstock pouch and the 'grab and go' pouch for practical use and if the mood later strikes you get the belt for coolness and historical correctness. FWIW I would seek to wear the grab and go pouch in a manner that keeps it secure in one place on your body instead of flopping around hanging by the strap. Looking to attach it to your belt or using some cord to just tie it around your stomach would be prudent. I see it being secure either smack dab in the middle of your stomach/ chest or at stomach level offset somewhat to the weak side. YMMV.
Joshua, You are welcome and I hope this helps.
Hey,
I'm looking into these items for my Garand. I wanted your opinion as to which you would prefer and whether one has more advantages than the other. This or this?
The question is should I go with the belt, seeing is how its combat proven or the versatility of the shoulder bag?
Thanks man, love your blog
-Joshua
TOR here: I added the pic myself, just couldn't resist.
In one word: Pouch.
In a sentence: You would be better served by purchasing the pouch.
In long form: Without buying both of these, waiting to get them delivered and fiddling with them a bunch here are my thoughts. I wrote about these buttstock and 'grab and go' pouches awhile ago. I believe they will serve someone who plans to use a Garand for practical purposes and doesn't care about historical accuracy. The leather belt setup is proven but do keep in mind that they were fielded during WWII means they were the most durable, reasonably priced option available during that era. We live in a different era and lots of advances in gear have been made since the big one. I think heavy belts tend to slide down and also the ammunition is poorly placed. Instead of being all in one place it is spread around your body. That inhibits the muscle memory necessary for quick fluid reloads from developing. With the pouch all of your ammo is in the same place which is a good thing. Also the combination of a nice tab and velcro make for very fast access.
Personally I would purchase the buttstock pouch and the 'grab and go' pouch for practical use and if the mood later strikes you get the belt for coolness and historical correctness. FWIW I would seek to wear the grab and go pouch in a manner that keeps it secure in one place on your body instead of flopping around hanging by the strap. Looking to attach it to your belt or using some cord to just tie it around your stomach would be prudent. I see it being secure either smack dab in the middle of your stomach/ chest or at stomach level offset somewhat to the weak side. YMMV.
Joshua, You are welcome and I hope this helps.
Very True: Quote of the day 2
"When you're poor you develop all kinds of skills."
-A fellow on the Southern Belles explaining to his daughter why he knew how to do all sorts of household repairs.
-A fellow on the Southern Belles explaining to his daughter why he knew how to do all sorts of household repairs.
quote of the day
"With the breakdown of guarantees from government and private employers, families are our last refuge for mutual support as well as love and affection."
-Anya Kamenetz
TOR notes: The breakdown of unfunded government entitlements and private pensions and matching 401k contributions is going to make the retirement picture progressively worse as the years go by.
-Anya Kamenetz
TOR notes: The breakdown of unfunded government entitlements and private pensions and matching 401k contributions is going to make the retirement picture progressively worse as the years go by.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
quote of the day
Some people tell me that has no place on a survival blog, to which I respond that there's a place on my blog for anything I want to put on it. The operative word is "my."
-Hermit
He is speaking about Pro Israel stuff but I think it works well for pretty much all the random stuff I post.
-Hermit
He is speaking about Pro Israel stuff but I think it works well for pretty much all the random stuff I post.
Power Outages, Lanterns, Radios and The Day The Dollar Died.
Today started in a pretty weird way. Yesterday evening I was falling asleep while reading at 7:40 so I went to bed. Sure enough I was wide awake at 2AM. Got up and came out to the living room to waste some time on the computer then try and get back to sleep. The back to sleep didn't work. I watched the news and read The Day The Dollar Died.
In the story the economy collapses and people are very hungry for information. The TV and Internet quickly started having some 'errors' and folks were clueless except those who had ham, CB or world radios. These folks were able to listen to broadcasts from around the country and world in order to get an idea of what was actually happening. I won't get into any particulars of the story but if you have some time to spare this blovel (new word)is worth the read.
Sipping some coffee and reading was all and all a fairly decent way to spend the very early morning. At about 5:30 the power went out. No biggie, I just went into the bedroom to grab the sweet new lantern I got for Christmas. It is really sturdy looking, well designed with a nice handle and sure puts out a lot of light. Turns out that Mom got one for everybody this year.
She got to thinking about these awhile ago when the power was out at home. The combination of overhead lines with lots of trees and wind that occurs in the PNW during the fall and winter leads to power outages. My observation is that two outages are to be expected. Depending on how severe and widespread the damage is it takes between a few hours and a few days to restore power. A good reason to be prepared.
During the most recent outage Ma was walking through the house doing something carrying an oil lantern. The dog was sort of skittish and bumped into her leg pretty good. She got to thinking about what would have happened if she dropped that lantern. Best case it just goes out or burns a small patch of carpet but the worst case is really ugly. She got to looking at lanterns and someone suggested this one. I am not saying that oil/ kero lanterns are without a role or bad or anything but that the new battery powered LED lanterns are pretty darn nice. Battery powered lanterns are nothing new but the use of LED technology has lead to lanterns that get pretty bright but still have reasonable battery life. They have all the benefits of a flashlight (safe, convenient, etc) but can be light up a room decently so you can go about normal tasks hands free.
About the time I was going into the bedroom to grab the lantern Wifey woke up. After some fiddling with the fuse box and looking out the window it was apparent that it wasn't just our building. Went and grabbed one of the el cheapo Walmart LED lanterns we got some time back so we could both conveniently go about our mornings. The new one is vastly superior to the el cheapo model. It will light up a small room in a way that you could conceivably read while the el cheapo makes it so you can see a bit in the dark.
For right around $20 a piece getting a couple more of these is a very easy decision. At a minimum I need one. Somehow the shiny new red lantern became Wifeys when it is actually needed. A spare would be nice also.
Having a world band radio and a good LED lantern is probably good advice. Neither of them are that expensive and they are really useful.
In the story the economy collapses and people are very hungry for information. The TV and Internet quickly started having some 'errors' and folks were clueless except those who had ham, CB or world radios. These folks were able to listen to broadcasts from around the country and world in order to get an idea of what was actually happening. I won't get into any particulars of the story but if you have some time to spare this blovel (new word)is worth the read.
Sipping some coffee and reading was all and all a fairly decent way to spend the very early morning. At about 5:30 the power went out. No biggie, I just went into the bedroom to grab the sweet new lantern I got for Christmas. It is really sturdy looking, well designed with a nice handle and sure puts out a lot of light. Turns out that Mom got one for everybody this year.
She got to thinking about these awhile ago when the power was out at home. The combination of overhead lines with lots of trees and wind that occurs in the PNW during the fall and winter leads to power outages. My observation is that two outages are to be expected. Depending on how severe and widespread the damage is it takes between a few hours and a few days to restore power. A good reason to be prepared.
During the most recent outage Ma was walking through the house doing something carrying an oil lantern. The dog was sort of skittish and bumped into her leg pretty good. She got to thinking about what would have happened if she dropped that lantern. Best case it just goes out or burns a small patch of carpet but the worst case is really ugly. She got to looking at lanterns and someone suggested this one. I am not saying that oil/ kero lanterns are without a role or bad or anything but that the new battery powered LED lanterns are pretty darn nice. Battery powered lanterns are nothing new but the use of LED technology has lead to lanterns that get pretty bright but still have reasonable battery life. They have all the benefits of a flashlight (safe, convenient, etc) but can be light up a room decently so you can go about normal tasks hands free.
About the time I was going into the bedroom to grab the lantern Wifey woke up. After some fiddling with the fuse box and looking out the window it was apparent that it wasn't just our building. Went and grabbed one of the el cheapo Walmart LED lanterns we got some time back so we could both conveniently go about our mornings. The new one is vastly superior to the el cheapo model. It will light up a small room in a way that you could conceivably read while the el cheapo makes it so you can see a bit in the dark.
For right around $20 a piece getting a couple more of these is a very easy decision. At a minimum I need one. Somehow the shiny new red lantern became Wifeys when it is actually needed. A spare would be nice also.
Having a world band radio and a good LED lantern is probably good advice. Neither of them are that expensive and they are really useful.
50 States Ranked By Personal Freedom
We have all seen lists here and there which rank the 50 states in terms of this freedom or that freedom or somebodies opinion of what freedom is. Today I found myself going through Solo Survivalist's blog. It was pretty interesting and definitely a place I will have to try and get back to. In any case I saw the link to the State Policy Index. Looking at their conclusions was interesting. It seems very scientific, dispassionate and quantifiable which I like a lot. That alone is worth looking at but really doesn't show us anything too new.
However I saw a link on the bottom left that allows you to weight the data differently. This is huge. While we can probably come together on some general themes of freedom being able to change the weighting to suit your concerns is awesome. Maybe you are really into raw milk or riding a bicycle without a helmet or concerned about gun laws or whatever. For instance I don't care about marijuana laws at all but I hate eminent domain and gun regulation.
This is worth playing with just because it is interesting. If you are considering moving from an un free state to a free state I would really spend some time here.
However I saw a link on the bottom left that allows you to weight the data differently. This is huge. While we can probably come together on some general themes of freedom being able to change the weighting to suit your concerns is awesome. Maybe you are really into raw milk or riding a bicycle without a helmet or concerned about gun laws or whatever. For instance I don't care about marijuana laws at all but I hate eminent domain and gun regulation.
This is worth playing with just because it is interesting. If you are considering moving from an un free state to a free state I would really spend some time here.
Monday, December 28, 2009
The Day The Dollar Died
Been reading my way through this interesting blovel. Just finished the fourth chapter.
Edited to include: And the fifth chapter. Then the sixth and the seventh. Not sure why I kept editing this. Oh well.
Edited to include: And the fifth chapter. Then the sixth and the seventh. Not sure why I kept editing this. Oh well.
Newsweek Article Found At Hermits Place
10 Ways to Prepare for Disaster
A survival expert offers preparation tips for calamities—natural and manmade.
Dec 28, 2009
2. Try not to panic. You will be scared during a survival scenario, but the act of preparing before an emergency will help you deal more effectively. Spread facts, not fear. Share survival training based upon sound human psychology and physiology from reputable sources.
3. Know your limits. Unless your family is a group of Special Forces soldiers, they will have specific needs during a disaster. Lack of physical fitness, forgotten medications, mobility challenges, and a host of other variables demand that you custom-create a survival plan for your family.
4. Know how to do more with less. The simple act of tent camping in the outdoors with a family will teach you more in a weekend about what is required to live simply and be happy than reading survival books in the comfort of your living room.
5. Keep it simple. Fancy preparedness plans and survival gear fail under the pressures of a real-life scenario. The less moving parts the better.
6. Prepare for whatever disaster is likely to affect your area. Not every place on the planet has the same needs.
7. Along with your home-based supplies, create a "bug-out" kit(s) for your family, containing mobile emergency supplies should you be forced to evacuate.
8. Act: Physically prepare and act upon your preparedness plan. Talk is cheap. Practice, practice, and practice your preparedness plan; and don't be afraid to modify it as your needs change.
9. Do the neighborhood thing. Once your family is prepared, get your neighbors on the same page, similar to a neighborhood block watch.
10. When your preparation work is done, rotate certain survival-kit items such as food and medications as they expire, but live your life. Preparedness training that breeds fear and paranoia is counterproductive and the enemy of true, long-term self-reliance.
Lundin is the author of " When All Hell Breaks Loose: Stuff You Need to Survive When Disaster Strikes ," and the founder of the Aboriginal Living Skills School in Prescott, Ariz.
Thank You All
This morning I was checking my email just like every day. A reader sent me an email saying he had a spare Glock 19 mag lying around and he wanted to send it to me. From time to time this sort of thing happens with a book or some sort of gun accessory or piece of kit. Really it means a lot to me. That folks will just offer to part with good stuff that they paid for with their hard earned money because they enjoy something they could continue to enjoy for free touches me.
From time to time I get a book from some PR people at a publishing company. Don't get me wrong, this is totally cool but in reality it is not a "hey you are a cool guy so heres book" it is "you write a blog with a decent following that fits in the specific field of this book and if we send you a copy you will probably read it and then write about it". It is still cool because I get a book for free and all but there is no emotional connection.
Anyway thank you all for the support. It really means a lot to me, probably in vast disproportion to the dollar amounts involved. One of my favorite parts of writing this blog is dealing with a pretty awesome group of people. The environment here is far more that of a discussion than a bitter dogmatic argument with any insults vastly outnumbered by a sort of wonderful collaboration. You all are at least as responsible for the environment here as I am.
Thanks
From time to time I get a book from some PR people at a publishing company. Don't get me wrong, this is totally cool but in reality it is not a "hey you are a cool guy so heres book" it is "you write a blog with a decent following that fits in the specific field of this book and if we send you a copy you will probably read it and then write about it". It is still cool because I get a book for free and all but there is no emotional connection.
Anyway thank you all for the support. It really means a lot to me, probably in vast disproportion to the dollar amounts involved. One of my favorite parts of writing this blog is dealing with a pretty awesome group of people. The environment here is far more that of a discussion than a bitter dogmatic argument with any insults vastly outnumbered by a sort of wonderful collaboration. You all are at least as responsible for the environment here as I am.
Thanks
Plans: Short, Medium and Long Range
About a month back Wifey and I got onto the topic of life plans, goals and such. She mentioned that one thing her parents always did was to have 1, 5 and 10 year plans. They are smart folks who have been quite successful in meeting their goals. Generally speaking if they do something we have found it is certainly worth thinking about and often worth emulating.
I have already been doing one year plans in the form of New Years Resolutions so that is too easy. Admittedly these goals are mostly mine. Wifey doesn't care if we get a world band radio or another case of ammo. However the personal and financial goals are ours and stem from various discussions we have had.
The five year plan has been a real topic of discussion for us as of late. I think we have the big picture pretty much set out. For the 10 year goals I haven't given them a ton of thought yet. Figure once the five year plan is totally nailed down I will give it some thought.
I think the further out goals are the bigger picture they are by necessity, looking more at the forest than the trees if you will. Otherwise plans would become insanely detailed and hundreds of pages long. These plans would be so detailed that you would not have time to even implement them. Something like getting a new pocket knife might be part of this months plans but would not make the yearly radar, let alone the mid or long range ones.
Also the farther out plans are the more likely they are to change radically. Short term goals are usually pretty solid. Some stuff changes of course. For example this weekend we plan to go on a trip. If one of us gets sick or the weather turns bad or something we will stay home but otherwise we will likely go. The longer the time line the higher the odds that something will change or completely nullify your plans.However this isn't a bad thing. Just because for whatever reason a plan doesn't get completed does not mean that the process does not have value. Life conditions and situations and various circumstances can all cause things to change. Sometimes as you get closer you realize what was a goal is no longer important to you. All of this is OK.
I believe that the process of making these plans has value because it puts you into the drivers seat. Just getting into the habit of figuring out where you want to go and working to get there is significant because as much as I hate to say it, good things don't happen by accident very often. You aren't going to get a serious food storage/ rotation plan or pay off a mortgage or be able to buy that nice 'hunting cabin' or retire with dignity by accident. This sort of vision makes it possible to allocate your limited time and resources in the best way possible to get you where you want to go.
In the near future I will talk about my 5 and 10 year goals.
Thoughts?
I have already been doing one year plans in the form of New Years Resolutions so that is too easy. Admittedly these goals are mostly mine. Wifey doesn't care if we get a world band radio or another case of ammo. However the personal and financial goals are ours and stem from various discussions we have had.
The five year plan has been a real topic of discussion for us as of late. I think we have the big picture pretty much set out. For the 10 year goals I haven't given them a ton of thought yet. Figure once the five year plan is totally nailed down I will give it some thought.
I think the further out goals are the bigger picture they are by necessity, looking more at the forest than the trees if you will. Otherwise plans would become insanely detailed and hundreds of pages long. These plans would be so detailed that you would not have time to even implement them. Something like getting a new pocket knife might be part of this months plans but would not make the yearly radar, let alone the mid or long range ones.
Also the farther out plans are the more likely they are to change radically. Short term goals are usually pretty solid. Some stuff changes of course. For example this weekend we plan to go on a trip. If one of us gets sick or the weather turns bad or something we will stay home but otherwise we will likely go. The longer the time line the higher the odds that something will change or completely nullify your plans.However this isn't a bad thing. Just because for whatever reason a plan doesn't get completed does not mean that the process does not have value. Life conditions and situations and various circumstances can all cause things to change. Sometimes as you get closer you realize what was a goal is no longer important to you. All of this is OK.
I believe that the process of making these plans has value because it puts you into the drivers seat. Just getting into the habit of figuring out where you want to go and working to get there is significant because as much as I hate to say it, good things don't happen by accident very often. You aren't going to get a serious food storage/ rotation plan or pay off a mortgage or be able to buy that nice 'hunting cabin' or retire with dignity by accident. This sort of vision makes it possible to allocate your limited time and resources in the best way possible to get you where you want to go.
In the near future I will talk about my 5 and 10 year goals.
Thoughts?
Sunday, December 27, 2009
New Years Resolutions
Thinking about my goals for next year.
Personal:
1. Be a good husband. I was a pretty good one last year but a few days really drug down my average. I am looking to not do that or at least drop it to a couple days.
2. Travel a lot.
Personal Stuff:
3. We can use a few smaller things like a new TV and another laptop. The main push however is to get a reliable second car which we pay cash for.
Financial:
4. Stash some more Euro's. Say E400 or so.
5. Contribute 10% of our total take home to retirement.
6. Continue to not make stupid choices.
Skills:
7. Take an automotive class. They offer them on base and I need to know more about car repair.
8. Be able to setup and trouble shoot a small solar setup.
Preparedness Stuff :
9. A good radio that can pick up everything. Probably a Grundig.
10. Maybe a Berkey water filter and maybe some spare elements for it and the portable filter.
11. A basic solar setup.
Gun Stuff:
12. Case of .223
13. Half cases of 7.62x39, 9mm and just maybe .38. Full ones if I am feeling rich.
14. Some M1a mags. At least 10 and ideally closer to 20.
15. Glock 9mm mags. At least 10 and ideally closer to 20.
16. A few more spare parts and at least one AR15 full bolt carrier group.
I would say my goals start at the top in terms of priority and work more or less downward from there. I put more small stuff on here than last time. That is mostly because I am trying to purchase stuff in a more dispassionate manner and plan ahead.
Still got a few days before New Years to make any final changes. I should probably add some food stuff. Thoughts?
Personal:
1. Be a good husband. I was a pretty good one last year but a few days really drug down my average. I am looking to not do that or at least drop it to a couple days.
2. Travel a lot.
Personal Stuff:
3. We can use a few smaller things like a new TV and another laptop. The main push however is to get a reliable second car which we pay cash for.
Financial:
4. Stash some more Euro's. Say E400 or so.
5. Contribute 10% of our total take home to retirement.
6. Continue to not make stupid choices.
Skills:
7. Take an automotive class. They offer them on base and I need to know more about car repair.
8. Be able to setup and trouble shoot a small solar setup.
Preparedness Stuff :
9. A good radio that can pick up everything. Probably a Grundig.
10. Maybe a Berkey water filter and maybe some spare elements for it and the portable filter.
11. A basic solar setup.
Gun Stuff:
12. Case of .223
13. Half cases of 7.62x39, 9mm and just maybe .38. Full ones if I am feeling rich.
14. Some M1a mags. At least 10 and ideally closer to 20.
15. Glock 9mm mags. At least 10 and ideally closer to 20.
16. A few more spare parts and at least one AR15 full bolt carrier group.
I would say my goals start at the top in terms of priority and work more or less downward from there. I put more small stuff on here than last time. That is mostly because I am trying to purchase stuff in a more dispassionate manner and plan ahead.
Still got a few days before New Years to make any final changes. I should probably add some food stuff. Thoughts?
quote of the day
"The ideal American system would be one where the brilliant son of a janitor finds it economically feasible to earn a P.H.D in literature, and the down to earth daughter of a CEO feels equally free to become and auto mechanic."
-Anya Kamenetz
-Anya Kamenetz
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Sad News
I was fiddling around on facebook and for no particular reason went to the profile of my buddy Stephen. He is a good old boy that I met through the blog with whom I drank some beers and shot some guns while I was down South, really a nice fellow. I saw some stuff on his profile about him being injured and hospitalization and such. Well immediately I called him to see what was going on. He is not well. Some asshat assaulted him and his back was broken a bit more than a month ago. My buddy is having some real trouble and can just move around with a walker. When I talked with him there was serious concern expressed about rising medical bills. He said these bills are going to financially ruin him. Having had frank talks with him about finances and such he would not use those terms lightly.
I am really concerned about my buddy. First of all I am concerned about his health and spirit. I hope he can return to a decent quality of life. Second of all I am concerned that my friend is now in a pit of medical bills he will not be able to get out of.
Anyway if you are into praying or giving positive wishes to the shiny rock in your yard or whatever please direct some Stephen's way.
Thank you all and good night.
I am really concerned about my buddy. First of all I am concerned about his health and spirit. I hope he can return to a decent quality of life. Second of all I am concerned that my friend is now in a pit of medical bills he will not be able to get out of.
Anyway if you are into praying or giving positive wishes to the shiny rock in your yard or whatever please direct some Stephen's way.
Thank you all and good night.
My Generation
Yesterday I reviewed a very good book. Today I am going to talk about my observations on my generation, our economic futures and how things are going to go. Again I am going to make the crazy assumption that we won't be shooting neighbors in the face to protect our cereal and planting our survival gardens on every piece of ground available while we try to not starve to death. Maybe things will all go peak oil and become very localized but lets assume they won't.
I think my generation of folks who are now about 18-35 are going to be the first generation in modern American history to do worse than our parents did. I am not saying that everyone will do worse but that in the big picture most folks will.We will certainly have to work harder to get to the same place. To get what our parents got by getting a job somewhere, working there way up and saving a little bit we will have to have more education/ skills/ training, work harder, live cheaper, save relentlessly and still have some luck.
With the OK jobs going away in the broader shift to an economy of service and knowledge jobs the people who would hold these OK jobs are going to take a big hit. The nice stable hardworking kids with minimal education and few real skills are going to be the biggest losers. Jobs that comparable people in my parents generation would have gotten that paid OK and had decent benefits and retirement are now mostly downgraded to dead end jobs with low pay and no benefits. This is going to be the difference between having a nice little house and a decent middle class lifestyle and well, something less than that.
The big trend is that the risk and cost of health care and retirement are being shifted from employers and government to the individual. In short our salaries in real dollars are shrinking and what used to be benefits on top of salary (retirement and medical insurance) are now going to come out of our take home pay. Where our folks got 40k plus a pension/ matching 401k and medical insurance for the same job we are more likely to get 30k, not have 401k match or medical insurance and lack security.
We are going to switch jobs more than our folks did. Part of this is because we are seeking the rare and elusive 'good job' and also because low wages and a lack of benefits just do not inspire loyalty. Why be loyal to folks who won't bother to give benefits or stability. We are going to fundamentally lack career and income security. This is going to lead to us getting married, having children, buying homes and otherwise 'living the American dream' later or not at all. It is difficult to save or plan or get ahead long term when you don't know what you will be making in two years, let alone 5 or 10. The initial big raises in the first few years of most traditional middle class jobs followed by small, predictable annual raises are not something we are going to (for the most part) get. Instead of that nice gentle increase in income with occasional spikes (promotions, etc) which generally looks like a nice little hill that peaks at retirement we are going to have lifetime incomes that look like a mountain range. For a few years we will make barely nothing and then we will get OK jobs, maybe a good job for awhile then likely repeat that sequence a few times and retire. It is very difficult to build wealth in this sort of situation. How will we deal with all of this? I don't know how everyone else will but I have some thoughts on how I will.
Honestly in the last couple of years my expectations for the future have dropped significantly. The area of housing is where it has taken the biggest hit. I will work harder to get what my parents have, and I will get it later in life. We won't do better than our parents.
I think the 3 generation family may well be coming back, even if things don't go all TEOTWAWKI. Many of our parents (about half) have saved NOTHING for retirement and most of the rest have not saved anywhere near enough. As they leave the work place for whatever reason (mid-late 50's workers are ripe for layoffs and have a very hard time finding new jobs) they are not going to be able to afford to live anywhere near the level they desire. As they get older they will often need assistance in the home. Younger workers are often priced out of the housing market and or they might need assistance with some child care.
I know that for us a 3 generation household is probably in the future. Chances are high that my Mother in Law and Sister in Law will be living with us in the not that distant future. MIL has never really lived alone and doesn't particularly want to start. She would like to be with family and having another adult around when we (probably) have young children will be helpful. I think financial/ childcare/ housing arrangements will vary widely but I think the theme of mutual support will be widespread.
The main theme is that risk is being shifted from employers and the government to the individual. Employers are less likely to hold onto people when things get a bit bad and they are even less likely to offer benefits. I don't think I even need to get into government 'entitlements' being a joke. The risk for our security and future has been pushed onto our shoulders. Shoulders which have a very hard time finding a good job, let alone a good job that is secure.
This is going to be interesting.
I think my generation of folks who are now about 18-35 are going to be the first generation in modern American history to do worse than our parents did. I am not saying that everyone will do worse but that in the big picture most folks will.We will certainly have to work harder to get to the same place. To get what our parents got by getting a job somewhere, working there way up and saving a little bit we will have to have more education/ skills/ training, work harder, live cheaper, save relentlessly and still have some luck.
With the OK jobs going away in the broader shift to an economy of service and knowledge jobs the people who would hold these OK jobs are going to take a big hit. The nice stable hardworking kids with minimal education and few real skills are going to be the biggest losers. Jobs that comparable people in my parents generation would have gotten that paid OK and had decent benefits and retirement are now mostly downgraded to dead end jobs with low pay and no benefits. This is going to be the difference between having a nice little house and a decent middle class lifestyle and well, something less than that.
The big trend is that the risk and cost of health care and retirement are being shifted from employers and government to the individual. In short our salaries in real dollars are shrinking and what used to be benefits on top of salary (retirement and medical insurance) are now going to come out of our take home pay. Where our folks got 40k plus a pension/ matching 401k and medical insurance for the same job we are more likely to get 30k, not have 401k match or medical insurance and lack security.
We are going to switch jobs more than our folks did. Part of this is because we are seeking the rare and elusive 'good job' and also because low wages and a lack of benefits just do not inspire loyalty. Why be loyal to folks who won't bother to give benefits or stability. We are going to fundamentally lack career and income security. This is going to lead to us getting married, having children, buying homes and otherwise 'living the American dream' later or not at all. It is difficult to save or plan or get ahead long term when you don't know what you will be making in two years, let alone 5 or 10. The initial big raises in the first few years of most traditional middle class jobs followed by small, predictable annual raises are not something we are going to (for the most part) get. Instead of that nice gentle increase in income with occasional spikes (promotions, etc) which generally looks like a nice little hill that peaks at retirement we are going to have lifetime incomes that look like a mountain range. For a few years we will make barely nothing and then we will get OK jobs, maybe a good job for awhile then likely repeat that sequence a few times and retire. It is very difficult to build wealth in this sort of situation. How will we deal with all of this? I don't know how everyone else will but I have some thoughts on how I will.
Honestly in the last couple of years my expectations for the future have dropped significantly. The area of housing is where it has taken the biggest hit. I will work harder to get what my parents have, and I will get it later in life. We won't do better than our parents.
I think the 3 generation family may well be coming back, even if things don't go all TEOTWAWKI. Many of our parents (about half) have saved NOTHING for retirement and most of the rest have not saved anywhere near enough. As they leave the work place for whatever reason (mid-late 50's workers are ripe for layoffs and have a very hard time finding new jobs) they are not going to be able to afford to live anywhere near the level they desire. As they get older they will often need assistance in the home. Younger workers are often priced out of the housing market and or they might need assistance with some child care.
I know that for us a 3 generation household is probably in the future. Chances are high that my Mother in Law and Sister in Law will be living with us in the not that distant future. MIL has never really lived alone and doesn't particularly want to start. She would like to be with family and having another adult around when we (probably) have young children will be helpful. I think financial/ childcare/ housing arrangements will vary widely but I think the theme of mutual support will be widespread.
The main theme is that risk is being shifted from employers and the government to the individual. Employers are less likely to hold onto people when things get a bit bad and they are even less likely to offer benefits. I don't think I even need to get into government 'entitlements' being a joke. The risk for our security and future has been pushed onto our shoulders. Shoulders which have a very hard time finding a good job, let alone a good job that is secure.
This is going to be interesting.
Friday, December 25, 2009
Book Review: Generation Debt, Why Now Is A Terrible Time To Be Young
I just finished the book Generation Debt: Why It Is A Terrible Time To Be Young. Honestly I think if you are 18-35 or have a kid in that age range you should read this book. Here are some interesting snippets of the book:
-In 1970 the nations largest employer was GM and the starting wage was 17.50 in today's dollars. Today the largest employer is Walmart and wages start at $8.00.
-One in 8 adults has worked a McJob at McDonald's at some point. Overwhelmingly before they turn 30.
-Roughly 30% of jobs in the US require a 4 year college degree.
-In 1960 roughly 3/4's of grocery store workers were full time and they earned a livable wage and benefits. The other 1/4 were teenagers, moms who wanted to make a few bucks and the like. Now it has flip flopped.
-"It is simply not possible today to work enough to cover college expenses without taking a heavy toll on student academic performance." -Some study by an official organization (TOR notes: forgot to write down who)
-That the majority of young people in this country are wasting years of their lives in low wage, low skill jobs is an economic and moral disaster.
-The cause is not a temporary recession but structural changes in the economy. In income and occupation prestige, young adults are behind where their parents were at their age.
-The new reality is postindustrial, nonunion, service-oriented, highly competitive, highly flexible and technology-dependent.
-Today what is considered a basic standard of living has crept upwards.
TOR here: Lets just for a minute work under the assumption that we aren't going to run out of oil or suffer high altitude EMP blasts or a serious Pandemic or have something else happen which will lead to us all fighting our neighbors for our very survival in a small regional/ clannish structure of post apocalyptic America. Think Mad Max but with a few more bullets and no gas. Even if we aren't bayoneting Mr. Smith from down the block to death in order to keep the last box of Crispix on our street things are not looking great for us.
For a variety of reasons (mainly corporate cost cutting) good jobs have became mediocre jobs and formerly mediocre jobs have became dead end low paying jobs. In 1960 roughly 3/4's of grocery store workers were full time and they earned a livable wage and benefits. The other 1/4 were teenagers, moms who wanted to make a few bucks and the like. Now it has flip flopped. By and large this fairly representative of a significant change in our society. Jobs that 30 or 40 years ago would allow a guy to get married and support a family will now barely pay the rent.
Broadly speaking unions are going the way of the dinosaurs. The day a nice young man could walk down to GM (our nations largest employer not too long ago) and immediately start earning a livable wage with great benefits for doing a job that could probably be done by a well payed monkey are over. Sorry to say but they are not coming back.
Increasingly these middle class union or union like manufacturing/ miscellaneous jobs are slipping into minimum wage no benefit dead end jobs. The way things are going the two real options are low wage service jobs and the knowledge economy. The lack of a middle ground is leaving a lot more folks slipping backwards instead of going forward. It is not that there are more good jobs or more great jobs but that there are less decent jobs.
I don't think it is fair to call all folks in this age range adultessents or brand them as lazy or shiftless or whatever. I also don't think it is fair for us to just idly sit back and blame the economy or anything else for our situations.
Part of it is our expectations. We want a job that is interesting, emotionally fulfilling and pays well. Realistically we can probably get 1 or 2 of the 3 and we are lucky of pays well is in there.
For this age group who for whatever reason do not have a Bachelors degree the picture is bleak. The traditional 'get a job at the bottom, work hard and go up' which got so many non college grads of my parents era into reasonably comfortable decent paying positions with benefits are few and far between these days. For the older folks you must realize that what worked in your day doesn't work so well now.
I definitely have some thoughts about the future of my generation (again assuming I am not bayoneting the neighbors to keep my cereal) but will leave that for another post.
[Edited to include: I received compensation for last link]
-In 1970 the nations largest employer was GM and the starting wage was 17.50 in today's dollars. Today the largest employer is Walmart and wages start at $8.00.
-One in 8 adults has worked a McJob at McDonald's at some point. Overwhelmingly before they turn 30.
-Roughly 30% of jobs in the US require a 4 year college degree.
-In 1960 roughly 3/4's of grocery store workers were full time and they earned a livable wage and benefits. The other 1/4 were teenagers, moms who wanted to make a few bucks and the like. Now it has flip flopped.
-"It is simply not possible today to work enough to cover college expenses without taking a heavy toll on student academic performance." -Some study by an official organization (TOR notes: forgot to write down who)
-That the majority of young people in this country are wasting years of their lives in low wage, low skill jobs is an economic and moral disaster.
-The cause is not a temporary recession but structural changes in the economy. In income and occupation prestige, young adults are behind where their parents were at their age.
-The new reality is postindustrial, nonunion, service-oriented, highly competitive, highly flexible and technology-dependent.
-Today what is considered a basic standard of living has crept upwards.
TOR here: Lets just for a minute work under the assumption that we aren't going to run out of oil or suffer high altitude EMP blasts or a serious Pandemic or have something else happen which will lead to us all fighting our neighbors for our very survival in a small regional/ clannish structure of post apocalyptic America. Think Mad Max but with a few more bullets and no gas. Even if we aren't bayoneting Mr. Smith from down the block to death in order to keep the last box of Crispix on our street things are not looking great for us.
For a variety of reasons (mainly corporate cost cutting) good jobs have became mediocre jobs and formerly mediocre jobs have became dead end low paying jobs. In 1960 roughly 3/4's of grocery store workers were full time and they earned a livable wage and benefits. The other 1/4 were teenagers, moms who wanted to make a few bucks and the like. Now it has flip flopped. By and large this fairly representative of a significant change in our society. Jobs that 30 or 40 years ago would allow a guy to get married and support a family will now barely pay the rent.
Broadly speaking unions are going the way of the dinosaurs. The day a nice young man could walk down to GM (our nations largest employer not too long ago) and immediately start earning a livable wage with great benefits for doing a job that could probably be done by a well payed monkey are over. Sorry to say but they are not coming back.
Increasingly these middle class union or union like manufacturing/ miscellaneous jobs are slipping into minimum wage no benefit dead end jobs. The way things are going the two real options are low wage service jobs and the knowledge economy. The lack of a middle ground is leaving a lot more folks slipping backwards instead of going forward. It is not that there are more good jobs or more great jobs but that there are less decent jobs.
I don't think it is fair to call all folks in this age range adultessents or brand them as lazy or shiftless or whatever. I also don't think it is fair for us to just idly sit back and blame the economy or anything else for our situations.
Part of it is our expectations. We want a job that is interesting, emotionally fulfilling and pays well. Realistically we can probably get 1 or 2 of the 3 and we are lucky of pays well is in there.
For this age group who for whatever reason do not have a Bachelors degree the picture is bleak. The traditional 'get a job at the bottom, work hard and go up' which got so many non college grads of my parents era into reasonably comfortable decent paying positions with benefits are few and far between these days. For the older folks you must realize that what worked in your day doesn't work so well now.
I definitely have some thoughts about the future of my generation (again assuming I am not bayoneting the neighbors to keep my cereal) but will leave that for another post.
[Edited to include: I received compensation for last link]
quote of the day
"At the end of the twentieth century, businesses in all industries were cutting costs by limiting their full time staffs. So good jobs have gotten harder to find and harder to keep. To a surprising degree, the jobs haven't disappeared or been sent overseas. They've been downgraded into crap jobs."
-Anya Kamenetz
-Anya Kamenetz
Christmas Present Review
Well my list started something like this. I got a boot dryer which I am really excited about. Seeing as I wear boots to work and live in a wet, snowy place it will be very useful. Also got a cleaver which I am super excited about. With the cleaver came a Kapoosh which is a pretty awesome knife block. Now I need to get some stuff to cleave, and maybe a sheath so I can carry it around like Boris The Blade.
Also got a haul on books. Ma got me One Second After and then took a chance and threw in the newer bigger Patriots and How To Survive The End Of The World As We Know It, the latter two by Jim Rawles. My original copy of Patriots was long ago passed onto Chad. I will never see it again. Not complaining because we do shuffle things around and everybody ends up pretty even in the end albeit with different stuff. Think I may have to start ordering books in pairs or instead of giving away my copy of something I will want to re read just ordering them one for their birthday or whatever. I've got a copy of HTSTEOTWAWKI on the way already but that is just fine.
Got some emergency candles and a sweet LED lantern that Ma says is real good. It runs on D batteries which we already stock so that is convenient. Folks talk about standardization of batteries which makes sense. We stock CR123, AA and D but of course you need a few AAA's for at least one remote and some 9 volts for the fire alarm. Also picked up a first aid kit and some other little stuff. Then of course there was the GPS which is awesome.
Wifey got all sorts of womanly stuff, some clothes and decorative things and a nice sewing machine.
We had a pretty good Christmas haul here. Now for a quiet day of playing with our stuff and eating lots of great food.
Merry Christmas
Also got a haul on books. Ma got me One Second After and then took a chance and threw in the newer bigger Patriots and How To Survive The End Of The World As We Know It, the latter two by Jim Rawles. My original copy of Patriots was long ago passed onto Chad. I will never see it again. Not complaining because we do shuffle things around and everybody ends up pretty even in the end albeit with different stuff. Think I may have to start ordering books in pairs or instead of giving away my copy of something I will want to re read just ordering them one for their birthday or whatever. I've got a copy of HTSTEOTWAWKI on the way already but that is just fine.
Got some emergency candles and a sweet LED lantern that Ma says is real good. It runs on D batteries which we already stock so that is convenient. Folks talk about standardization of batteries which makes sense. We stock CR123, AA and D but of course you need a few AAA's for at least one remote and some 9 volts for the fire alarm. Also picked up a first aid kit and some other little stuff. Then of course there was the GPS which is awesome.
Wifey got all sorts of womanly stuff, some clothes and decorative things and a nice sewing machine.
We had a pretty good Christmas haul here. Now for a quiet day of playing with our stuff and eating lots of great food.
Merry Christmas
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Reviewing New Years Resolutions
About a year ago I made my New Years Resolutions. Figure this is about the time to look over them. It isn't quite the end of the year yet but if it hasn't been done it probably isn't going to be. I will comment in italics.
Fitness:
1. Stop gaining and loosing the same ten pounds, get to and stay at my goal weight of 175lbs.
Fail. I seem to be 'sticking' at 177-180. The good news is I can eat and drink just about whatever I want and stay there. The bad news is that it is really hard for me to get below there no matter what I do. Decided I am happy enough here.
2. Run two miles in 13:30 or less. Might not be maxing the APFT but being within spitting distance is good enough for me. Fail. I am running faster than I was this time last year but not that much.
Financial:
3. Rebuild our emergency fund and increase it to three months wages.
Almost Complete. We are 3 paydays away from this being complete so since it was an annual goal I will call it complete. Saving 3 months take home pay in a year is pretty awesome. For the sake of full disclosure we were able to stash about a grand we got from the move. I can honestly say I am really proud of this one. It has taken a lot of dedication and stick to it ness. The peace of mind which is coming from having a good emergency fund is pretty darn nice.
4. Add a little bit of money to the stash.
Complete. We added some cash to the stash. Since it wasn't specific I will call it complete.
Food:
5. Cook with more whole foods (meat, eggs, flour, rice, etc) and stop eating so much ready made frozen stuff.
Complete. We eat real food now and frozen and pre prepared stuff is for rare occasions. We might go get some feel good frozen stuff once a month or so.
6. Going along with #5 I want to eat more canned and shelf stable stuff regularly.
Complete.
7. Add some serious long term storage freeze dried type food to the pantry. Maybe a months worth of Mountain House? Fail. Not sure I am that concerned with it at this point.
Firearms:
8. Start working with a purpose on a stash of spare parts.
Complete.
Falls into no good category:
9. Start working on grid down power solutions. Some sort of compact solar panel setup to charge batteries and power some lights would be good.
Fail. Looking to address this one soon.
10. Get some LED lights and stuff.
Complete.
11. Be a better husband to my wonderful wife.
Complete. Of course you can always be a better spouse but in general I have made improvement in this area.
7/11 isn't too bad. I would rather aim high and not get everything done than have stupid goals I could all knock out in a weekend. Got to think about next years goals. Think the categories may be different.
Fitness:
1. Stop gaining and loosing the same ten pounds, get to and stay at my goal weight of 175lbs.
Fail. I seem to be 'sticking' at 177-180. The good news is I can eat and drink just about whatever I want and stay there. The bad news is that it is really hard for me to get below there no matter what I do. Decided I am happy enough here.
2. Run two miles in 13:30 or less. Might not be maxing the APFT but being within spitting distance is good enough for me. Fail. I am running faster than I was this time last year but not that much.
Financial:
3. Rebuild our emergency fund and increase it to three months wages.
Almost Complete. We are 3 paydays away from this being complete so since it was an annual goal I will call it complete. Saving 3 months take home pay in a year is pretty awesome. For the sake of full disclosure we were able to stash about a grand we got from the move. I can honestly say I am really proud of this one. It has taken a lot of dedication and stick to it ness. The peace of mind which is coming from having a good emergency fund is pretty darn nice.
4. Add a little bit of money to the stash.
Complete. We added some cash to the stash. Since it wasn't specific I will call it complete.
Food:
5. Cook with more whole foods (meat, eggs, flour, rice, etc) and stop eating so much ready made frozen stuff.
Complete. We eat real food now and frozen and pre prepared stuff is for rare occasions. We might go get some feel good frozen stuff once a month or so.
6. Going along with #5 I want to eat more canned and shelf stable stuff regularly.
Complete.
7. Add some serious long term storage freeze dried type food to the pantry. Maybe a months worth of Mountain House? Fail. Not sure I am that concerned with it at this point.
Firearms:
8. Start working with a purpose on a stash of spare parts.
Complete.
Falls into no good category:
9. Start working on grid down power solutions. Some sort of compact solar panel setup to charge batteries and power some lights would be good.
Fail. Looking to address this one soon.
10. Get some LED lights and stuff.
Complete.
11. Be a better husband to my wonderful wife.
Complete. Of course you can always be a better spouse but in general I have made improvement in this area.
7/11 isn't too bad. I would rather aim high and not get everything done than have stupid goals I could all knock out in a weekend. Got to think about next years goals. Think the categories may be different.
Christmas Eve Hysteria
Today we are having a pretty quiet day. Woke up and had some breakfast then ran some errands and got a couple last minute things at the store then came back home. We layed out all of our presents real nicely by our midgety fake tree in anticipation for tomorrows present opening. I was just sitting down in the chair when Cat #1 drug a present away from the pile and started attacking it.
Wifey and I both jumped to grab it from her thinking it was a book or something but then realized it was the present her little sister sent Cat #1. Even had her name on it. We decided to just let her bite and claw away. She spent about 5 minutes tearing at it and alternatively fighting off Cat #2. After much amusement she got it open and surprise it was full of some sort of cat nip toy things. We left her with the one she had and tossedone of them to Cat #2 then put the rest away for later.
Wifey took pictures of the whole thing and sent them to her little sister. She will really like that.
Wifey and I both jumped to grab it from her thinking it was a book or something but then realized it was the present her little sister sent Cat #1. Even had her name on it. We decided to just let her bite and claw away. She spent about 5 minutes tearing at it and alternatively fighting off Cat #2. After much amusement she got it open and surprise it was full of some sort of cat nip toy things. We left her with the one she had and tossedone of them to Cat #2 then put the rest away for later.
Wifey took pictures of the whole thing and sent them to her little sister. She will really like that.
quote of the day
"There is strong evidence that directly links the availability of welfare with the increase in out-of-wedlock births. ...Children raised in families on welfare are seven times more likely to become dependent on welfare than are other children... Welfare contributes to crime by destroying family structure and breaking down the bonds of community."
-The Cato Institute
-The Cato Institute
I Am Pleased To Welcome Idaho Preps To Our Blog
Anyway please take a couple minutes and check out their site. If you like something there by all means purchase it and say that I sent you!
Groups
I personally consider trust far more important than skills or stuff or really anything else they can bring to the table. Training and skills can be acquired if a person is willing to learn, doubly so if they can invest some time and money in the right places like medical and firearms training. You can't train trust and to me it is very hard to build, particularly in a short period of time and an artificial relationship. I would rather have my lifelong friend with no real training pulling watch at night than a Navy Seal who we met online going from room to room slitting throats. Whatever sort of motley crew I will assemble is going to be made up of family and lifelong friends. Not saying I talk with everyone in these groups about all of my plans but I rather selectively cherry pick the like minded individuals. On the bright side given my background I can go a reasonable way towards getting the firearms/ fighting/ small unit tactics training up to a decent standard until (ideally some day) more professional training can be sought out.
When it comes to OPSEC we have a pretty good control mechanism called paranoia. Somehow I probably ended up with the most isolationist paranoid group of friends a fellow could have. We talk about this stuff with each other but that is pretty much it.
When emergency preparedness and such come up in conversations with others (using the Lost term of everyone that isn't in the group) I stick to pretty generic advice. "It is probably a good idea to have a couple weeks worth of food around" or "Having a couple hundred bucks in small bills is probably smart" and the like. Making generic suggestions can be done without saying that you have three dozen where you hid them Krugerrands or that you have enough food for 12 people for 3 years stored at your 'hunting cabin'.
Caught Up With Maggy
I had a long instant message conversation with Maggy last night. It was good to catch up on life, friends and such. She was pretty proud that she has 3 months stored food for her and boy. Also stashed some cash into an emergency fund which is good. People have came home for Christmas and are getting together to eat, drink and be merry.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Gonna Get Drunk Drunk Drunk On Christmas
I am actually not going to get drunk on Christmas. Going to open some presents and have a quiet day and a ton of food with Wifey. This reminds me of a few family gatherings and just plain amused me when I saw it on the TV a couple minutes ago so I posted it.
quote of the day
‘I ain’t gonna shoot anyone, and no one shoots at me, cos I’ve got a gun’”
-Steve Lee
I did find it interesting that he is Australian seeing as they currently have a pretty neutered form of gun ownership but the song is catchy all the same.
-Steve Lee
I did find it interesting that he is Australian seeing as they currently have a pretty neutered form of gun ownership but the song is catchy all the same.
Just An Idea I've Been Kicking Around
Doing food storage for a group is something I've been kicking around. A bunch of friends showing up at the same place is great. Many hands make light work and defense would be much more practical with several adults instead of a couple. The rub is that if you have a bunch of people get together without ample food stores you will be safe to sit around playing cards and starving to death. In theory it would work just fine to say "everybody store a years worth of food for their whole family" but I don't have great confidence in that plan. For guns just saying "everyone buy these" is easy enough but food storage is significantly more complicated and the stakes are a lot higher. Even though I think group standard firearms are important admittedly the chances that your lives will depend on everyone carrying the same pistol are low. Food storage matters a lot.
Lots of folks do investment clubs and such. I have considered doing more or less the same thing but with food. Everyone throws in $50 or $100 or $200 or whatever a month. Do keep in mind that the monthly contribution needs to be guided by the member who can contribute the least, not the one who can contribute the most. Take the cash and just save it up then do group purchases and packing at mutually convenient times. Said food could be stored centrally at a retreat or at individual residences until a retreat could be established.
Everybody gets to benefit from the buying power of larger numbers and IMO the right group will pull people toward making better decisions than they would alone. Also they benefit from knowing there is sufficient food for them and their friends to eat for a long time.
I don't think this would work perfectly for everybody. Being accountable to your friends sort of goes against the whole independent if just for the sake of being independent mindet many of us have.It would require some amount of centralization of decision making and trust. Then again if you and these folks can't make the decision to buy rice and beans and some freeze dried together now how can you expect to make life and death decisions together later.
Thoughts or experiences?
Lots of folks do investment clubs and such. I have considered doing more or less the same thing but with food. Everyone throws in $50 or $100 or $200 or whatever a month. Do keep in mind that the monthly contribution needs to be guided by the member who can contribute the least, not the one who can contribute the most. Take the cash and just save it up then do group purchases and packing at mutually convenient times. Said food could be stored centrally at a retreat or at individual residences until a retreat could be established.
Everybody gets to benefit from the buying power of larger numbers and IMO the right group will pull people toward making better decisions than they would alone. Also they benefit from knowing there is sufficient food for them and their friends to eat for a long time.
I don't think this would work perfectly for everybody. Being accountable to your friends sort of goes against the whole independent if just for the sake of being independent mindet many of us have.It would require some amount of centralization of decision making and trust. Then again if you and these folks can't make the decision to buy rice and beans and some freeze dried together now how can you expect to make life and death decisions together later.
Thoughts or experiences?
Get Writing and Win A Free Berkey Filter!
Just wanted to take a minute to remind you all of our writing contest. I know it is a busy season but it is worth your time to take 20 minutes and write something for submission. The Go Berkey Kit is a pretty awesome prize and well worth a few minutes of your time. You have nothing to lose and were going to just spend that 20 minutes idly fiddling on the computer anyway so write something and have a shot at winning great free stuff.
Some folks may be put off because they are more of a reader/ commenter than writer. You are all smart folks and I know you have some real skills and interesting stories. Writing about what you know is a sure way to get a great product.
In closing I just want to thank Our Happy Homestead for stepping up with a great prize for one lucky writer/ reader.
In closing I just want to thank Our Happy Homestead for stepping up with a great prize for one lucky writer/ reader.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
quote of the day
"If the 20th century taught us anything, it is that the one category you don't want to find yourself in is "refugee."
-Jim Rawles
-Jim Rawles
Prioritization, What To Buy When And How Much
My recent post has had me thinking about prioritization for a few days. Aside from skills and luck what we need to survive is stuff. Skills are great but it is about impossible to win a gunfight without a gun and even the best mechanic can't fix much of anything without appropriate tools. It can be debated exactly how much stuff we need or what exact kind of stuff but there is a pretty general consensus on the need for some stuff. If you are anything like me the way you buy this stuff is by saving up for it. Sometimes you know that you are saving for X. Other times you don't really have anything in mind and you just stash cash until you build up a decent pile and then figure it out.
As noted before what we buy and how much of it we should get can be debated from many valid angles. Without delving into the exact deals of every supply you may need I think we can all agree that getting the right stuff in the right quantities is important. While there are few items that are downright useless for survival the real issue is that we are dealing with a finite amount of money. If you spend a thousand dollars on a fancy fly fishing rod you can not spend that same thousand dollars on a whole bunch of food, a few cans of gas, and a shotgun with some ammo or in any other more useful way. [Not to say you shouldn't want or can't have a nice fly fishing rod. We've all got hobbies and if you can afford it then by all means indulge yourself. I am just saying that your preparedness dollars could be better spent elsewhere.]
Anyway I am going to try and lay out a general set of guidelines for prioritizing future purchases and making smart choices with your limited resources. This might not answer the question of if you should buy wool blankets or shotgun shells or AA batteries next month. However hopefully it at least gives you some things to consider to getting toward the right path.
-First be a little human. Is there something that is really bothering you? Within reason (a retreat or a thousand dollar rifle is not what I am talking about, big purchases should be planned) if the lack of something is really worrying you then get it. Maybe your lack of canned meat is an issue or not having any stored gas is driving you nuts. Buying a case of SPAM or a couple 5 gallon cans of gas is darn cheap peace of mind. Peace of mind is what preparedness is all about. What causes these emotions in us is generally not logical so we can't let this rule our purchases but from time to time indulging this emotion is OK.
-Second be dispassionate. The list of lists available in How To Survive The End Of The World As We Know It by Jim Rawles is a great place to start. That alone is worth the price of the book IMO. You might disagree with Rawles on many things and I am not saying you need to take this list as a bible but it is a really good place to start.
Going along with this you need to realize the areas you have a hard time being dispassionate about. We are after all human and we like stuff. Lots of us like guns and others like woodworking tools and others like fishing gear or motorcycles. We tend to indulge in the things we like out of proportion. Not saying I am perfect here, none of us are and I am probably a bit gun heavy. Just saying it is something to beware of.
-Third look at cost. If you spend two dollars on something you could get for one dollar that is a buck that can't go elsewhere. We do have to be specific and make sure we are talking about like items and comparing what we actually are looking for. For example the categories of "rifle" and "rifle that is capable of rapidly engaging multiple targets from 0-400 meters and is quickly reloaded" are pretty different.
Within a category costs should be considered. Lower costs will let you either put more resources elsewhere or pick up spares of the same item. I recently purchased a Cold Steel Voyager for about 50 bucks (can't remember). I could have chosen a 230 dollar Benchmade switchblade which are really awesome. I totally want one. However for the price of that Benchmade I could get 4 Voyagers and a couple books or any varying combination of 1,2 or 3 knives and other stuff.
-Fourth is to focus on more probably scenarios and then move to less likely ones. These scenarios will guide your purchases. What would you need for a power outage or some sort of local civil unrest? Well a pistol and a shotgun with a couple hundred rounds of ammo each would be nice. At a minimum they are comforting to have around. You will also want enough food and water to just sit at home for a week or maybe two and a plan for heating and lighting would be nice. Some cash and a few other odds and ends would be nice. Maybe a couple cans of gas to fill up the vehicle so you can drive to Grandma's in a safe area.
What about a regional disaster like Katrina? Well I would want all of the above mentioned stuff to start. Throw in a rifle with plenty of ammo and make it enough food and water for at least a month. Instead of a wad of ones and a couple 20's I would want at least a few hundred bucks in cash. Having some plans for sanitation and such would be good. A solid first aid kit and some training would be advisable as going to the local ER or calling 911 might not be an option. Instead of gas to get to grandma's 100 miles away you might need to be able to travel 200-300 miles with a lot of stop and go to get to a place that is in the clear.
Of course for a pandemic all of that stuff would be good but you would want food and water for 90 days to 6 months. In addition to the good all around first aid kit you started out with I would stock up on lots of OTC cold meds and some other stuff.
-Fifth think of proportion. The goal is to have every area more or less proportionate to the others. Having three years worth of food and a dozen guns is fine and dandy but it is really hard to fit all that stuff in the family car you are living in when you get kicked out of your residence because you lost your job and had no emergency fund. Being able to shoot like a total killer is useless if you are in such disgusting shape that you have a heart attack when you hear a voice in the garage at 3am. I think you get the point.
You are only as good as your weakest link so don't have any weak links!
-Finally I would say that record keeping is important. Have you ever thought you had a lot of a particular item and then later found out you didn't? Have you ever all of a sudden found out that you have a whole bunch of something you didn't think you have much of? Both have happened to me. For big ticket items like guns or solar panels or gold coins it is pretty easy to keep track in our heads. However off the top of my head I can't tell you exactly how many Glock mags or tarps or machetes we have, I could probably get close but not dead on. With items that are stocked in large variety and quantity like food it is just not realistic to keep that stuff in your head. To navigate you need to know where you are and were you are going. Record keeping tells you where you are.
I think those 6 guidelines are at least worth thinking about. Thoughts?
-Merry Christmas
As noted before what we buy and how much of it we should get can be debated from many valid angles. Without delving into the exact deals of every supply you may need I think we can all agree that getting the right stuff in the right quantities is important. While there are few items that are downright useless for survival the real issue is that we are dealing with a finite amount of money. If you spend a thousand dollars on a fancy fly fishing rod you can not spend that same thousand dollars on a whole bunch of food, a few cans of gas, and a shotgun with some ammo or in any other more useful way. [Not to say you shouldn't want or can't have a nice fly fishing rod. We've all got hobbies and if you can afford it then by all means indulge yourself. I am just saying that your preparedness dollars could be better spent elsewhere.]
Anyway I am going to try and lay out a general set of guidelines for prioritizing future purchases and making smart choices with your limited resources. This might not answer the question of if you should buy wool blankets or shotgun shells or AA batteries next month. However hopefully it at least gives you some things to consider to getting toward the right path.
-First be a little human. Is there something that is really bothering you? Within reason (a retreat or a thousand dollar rifle is not what I am talking about, big purchases should be planned) if the lack of something is really worrying you then get it. Maybe your lack of canned meat is an issue or not having any stored gas is driving you nuts. Buying a case of SPAM or a couple 5 gallon cans of gas is darn cheap peace of mind. Peace of mind is what preparedness is all about. What causes these emotions in us is generally not logical so we can't let this rule our purchases but from time to time indulging this emotion is OK.
-Second be dispassionate. The list of lists available in How To Survive The End Of The World As We Know It by Jim Rawles is a great place to start. That alone is worth the price of the book IMO. You might disagree with Rawles on many things and I am not saying you need to take this list as a bible but it is a really good place to start.
Going along with this you need to realize the areas you have a hard time being dispassionate about. We are after all human and we like stuff. Lots of us like guns and others like woodworking tools and others like fishing gear or motorcycles. We tend to indulge in the things we like out of proportion. Not saying I am perfect here, none of us are and I am probably a bit gun heavy. Just saying it is something to beware of.
-Third look at cost. If you spend two dollars on something you could get for one dollar that is a buck that can't go elsewhere. We do have to be specific and make sure we are talking about like items and comparing what we actually are looking for. For example the categories of "rifle" and "rifle that is capable of rapidly engaging multiple targets from 0-400 meters and is quickly reloaded" are pretty different.
Within a category costs should be considered. Lower costs will let you either put more resources elsewhere or pick up spares of the same item. I recently purchased a Cold Steel Voyager for about 50 bucks (can't remember). I could have chosen a 230 dollar Benchmade switchblade which are really awesome. I totally want one. However for the price of that Benchmade I could get 4 Voyagers and a couple books or any varying combination of 1,2 or 3 knives and other stuff.
-Fourth is to focus on more probably scenarios and then move to less likely ones. These scenarios will guide your purchases. What would you need for a power outage or some sort of local civil unrest? Well a pistol and a shotgun with a couple hundred rounds of ammo each would be nice. At a minimum they are comforting to have around. You will also want enough food and water to just sit at home for a week or maybe two and a plan for heating and lighting would be nice. Some cash and a few other odds and ends would be nice. Maybe a couple cans of gas to fill up the vehicle so you can drive to Grandma's in a safe area.
What about a regional disaster like Katrina? Well I would want all of the above mentioned stuff to start. Throw in a rifle with plenty of ammo and make it enough food and water for at least a month. Instead of a wad of ones and a couple 20's I would want at least a few hundred bucks in cash. Having some plans for sanitation and such would be good. A solid first aid kit and some training would be advisable as going to the local ER or calling 911 might not be an option. Instead of gas to get to grandma's 100 miles away you might need to be able to travel 200-300 miles with a lot of stop and go to get to a place that is in the clear.
Of course for a pandemic all of that stuff would be good but you would want food and water for 90 days to 6 months. In addition to the good all around first aid kit you started out with I would stock up on lots of OTC cold meds and some other stuff.
-Fifth think of proportion. The goal is to have every area more or less proportionate to the others. Having three years worth of food and a dozen guns is fine and dandy but it is really hard to fit all that stuff in the family car you are living in when you get kicked out of your residence because you lost your job and had no emergency fund. Being able to shoot like a total killer is useless if you are in such disgusting shape that you have a heart attack when you hear a voice in the garage at 3am. I think you get the point.
You are only as good as your weakest link so don't have any weak links!
-Finally I would say that record keeping is important. Have you ever thought you had a lot of a particular item and then later found out you didn't? Have you ever all of a sudden found out that you have a whole bunch of something you didn't think you have much of? Both have happened to me. For big ticket items like guns or solar panels or gold coins it is pretty easy to keep track in our heads. However off the top of my head I can't tell you exactly how many Glock mags or tarps or machetes we have, I could probably get close but not dead on. With items that are stocked in large variety and quantity like food it is just not realistic to keep that stuff in your head. To navigate you need to know where you are and were you are going. Record keeping tells you where you are.
I think those 6 guidelines are at least worth thinking about. Thoughts?
-Merry Christmas
Monday, December 21, 2009
Machetes and Mosins
Prepper Myth Busters: Dropping Out To Your Land
Mayberry wrote a great post today. I enjoy his blog a lot, enough so in fact that I read it daily. However today's post had me thinking all day long. So here we go. The whole dropping out of society idea (to your little piece of land to grow stuff) is probably second only to Batman in the Boondocks in terms of ideas which need to be examined. I don't think any sane people consider Batman in the Boondocks a good plan so that one is already taken care of.
I do not think this idea so much needs to be busted as tempered to reality. It is often followed by a series of what are IMO unrealistic ideas. Some of them are just a touch foolhardy and others are slightly dangerous.
The idea goes something like this. Quit your job, buy a trailer and a chunk of land and live there to grow stuff happily ever after. Since you can grow your own food you need almost no money and thus can just do whatever suits your fancy and be left alone by the government and out of the system.
Well the first problem is that you will still need money. At a minimum you need to pay property taxes. For a couple acres of junk land this isn't generally a huge issue but it just goes to show very clearly that you are going to have to earn at least some cash. Also you will probably want a vehicle for getting around. In order to be legal and not get hastled by the cops you will need insurance which costs something also.
The price, quality and water access of land is a big wild card here. Often the 'junk land' that we speak of in this context is well, pretty junky. If it was nice prime land with water people would probably be growing something there. This of course depends so wildly on region and can vary significantly even well below the county level. The cost of a few acres of productive land is often going to be higher than for an acre of unproductive land without water.
It is worth noting that zoning varies widely throughout the country and even in individual states. In some places you can do a lot without any permits or restrictions but there are still almost always some rules. Sorry.
So I don't think anyone would argue that they will need to have some income. I think if you make less than 5k a year there is no need to pay taxes. Going 'underground' [I pay my taxes and suggest you do the same:] also goes with the whole unplugging from the system vibe. The first thing to consider is "the wedge" but also consider what going underground will do for your situation. How would you imagine your take home will change, sort of a personal wedge. For example quitting your job as an ER Doc because you pay too much in taxes to make 10 bucks an hour driving fence posts would be false economics. Yeah you avoid taxes but your take home income dropped 85%, talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face.
Some jobs and skill sets transfer to the underground economy far better than others do. I can't go into work tomorrow and say I want them to pay me cash instead of direct deposit. As noted above quitting a good paying job to take a huge cut in pay and save a few bucks on taxes doesn't pass the smell test as a strategy. I can note that in my observations the skilled trades go to the underground quite smoothly. Many contractors, plumbers and electricians are basically one man shows anyway. Also the people they deal with tend to often be other one man shows (hiring help when they need it) and for a variety of reasons often deal in cash or are at least open to doing so. These folks tend to be either somewhat involved in the underground economy, or at least sympathetic to it. I once knew some guys who worked for a tree service and their boss was nice enough to loan them tools (mainly stump grinders) to do small size jobs on the weekend for cash.
For many people going completely underground isn't an option. However the one foot in one foot out approach could work and in many ways is more desirable anyway. Unless you live really dirt cheap being able to say you make no money will not stand up to any IRS scrutiny. Though if you report 30 and take home 40 by forgetting to report that you work for cash on the weekends it would be hard to notice without serious investigation. Maybe your spouses stable over the table job stays but your business goes all or partially underground.
My other big concern is that people think they can almost eliminate the need to bring money in. They thing, I have a rifle and a truck and the trailer/ land are paid for so I just need a few bucks for propane and taxes. In reality they have cut their housing costs dramatically and may have eliminated some bills by going off grid. The smart money folks say that housing should cost 25-33% of your take home which is a lot but doesn't eliminate the need for income. Of course you can cut in other areas but will still need income above and beyond that super low subsistence level. The need to have savings (cash and in the bank) and a fundamental surplus in income are not escaped by getting an acre and a travel trailer. Of course living gentile poverty style does mean it doesn't take a lot to get by. Maybe you need $400 a month to live, so you need to earn $600. Stuff is going to break and you will need to fix or replace that stuff. In most of these super bare bone budgets there isn't much slack (preps could cover this here or there but that's not a long term solution) and I wouldn't want to have to choose between not getting enough propane to cook and not freeze at night or getting fewer beans.
I guess in closing you can drastically seperate yourself from 'the system' by having a paid off residence where you can grow your own food and earning your income partway or totally underground. Following this train of thought will let you get by earning at least 1/3rd less money and not worrying about food. You can not however completely drop out of 'the system' because of the inescapable need to earn at least some income and local zoning regulations. So you can't escape the system but you can sure visit it less often.
Thoughts?
I do not think this idea so much needs to be busted as tempered to reality. It is often followed by a series of what are IMO unrealistic ideas. Some of them are just a touch foolhardy and others are slightly dangerous.
The idea goes something like this. Quit your job, buy a trailer and a chunk of land and live there to grow stuff happily ever after. Since you can grow your own food you need almost no money and thus can just do whatever suits your fancy and be left alone by the government and out of the system.
Well the first problem is that you will still need money. At a minimum you need to pay property taxes. For a couple acres of junk land this isn't generally a huge issue but it just goes to show very clearly that you are going to have to earn at least some cash. Also you will probably want a vehicle for getting around. In order to be legal and not get hastled by the cops you will need insurance which costs something also.
The price, quality and water access of land is a big wild card here. Often the 'junk land' that we speak of in this context is well, pretty junky. If it was nice prime land with water people would probably be growing something there. This of course depends so wildly on region and can vary significantly even well below the county level. The cost of a few acres of productive land is often going to be higher than for an acre of unproductive land without water.
It is worth noting that zoning varies widely throughout the country and even in individual states. In some places you can do a lot without any permits or restrictions but there are still almost always some rules. Sorry.
So I don't think anyone would argue that they will need to have some income. I think if you make less than 5k a year there is no need to pay taxes. Going 'underground' [I pay my taxes and suggest you do the same:] also goes with the whole unplugging from the system vibe. The first thing to consider is "the wedge" but also consider what going underground will do for your situation. How would you imagine your take home will change, sort of a personal wedge. For example quitting your job as an ER Doc because you pay too much in taxes to make 10 bucks an hour driving fence posts would be false economics. Yeah you avoid taxes but your take home income dropped 85%, talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face.
Some jobs and skill sets transfer to the underground economy far better than others do. I can't go into work tomorrow and say I want them to pay me cash instead of direct deposit. As noted above quitting a good paying job to take a huge cut in pay and save a few bucks on taxes doesn't pass the smell test as a strategy. I can note that in my observations the skilled trades go to the underground quite smoothly. Many contractors, plumbers and electricians are basically one man shows anyway. Also the people they deal with tend to often be other one man shows (hiring help when they need it) and for a variety of reasons often deal in cash or are at least open to doing so. These folks tend to be either somewhat involved in the underground economy, or at least sympathetic to it. I once knew some guys who worked for a tree service and their boss was nice enough to loan them tools (mainly stump grinders) to do small size jobs on the weekend for cash.
For many people going completely underground isn't an option. However the one foot in one foot out approach could work and in many ways is more desirable anyway. Unless you live really dirt cheap being able to say you make no money will not stand up to any IRS scrutiny. Though if you report 30 and take home 40 by forgetting to report that you work for cash on the weekends it would be hard to notice without serious investigation. Maybe your spouses stable over the table job stays but your business goes all or partially underground.
My other big concern is that people think they can almost eliminate the need to bring money in. They thing, I have a rifle and a truck and the trailer/ land are paid for so I just need a few bucks for propane and taxes. In reality they have cut their housing costs dramatically and may have eliminated some bills by going off grid. The smart money folks say that housing should cost 25-33% of your take home which is a lot but doesn't eliminate the need for income. Of course you can cut in other areas but will still need income above and beyond that super low subsistence level. The need to have savings (cash and in the bank) and a fundamental surplus in income are not escaped by getting an acre and a travel trailer. Of course living gentile poverty style does mean it doesn't take a lot to get by. Maybe you need $400 a month to live, so you need to earn $600. Stuff is going to break and you will need to fix or replace that stuff. In most of these super bare bone budgets there isn't much slack (preps could cover this here or there but that's not a long term solution) and I wouldn't want to have to choose between not getting enough propane to cook and not freeze at night or getting fewer beans.
I guess in closing you can drastically seperate yourself from 'the system' by having a paid off residence where you can grow your own food and earning your income partway or totally underground. Following this train of thought will let you get by earning at least 1/3rd less money and not worrying about food. You can not however completely drop out of 'the system' because of the inescapable need to earn at least some income and local zoning regulations. So you can't escape the system but you can sure visit it less often.
Thoughts?
quote of the day
An old SEAL once told me, “Guys need to push themselves away from the desk, put down the 'tactical wannabe gear,' and run!”
-Jared O
-Jared O
Sunday, December 20, 2009
What Did You Do To Prepare This Week?
This week some pretty decent stuff got done. Got the new knife which was cool. Bought some extra food at the store which is always fun. Today Wifey and I totally reorganized our cupboards. We put like items together and look redundant items to the basement for storage. It is good to have spares of stuff but the cupboards in the kitchen don't need to have 20 pounds of flour. Set stuff on shelves down there in a nice organized way. Tomorrow I am going to go make a spreadsheet and record what is down there. Filled up some water jugs.
Working out was iffy as I worked ridiculous hours but I did get some nice runs in which is good.
None of this stuff is huge but it definitely forward progress. Every play isn't going to be a touch down but nothing happens if you aren't making forward progress.
This week I want to get some good stuff done before Christmas. Going to pick up a few things and dial into a solid routine of both running and lifting.
Since I am going to be on a half day schedule and Wifey is working a couple days this week I will be cooking more. Today I made corn bread muffins and from scratch chili. It came out looking far more like taco meat than chili but after some Wifey assistance it was pretty darn good. Tomorrow I am making French Bread pizza which is sort of like hitting off a T since the bread is already made. Going to do some thinking about that solar setup and maybe buy it.
Working out was iffy as I worked ridiculous hours but I did get some nice runs in which is good.
None of this stuff is huge but it definitely forward progress. Every play isn't going to be a touch down but nothing happens if you aren't making forward progress.
This week I want to get some good stuff done before Christmas. Going to pick up a few things and dial into a solid routine of both running and lifting.
Since I am going to be on a half day schedule and Wifey is working a couple days this week I will be cooking more. Today I made corn bread muffins and from scratch chili. It came out looking far more like taco meat than chili but after some Wifey assistance it was pretty darn good. Tomorrow I am making French Bread pizza which is sort of like hitting off a T since the bread is already made. Going to do some thinking about that solar setup and maybe buy it.
Question of the Day
Does your group/ family/militia whatever you wannna call it have standard firearms? If so what are they?
Gratuitous 1911 Pics: Clearing Up The Desktop
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Priorities and Solar Power
Yesterday on facebook I said this:
Not sure why the font changes.
-Merry Christmas.
So much junk I can use. Think I will probably get some more 9mm glock mags just to be safe. After that I can use a case of .223 and a half case of 7.62x39 plus another half case of 9mm and some shotgun. Then I can be done with ammo at least for what I have now. After that some sort of compact solar power type setup would be nice. What are your thoughts on this and what can you use?
Today I have been rethinking my priorities. It is just too easy to get gun centric. I would like more Glock mags and some ammo to get to the ratios which will make me happy. Really I already have a decent amount of both, at least enough so they can slide back a bit in terms of priority. I am thinking about a compact solar power setup as my next major purchase. Somewhere after that a nice Berkey water filter would be good to have. I've got a pretty nice water filter (and another somewhere in the warehouse from my backpacking days) now so this isn't an immediate need but a nice at home setup would be cool to have. After that another dozen Glock mags (plus a few onesies and twosies for other guns) and a few cases of ammo will be purchased for my long term paranoid gun owner happiness.
Not sure why the font changes.
The Sunforce 50044 60-Watt Solar Charging Kit seems like a nice place to start when it comes to producing my own energy. I checked my preparedness wad of cash today and it would allow the purchase of this setup. Being able to run some sort of lights and charge small electronics/ batteries would be spifferiffic.
Do you guys think this would be a good purchase? If not what sort of alternative energy setup would you suggest to meet limited emergency goals on a budget? Any sort of help would be appreciated as I am not knowlegable in this area.
-Merry Christmas.
Focus On Yourself
Focus on yourself. Focus on doing what you can do. Everybody has a unique situation so what works for one person won't necessarily work for another. Maybe you have a job which makes good money that you can do from anywhere so you live on a nice ranch/ farm out in the hinderboonies. You might be tied by job or family to an area that isn't ideal. Maybe you have complex medical needs and physical limitations which will prevent you from a self sufficient lifestyle and require you to live near certain medical facilities.
Economics are probably the area where we have the biggest variation. Of course you can't spend money you don't have and being into debt up to your eyeballs isn't prudent. We have to choose how to allocate our limited resources to best meet our needs and desires. For folks who don't have much of a surplus after meeting basic life sustaining requirements little if anything is left over. This means for a lot of folks the option is to figure out how to prep on a small or nonexistent budget or to not prep at all. [Please don't get discouraged and think you can't afford to become prepared.]
All of our situations are so unique that it is impossible to really measure ourselves by anybody else. We all have different incomes, obligations and spending habits.
Even in the theoretically non materialistic area of preparedness we often measure ourselves against others. The temptation to keep up with the Jones family is high. They have a safe full of nice spiffy rifles and cement bunker house with a big barn while you just have a couple well used not at all tacticool guns and a mobile home with a 3 sided shed in back. We say we aren't materialistic but it is just that we are being materialistic about different stuff.
As much as possible try to ignore what everybody else has or doesn't have or whatever. Work on what you can do. If you aren't where you want to be then figure out a realistic path to an attainable (for you) situation. It might be a 2 year plan to the set of guns you have been drolling over for years. It might be a 5 year plan to having a couple acres with a little off grid cabin (that some folks might call a shack) and a CONEX to store some gear. Maybe in 10 years you want to retire to your 'hunting cabin'.
Economics are probably the area where we have the biggest variation. Of course you can't spend money you don't have and being into debt up to your eyeballs isn't prudent. We have to choose how to allocate our limited resources to best meet our needs and desires. For folks who don't have much of a surplus after meeting basic life sustaining requirements little if anything is left over. This means for a lot of folks the option is to figure out how to prep on a small or nonexistent budget or to not prep at all. [Please don't get discouraged and think you can't afford to become prepared.]
All of our situations are so unique that it is impossible to really measure ourselves by anybody else. We all have different incomes, obligations and spending habits.
Even in the theoretically non materialistic area of preparedness we often measure ourselves against others. The temptation to keep up with the Jones family is high. They have a safe full of nice spiffy rifles and cement bunker house with a big barn while you just have a couple well used not at all tacticool guns and a mobile home with a 3 sided shed in back. We say we aren't materialistic but it is just that we are being materialistic about different stuff.
As much as possible try to ignore what everybody else has or doesn't have or whatever. Work on what you can do. If you aren't where you want to be then figure out a realistic path to an attainable (for you) situation. It might be a 2 year plan to the set of guns you have been drolling over for years. It might be a 5 year plan to having a couple acres with a little off grid cabin (that some folks might call a shack) and a CONEX to store some gear. Maybe in 10 years you want to retire to your 'hunting cabin'.
Friday, December 18, 2009
Christmas Season Writing Contest
1. The first rule is that to win you have to write something.
I am not going to put any constraints on what type of a post you can enter. It could be fiction or nonfiction or whatever you want. [My personal advise is to write what you know. For example I am a lifelong outdoorsmen, a guy who experiments with eating cheap, and an Infantrymen. You will not catch me writing about how to convert a 1998 Ford F250 Diesel to run on Coca Cola but I can probably write about load out gear or camping or close quarters marksmanship.]
2. The second rule is that the contest ends at New Years Eve. If you send something a couple hours late it will probably make it it but more than that is doubtful.
3. To enter a submission just send your submission to theotherryan@gmail.com and eagerly await the results.
4. The results will be announced 10-15 days after the contest ends. I will judge the contest personally and in the event of a close finish I will illicit the assistance of my wife and our friendly sponsor.
* Articles submitted may be used as future guest posts on TSLRF.
I just want to take a second to thank the good folks at Our Happy Homestead for making this possible.
Great Movie For Realistic Action
As a little kid I was lucky enough to be in a family where I was able to watch movies which the Nancy Waist child development specialists would say were excessively violent for my age. This was a great era for slightly simplistic and completely unrealistic but totally awesome action movies. Steven Segal, Arnold The Governator and Silvester Stallone were all in their primes doing awesome stuff in the early to mid 90's. Their movies were completely awesome and totally unrealistic.
Remember the time Steven Segal beat up an entire bar full of guys with a cue ball inside a bar rag? I do and it was awesome.
Never would have happened but totally awesome. Sorry to say it but no matter what you know if you are simultaneously fighting a dozen tough guys who are not going to quit if one of them gets jacked up pretty bad you will loose. Short of your friends showing up or getting your hands on a piece the only real chance is to destroy one of them so badly the rest loose heart. People who fight in groups loosely fall into the categories of complete cowards following one semi tough jerk or a very dangerous group of people. Maybe it is number 3 or 4 or 5 you are fighting when somebody takes you out but somebody will. Anyway moving on.
These movies were great fun and I still watch them from time to time when they come on the telly. My largely symbolic co authors and I often have bad action movie marathons. They are however completely unrealistic which leaves a little something to be desired.
Last weekend (or maybe the one before) the movie Collateral came on the TV. I have a copy of this movie but we just let it roll on the TV. It is a pretty darn good movie. Admittedly having either Jamie Fox and Tom Cruise is a darn good start for any movie. Having both is just about a done deal. Maybe it is that they made it a great movie or maybe they chose it because it is a great movie. In any case it is a darn good movie.
Tom Cruise plays a pretty good grizzled psycho. Personally I think every movie he has ever made should be re done with Vincent as his character. Think about it. Risky Business with Vincent?
What really sealed the deal for me was the awesome realistic action.
What movies do you enjoy for realistic action?
Remember the time Steven Segal beat up an entire bar full of guys with a cue ball inside a bar rag? I do and it was awesome.
Never would have happened but totally awesome. Sorry to say it but no matter what you know if you are simultaneously fighting a dozen tough guys who are not going to quit if one of them gets jacked up pretty bad you will loose. Short of your friends showing up or getting your hands on a piece the only real chance is to destroy one of them so badly the rest loose heart. People who fight in groups loosely fall into the categories of complete cowards following one semi tough jerk or a very dangerous group of people. Maybe it is number 3 or 4 or 5 you are fighting when somebody takes you out but somebody will. Anyway moving on.
These movies were great fun and I still watch them from time to time when they come on the telly. My largely symbolic co authors and I often have bad action movie marathons. They are however completely unrealistic which leaves a little something to be desired.
Last weekend (or maybe the one before) the movie Collateral came on the TV. I have a copy of this movie but we just let it roll on the TV. It is a pretty darn good movie. Admittedly having either Jamie Fox and Tom Cruise is a darn good start for any movie. Having both is just about a done deal. Maybe it is that they made it a great movie or maybe they chose it because it is a great movie. In any case it is a darn good movie.
Tom Cruise plays a pretty good grizzled psycho. Personally I think every movie he has ever made should be re done with Vincent as his character. Think about it. Risky Business with Vincent?
What really sealed the deal for me was the awesome realistic action.
What movies do you enjoy for realistic action?
Thursday, December 17, 2009
New Knife!
I work ridiculously long days (11.5-12 is the norm) but one nice thing is that slipping out for a few minutes to do something is fine. I had left work to do something and decided to swing by the mail room. We had a small package and I had a pretty good idea what it was.
One of the brutal ironies of life is that in order to open a package with a knife you need to have a knife. Seriously it is just sort of rediculous. Thankfully I had been carrying a random Gerber knife in my pocket so the package did get opened. It was a large tanto style 50/50 serated Cold Steel Voyager. I have been sort of checking it out today and to be honest I am impressed. It seems to be a really sturdy very high quality knife, basically what you expect from Cold Steel. Don't remember exactly what I paid but it was pretty reasonable for a quality knife. It is pretty big and probably up to every task I will realistically use it for. Heaven forbid I have to play who can kill who with a knife first with somebody this wouldn't be a bad one to have. It is bulkier than the comparably sized Spyderco because instead of having a slim handle that is tiny at the end this one had a nice real full handle.
Some folks use really cheap knives. I think they are generally junk though some knives are just simple and a really good value. Also some other folks carry super expensive knives. I just can't see dropping hundreds of dollars on a knife. After all it is a pocket knife and occasionally they can get lost or whatever. I just can't see spending so much on a knife that I would hesitate to use it. I use knives mostly for increadibly mundane stuff but occasionally circumstances dictate that I am rough on them. Thinking that I don't want to scratch the glossy Navy SEAL tested, super optimized finish on a knife will not do. If I must I will use a knife to cut stuff it is not intended to cut or pry or as a screwdriver and would not want to hesitate in a time of need.
Anyway I have a new knife which is cool.
One of the brutal ironies of life is that in order to open a package with a knife you need to have a knife. Seriously it is just sort of rediculous. Thankfully I had been carrying a random Gerber knife in my pocket so the package did get opened. It was a large tanto style 50/50 serated Cold Steel Voyager. I have been sort of checking it out today and to be honest I am impressed. It seems to be a really sturdy very high quality knife, basically what you expect from Cold Steel. Don't remember exactly what I paid but it was pretty reasonable for a quality knife. It is pretty big and probably up to every task I will realistically use it for. Heaven forbid I have to play who can kill who with a knife first with somebody this wouldn't be a bad one to have. It is bulkier than the comparably sized Spyderco because instead of having a slim handle that is tiny at the end this one had a nice real full handle.
Some folks use really cheap knives. I think they are generally junk though some knives are just simple and a really good value. Also some other folks carry super expensive knives. I just can't see dropping hundreds of dollars on a knife. After all it is a pocket knife and occasionally they can get lost or whatever. I just can't see spending so much on a knife that I would hesitate to use it. I use knives mostly for increadibly mundane stuff but occasionally circumstances dictate that I am rough on them. Thinking that I don't want to scratch the glossy Navy SEAL tested, super optimized finish on a knife will not do. If I must I will use a knife to cut stuff it is not intended to cut or pry or as a screwdriver and would not want to hesitate in a time of need.
Anyway I have a new knife which is cool.
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