Financial peace is an appealing idea. Basically it goes like this, having a financial situation is where you can do what you want. I am not talking wealthy or do whatever you want tomorrow, crazy rich. I am talking being able to quit your job tomorrow should you decide to. Being able to retire early or move across the country (to a free state;) or what not.
How could you become financially peaceful? Also how could I become financially peaceful?
My first thought is that savings are essential. It would not be very smart to quit your job (no matter how bad things got) if next weeks paycheck is needed to pay bills and buy groceries. No matter your income savings are essential. Savings let you have a buffer to ride out a sudden job change or move or whatnot.
The second is living below your means. It doesn't matter if you are a surgeon making 200k a year or a laborer making 20k. You need a buffer between what you make and what your normal expenses are. It is hard to pull your kids out of public school and put them in a private one if you can't pay for it. It is hard to scale back a bit at work in order to spend more time with the family if you can't afford the pay cut.
The third is avoiding debt. Lets say you find out about work's new Friday furlough program that starts next week. This means 3 day weekends which are nice and a 20% pay cut which isn't so nice. You go home and tell the spouse about this. First a 3 day camping trip is planned and then you look at the finances. Eating out a bit less and going from the super every channel even in languages you don't speak plan to basic cable or just an antennae are obvious choices. Maybe watching the cost of food a bit more and putting off some plans for new furniture will help also.
People with minimal debt can do a lot to cut their overall expenses. If need be these folks can live absolutely dirt cheap to get by through a rough patch that is longer than their savings will just absorb. However folks who have a car payment and a credit card payment and a store card and a HELIC to pay off find they can not cut these expenses without serious back blast. These folks would have the same problem our federal government is having now. They have so many expenses they can not readily do anything to cut or eliminate.
The great part of these three is that they are pretty realistic for most people. Maybe not easy or fun but doable. Everybody can make choices that help in these and avoid those that detract from them.
Of course having no debt and a paid off residence would help a lot. These are not so easy to attain. The vast majority of the benefits of this idea come from the first three. Also living and practicing them makes it a lot more realistic to pay off your residence and have absolutely no debt. Paying off the mortgage faster or buy a couple acres with a travel trailer or whatnot is not unthinkable given the significant amount of income that has now been freed up.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
quote of the day
Q- "Do you usually take a pump action shotgun on a day trip?"
A- "Can't be too careful these days."
-An FBI agent and Madeline Weston on Burn Notice
A- "Can't be too careful these days."
-An FBI agent and Madeline Weston on Burn Notice
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
quote of the day
"Our society is held together with fragile threads, and it won’t take much to tear them asunder."
-TEOTWAWKIAFF
-TEOTWAWKIAFF
Risk Assessment
Discussion on my post a couple days ago made me feel like expounding on something. At work we do risk assessments. [To be honest they are almost always a bunch of BS. For example lots of people die in vehicle accidents, mostly because they are tired and have been driving for too long. Instead we create "controls" like radio checks and assistant drivers instead of actually making sure the drivers get a good nights sleep and have them switch out or split real long non mission essential (say 3rd ID's march to Baghdad) drives into more realistic and manageable sections. Anyway tangent finished.] Anyway what is important is to consider not just how severe the impact of a certain scenario would be, but HOW LIKELY IT IS. The chart below is a good visual for this.
The values for likelihood are pretty easy to conceptualize. You could define the values for severity/ impact in pretty much any logical way. In terms of physical injuries I would say minimal would be something that could be fully treated by a normal person with a modest first aid kit. Minor might be something requiring medical attention, say a few stitches or a sprained ankle. Major could be needing hospitalization. Serious might be limb or eyesight and catastrophic would be death. Follow where I am going.
So lets get back to that hurricane. If you live in the coastal south east a hurricane is a highly likely scenario. If you live in Colorado a hurricane is extremely improbable.
A flat tire is probably a minimal impact (unless you are ill equipped and on a lonely road during a blizzard) but it is a near certainty. I imagine over the course of most peoples lives they will have at least a few flat tires. Thus to that guy living in Colorado it makes sense to prepare more for a flat tire than a hurricane even though the impact of a hurricane would be major (of course it would vary by hurricane and how those individuals fare in it but just go with me) and the impact of the flat tire would be minimal.
Getting struck by lightning would really suck. Unless you make a habit of standing on top of really tall stuff or waving around metal poles in open fields during lightning storms the likelihood of getting struck by lightning is extremely improbable. Thus there isn't much reason to worry about getting struck by lightning.
To me it makes sense to look at how likely a situation is and how severe the impact would be when figuring out what scenarios to allocate our time and resources towards preparing for. This is why I see something like say, a financial emergency or a robbery/ home invasion as more pressing than Zimbabwe style hyperinflation or those Russian troops the UN has secretly been sneaking into the US coming to your neighborhood to enforce the edicts of the UN/ Trilateral Commission/ Illuminati/ Bildenberg's.
Thoughts?
So lets get back to that hurricane. If you live in the coastal south east a hurricane is a highly likely scenario. If you live in Colorado a hurricane is extremely improbable.
A flat tire is probably a minimal impact (unless you are ill equipped and on a lonely road during a blizzard) but it is a near certainty. I imagine over the course of most peoples lives they will have at least a few flat tires. Thus to that guy living in Colorado it makes sense to prepare more for a flat tire than a hurricane even though the impact of a hurricane would be major (of course it would vary by hurricane and how those individuals fare in it but just go with me) and the impact of the flat tire would be minimal.
Getting struck by lightning would really suck. Unless you make a habit of standing on top of really tall stuff or waving around metal poles in open fields during lightning storms the likelihood of getting struck by lightning is extremely improbable. Thus there isn't much reason to worry about getting struck by lightning.
To me it makes sense to look at how likely a situation is and how severe the impact would be when figuring out what scenarios to allocate our time and resources towards preparing for. This is why I see something like say, a financial emergency or a robbery/ home invasion as more pressing than Zimbabwe style hyperinflation or those Russian troops the UN has secretly been sneaking into the US coming to your neighborhood to enforce the edicts of the UN/ Trilateral Commission/ Illuminati/ Bildenberg's.
Thoughts?
Monday, March 29, 2010
quote of the day
"By a continuing process of inflation, government can confiscate, secretly and unobserved, an important part of the wealth of their citizens. "
John Maynard Keynes
Goals For While I'm Offline
Hey All, Just so you all are tracking I am going to be offline for almost two months. Posts are scheduled for the time frame I anticipate being gone. Wifey is kind enough to moderate comments so the flow of conversation can keep going. Some days you will just get a quote but there is something almost every day.
I got to thinking about what my preparedness goals are for this time frame. Two main things come to mind. First I am planning to run a lot and generally focus on cardiovascular and muscular endurance. Part of this is that I will not have access to a gym and also since the weather is starting to get nice running outside is more pleasant. Leaning a bit more toward strength during the winter months and then running a bit more in the summer seems natural to me.
Secondly I am taking along a copy of Atlas Shrugged. I am not sure how much free time I will have but even at a few pages a day that is enough time to get a good start.
Other than that work and sleep will pretty much take up all of my time.
Stay safe and I will see you later
I got to thinking about what my preparedness goals are for this time frame. Two main things come to mind. First I am planning to run a lot and generally focus on cardiovascular and muscular endurance. Part of this is that I will not have access to a gym and also since the weather is starting to get nice running outside is more pleasant. Leaning a bit more toward strength during the winter months and then running a bit more in the summer seems natural to me.
Secondly I am taking along a copy of Atlas Shrugged. I am not sure how much free time I will have but even at a few pages a day that is enough time to get a good start.
Other than that work and sleep will pretty much take up all of my time.
Stay safe and I will see you later
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Be Advised
Hey Folks, I'll be offline for awhile. Posts are scheduled to keep you thinking and entertained. Just be ware that if you send me an email or whatever it will be awhile before I answer.
Stay safe,
Ryan
Stay safe,
Ryan
What Did You Do To Prepare This Week?
Work was pretty nuts for me but that is life sometimes. Monday I dehydrated some apple slices for Wifey. Stashed some Euro's because instead of going out for dinner we just grabbed a pizza and stayed home on Saturday. Had some fun with the shortwave radio last night. I cleaned out the paperwork cabinet getting rid of unnecessary or outdated stuff and excessive copies. While doing that I took all the real essential stuff which isn't in our wallets and put it into one of those plastic paperwork envelope things. Passports, birth certificates, marriage certificate, car title and an extra checkbook. The stuff we would really want if leaving in a hurry and packing light. I had been meaning to do that for awhile. We picked up some extra ketchup at the store today because it was on a good sale.
All things being equal it was a pretty productive week.
What did you do to prepare this week?
All things being equal it was a pretty productive week.
What did you do to prepare this week?
Unconventional Thinking: Prioritizing Financial Preparadness Higher
A lot of my thinking recently has been about preparing for realistic scenarios (1,2,3, 4) . Maybe it is just that the last couple years have been pretty nuts but I have been thinking financial preparedness is far under rated. As Chief Instructor said "money gives you options."
Now I wonder..........
Are you better off having a few hundred bucks in an envelope or a Mini14/AR-15/AK-47/FN-FAL/M1A/HK G3? We all talk about how it is essential to acquire a good basic 4 (centerfire rifle, pistol, shotgun, .22) or more with lots and lots of mags and cases upon cases of ammo. However would you be better off having, say a defensive pistol and a pump shotgun (plus maybe a .22 but they are so cheap) and a wad of cash? I like guns. In particular I enjoy semi automatic magazine fed military pattern rifles. It seems like you don't get legitimate survivalist/ preparedness credits unless you have a safe/ closet with a Mini14/AR-15/AK-47/FN-FAL/M1A/HK G3 to brag about in posts, forums and comments sections. However if there are even semi common situations where a person in America needs a rifle for defensive purposes I have not heard about them. I can not thing of a single situation of a normal citizen having a 150 meter standoff rifle fight with psychotic murderers, gang bangers, meth heads or home invaders.
Don't get me wrong, I think having a Mini14/AR-15/AK-47/FN-FAL/M1A/HK G3 just in case you do have to fight off the people from the next block who are trying to steal your cereal is great. I am just not so sure that, considering what sort of situations are most likely to happen, and given the choice between the two you would not be better off with several hundred bucks in an envelope instead of a Mini14/AR-15/AK-47/FN-FAL/M1A/HK G3. As covered above the genuine defensive need for a Mini14/AR-15/AK-47/FN-FAL/M1A/HK G3 is questionable. However there is a real chance that when the power is out you might need to buy something. Maybe you have some sort of a crazy banking situation.There could even be a banking holiday and it sure would be nice to have a few hundred bucks in mixed bills lying around.
Taking that same train of thought a bit further. Are you better off having an honest years food storage for your family (a very worthy goal) or a solid emergency fund? Having a lot of food is a good thing. It lets you know your family will be able to eat for a long time without resupply. If need be you can just not go to the grocery store for a long time if money is short. However when was the last time large groups of people were totally unable to purchase/ barter for any food for a whole year? Sure it has happened now and then over relatively recent history throughout the world. Unlikely but possible.
However what are the chances that you will have a significant emergency like a sudden job loss or your house burning down or need for a lawyer or a major injury? I would say a lot higher than that you will not be able to get food from any source for a year. Sure if you don't need to go to the grocery store (because you are eating out of your food storage) for a long time that would drop your expenses some but the bank/ landlord will not accept bags of wheat as payment nor will the gas station accept canned chili. A legitimate argument could be made that you are far more likely to need a solid amount of money set away then enough rice, flour and beans for a whole year.
I am not saying that it is not prudent to have a quality defensive rifle like a Mini14/AR-15/AK-47/FN-FAL/M1A/HK G3 or that you shouldn't have stashing a whole lot of food be a priority. Being able to defend yourself if all of a sudden your neighborhood looks like Mogadishu or feed your family if that absolutely unlikely wheat rust/ 9 month pandemic quarantine/ full on Mad Max scenario are great goals. However doesn't it make sense to work from more realistic threats like needing to buy something when our typical very fragile banking system isn't working, or having a solid emergency fund set aside.
As for how to measure all this stuff up and choose where to put our resources (time and money) the word that jumps out at me is proportion. Work from most likely scenarios such as a home invasion, or whatnot to less likely ones. Maybe get a month or two worth of food as well as say, a pistol and a shotgun plus a few hundred bucks in cash. Then work towards more ambitious goals like acquiring a good rifle, setting aside a solid emergency fund and stash some more chow. Later on go crazy stashing away a lot of food. While some of these thoughts may or may not turn into a full post later the relatively current economic mess (and problems it has caused people) has shown me that we are far more vulnerable to financial problems and emergencies than other stuff we generally prioritize higher.
Thoughts?
Now I wonder..........
Are you better off having a few hundred bucks in an envelope or a Mini14/AR-15/AK-47/FN-FAL/M1A/HK G3? We all talk about how it is essential to acquire a good basic 4 (centerfire rifle, pistol, shotgun, .22) or more with lots and lots of mags and cases upon cases of ammo. However would you be better off having, say a defensive pistol and a pump shotgun (plus maybe a .22 but they are so cheap) and a wad of cash? I like guns. In particular I enjoy semi automatic magazine fed military pattern rifles. It seems like you don't get legitimate survivalist/ preparedness credits unless you have a safe/ closet with a Mini14/AR-15/AK-47/FN-FAL/M1A/HK G3 to brag about in posts, forums and comments sections. However if there are even semi common situations where a person in America needs a rifle for defensive purposes I have not heard about them. I can not thing of a single situation of a normal citizen having a 150 meter standoff rifle fight with psychotic murderers, gang bangers, meth heads or home invaders.
Don't get me wrong, I think having a Mini14/AR-15/AK-47/FN-FAL/M1A/HK G3 just in case you do have to fight off the people from the next block who are trying to steal your cereal is great. I am just not so sure that, considering what sort of situations are most likely to happen, and given the choice between the two you would not be better off with several hundred bucks in an envelope instead of a Mini14/AR-15/AK-47/FN-FAL/M1A/HK G3. As covered above the genuine defensive need for a Mini14/AR-15/AK-47/FN-FAL/M1A/HK G3 is questionable. However there is a real chance that when the power is out you might need to buy something. Maybe you have some sort of a crazy banking situation.There could even be a banking holiday and it sure would be nice to have a few hundred bucks in mixed bills lying around.
Taking that same train of thought a bit further. Are you better off having an honest years food storage for your family (a very worthy goal) or a solid emergency fund? Having a lot of food is a good thing. It lets you know your family will be able to eat for a long time without resupply. If need be you can just not go to the grocery store for a long time if money is short. However when was the last time large groups of people were totally unable to purchase/ barter for any food for a whole year? Sure it has happened now and then over relatively recent history throughout the world. Unlikely but possible.
However what are the chances that you will have a significant emergency like a sudden job loss or your house burning down or need for a lawyer or a major injury? I would say a lot higher than that you will not be able to get food from any source for a year. Sure if you don't need to go to the grocery store (because you are eating out of your food storage) for a long time that would drop your expenses some but the bank/ landlord will not accept bags of wheat as payment nor will the gas station accept canned chili. A legitimate argument could be made that you are far more likely to need a solid amount of money set away then enough rice, flour and beans for a whole year.
I am not saying that it is not prudent to have a quality defensive rifle like a Mini14/AR-15/AK-47/FN-FAL/M1A/HK G3 or that you shouldn't have stashing a whole lot of food be a priority. Being able to defend yourself if all of a sudden your neighborhood looks like Mogadishu or feed your family if that absolutely unlikely wheat rust/ 9 month pandemic quarantine/ full on Mad Max scenario are great goals. However doesn't it make sense to work from more realistic threats like needing to buy something when our typical very fragile banking system isn't working, or having a solid emergency fund set aside.
As for how to measure all this stuff up and choose where to put our resources (time and money) the word that jumps out at me is proportion. Work from most likely scenarios such as a home invasion, or whatnot to less likely ones. Maybe get a month or two worth of food as well as say, a pistol and a shotgun plus a few hundred bucks in cash. Then work towards more ambitious goals like acquiring a good rifle, setting aside a solid emergency fund and stash some more chow. Later on go crazy stashing away a lot of food. While some of these thoughts may or may not turn into a full post later the relatively current economic mess (and problems it has caused people) has shown me that we are far more vulnerable to financial problems and emergencies than other stuff we generally prioritize higher.
Thoughts?
quote of the day
"When you're a suspect and you're innocent, keep your mouth shut"
-Gill Grisom in CSI season 1
-Gill Grisom in CSI season 1
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Interesting Turn For The Evening
We had a pretty normal day. A leisurely morning followed by doing some stuff then grabbing dinner and settling in for a quiet night. At about 10:30 our power went out, then on, then out for awhile. I went to the bedroom to grab my sweet LED lantern and of course Wifey's too.
Those lights aren't great to read by and I wasn't ready for bed yet so I grabbed a beer and went into the spare room where the shortwave radio is set up. Also grabbed a notebook to start a permenant hard copy radio log. The waves were hopping tonight. Got broadcasts (in English) from Russia, Bulgaria, China and Serbia as well as a few others that didn't say where they were from. Since radio isn't visual I took the time to go through our paperwork that resides in the cabinet the radio sits on. Separated a bunch of redundant and otherwise useless paperwork which is good. Going to check through it again tomorrow (good to check twice) before tossing it into the shred box at work.
All and all not a bad way to wrap up the night. Now pretty obviously the power is back on. I really enjoyed the time fiddling with the radio. It is a lot more fun now that I am getting decent reception. Tomorrow I will likely find some time in the evening to mess with it more.
Those lights aren't great to read by and I wasn't ready for bed yet so I grabbed a beer and went into the spare room where the shortwave radio is set up. Also grabbed a notebook to start a permenant hard copy radio log. The waves were hopping tonight. Got broadcasts (in English) from Russia, Bulgaria, China and Serbia as well as a few others that didn't say where they were from. Since radio isn't visual I took the time to go through our paperwork that resides in the cabinet the radio sits on. Separated a bunch of redundant and otherwise useless paperwork which is good. Going to check through it again tomorrow (good to check twice) before tossing it into the shred box at work.
All and all not a bad way to wrap up the night. Now pretty obviously the power is back on. I really enjoyed the time fiddling with the radio. It is a lot more fun now that I am getting decent reception. Tomorrow I will likely find some time in the evening to mess with it more.
Perspectives
Today I was really reminded that people are just plain different. Wifey was looking at the social networking page of an acquaintance she went to school with. The gal is married and they are really happy to have just rented a huge house with other cool features. I've never met them but I am glad they are happy.
The thing that struck me is that they are real happy living within spitting distance of (or maybe past) their means. They have nice cars with loans and rent a big cool house. People are just different I guess. Some folks are not happy unless they have a new shiny car and a (relative to their income) nice big house.
When I see a new car I don't so much think it would be cool to drive that. I think it would suck to have a $600 a month payment for 5 years. When some people see my little beat up car they see a clunker. I see a car that has been paid off for years. Some folks see a big house and think how cool it would be to live there. I see a little apartment or a fixer upper house as see myself not having to worry about being able to make the rent/ payment every month.
Personally I have some nice stuff in the gun safe, different strokes for different folks I guess. The balance in our checking account goes up and down but we have a solid emergency fund set aside that will cover a series of pretty significant problems and emergencies. We do not have a 92 inch TV but do have a little stash of precious metals just in case something crazy happens.
I am not going to say what people do is right or wrong. We all make choices in our lives. Some of our choices work out well and others not so well. Unless someone else is hurt or imposed upon by our actions, vaya con Dios. Some people don't care if there is $40 in the checking account halfway between paychecks. They would however hate to drive a car that isn't new and cool and big/fast/whatever. I don't always know exactly what is right for us, let alone anybody else. It is just interesting to see other peoples perspectives on life and the choices they make.
The thing that struck me is that they are real happy living within spitting distance of (or maybe past) their means. They have nice cars with loans and rent a big cool house. People are just different I guess. Some folks are not happy unless they have a new shiny car and a (relative to their income) nice big house.
When I see a new car I don't so much think it would be cool to drive that. I think it would suck to have a $600 a month payment for 5 years. When some people see my little beat up car they see a clunker. I see a car that has been paid off for years. Some folks see a big house and think how cool it would be to live there. I see a little apartment or a fixer upper house as see myself not having to worry about being able to make the rent/ payment every month.
Personally I have some nice stuff in the gun safe, different strokes for different folks I guess. The balance in our checking account goes up and down but we have a solid emergency fund set aside that will cover a series of pretty significant problems and emergencies. We do not have a 92 inch TV but do have a little stash of precious metals just in case something crazy happens.
I am not going to say what people do is right or wrong. We all make choices in our lives. Some of our choices work out well and others not so well. Unless someone else is hurt or imposed upon by our actions, vaya con Dios. Some people don't care if there is $40 in the checking account halfway between paychecks. They would however hate to drive a car that isn't new and cool and big/fast/whatever. I don't always know exactly what is right for us, let alone anybody else. It is just interesting to see other peoples perspectives on life and the choices they make.
Friday, March 26, 2010
Want To Own A Town?
Washington town up for sale on Ebay. You could be the chief of police and have all your friends be deputies. LEO privileges as well as Class III and NFA weapons without all the strings would be fun.
Disappearing For A Bit: A Guest Post By The VP of Awesomeness
[ TOR here real quick. Today's post is brought to you by the VP of Awesomeness. He was a bail bondsman for a long time so I solicited his thoughts on this topic. My comments will be at the end in italics.]
Ok, let's face it, bad things happen to good people. I learned that shortly after I started by Bail Bonds business... I've seen people get in trouble and have to "disappear" for a short time. Just a couple points to cover in case this ever happens to you.
Always try to be the "Grey Man". Avoid the lifestyle bumper stickers at all costs. The ones that were successful at hiding, all drove average vehicles, wore nothing that would stand out and did nothing to draw attention to themselves.
Cash is king, while I do have some gold & silver put back, on the run or short term bugging out, use only cash. Split it up in your gear, don't keep it all on your person. Now the only exception to this that I've seen, that actually worked, was a Money Card. The woman was running from a violent relationship, her sister was putting money on a Walmart prepaid card, which works like a Visa for the most part, but you really have to trust the person applying the funds as they may have access to the card history.
IF you decide to travel with a firearm, I would keep it limited to something compact and easily hidden. While I would MUCH rather have an M4 and a chest rack full of mags, I keep it to a quality handgun & mags VERY well hidden.
Prepaid cell phone. If you find yourself in need of communicating, this is the ONLY way to go. Even then, use it enough and "they" can track it. Keep it short and sweet.
It really helps to have some sort of GPS in your vehicle, getting lost can lead to all kinds of problems. Follow the traffic laws, more people are found by your average traffic cop doing his job than by Hi speed warrant teams.
Unless you a have very deep pockets, you're going to need a source of income, and having a job on the books will not cut it, if you plan on staying free for any amount of time. So it's more often than not, it's going to be something in the building trades. Now, with the Job Market being what it is, unless you have usable skills, you may have some trouble finding something.
Find out where the Day Labor's hang out, you will be with a bunch of Hispanics, but if you are Legal & speak English, you should have a better chance at finding something. Something else that has worked, find a construction site and offer to do clean up afterwords. Salvaging cans and scrap metal is an option too. Just keep in mind you're trying to stay alive and free, not trying to compete with Donald Trump.
Keeping your expenses low. Living in your vehicle can be done and is being done a lot more than most people realize. Staying in a hotel will eat up funds and assist in getting you found. The successful one's I've spoke with, most were Van Dwellers, shopped as places like Aldi's and live cheap. I've added a link to a guy who lived successfully in his little Toyota Pickup for quite awhile to give you some idea's..
Use common sense, keep your head low and be the GreyMan...
Always try to be the "Grey Man". Avoid the lifestyle bumper stickers at all costs. The ones that were successful at hiding, all drove average vehicles, wore nothing that would stand out and did nothing to draw attention to themselves.
Cash is king, while I do have some gold & silver put back, on the run or short term bugging out, use only cash. Split it up in your gear, don't keep it all on your person. Now the only exception to this that I've seen, that actually worked, was a Money Card. The woman was running from a violent relationship, her sister was putting money on a Walmart prepaid card, which works like a Visa for the most part, but you really have to trust the person applying the funds as they may have access to the card history.
IF you decide to travel with a firearm, I would keep it limited to something compact and easily hidden. While I would MUCH rather have an M4 and a chest rack full of mags, I keep it to a quality handgun & mags VERY well hidden.
Prepaid cell phone. If you find yourself in need of communicating, this is the ONLY way to go. Even then, use it enough and "they" can track it. Keep it short and sweet.
It really helps to have some sort of GPS in your vehicle, getting lost can lead to all kinds of problems. Follow the traffic laws, more people are found by your average traffic cop doing his job than by Hi speed warrant teams.
Unless you a have very deep pockets, you're going to need a source of income, and having a job on the books will not cut it, if you plan on staying free for any amount of time. So it's more often than not, it's going to be something in the building trades. Now, with the Job Market being what it is, unless you have usable skills, you may have some trouble finding something.
Find out where the Day Labor's hang out, you will be with a bunch of Hispanics, but if you are Legal & speak English, you should have a better chance at finding something. Something else that has worked, find a construction site and offer to do clean up afterwords. Salvaging cans and scrap metal is an option too. Just keep in mind you're trying to stay alive and free, not trying to compete with Donald Trump.
Keeping your expenses low. Living in your vehicle can be done and is being done a lot more than most people realize. Staying in a hotel will eat up funds and assist in getting you found. The successful one's I've spoke with, most were Van Dwellers, shopped as places like Aldi's and live cheap. I've added a link to a guy who lived successfully in his little Toyota Pickup for quite awhile to give you some idea's..
Use common sense, keep your head low and be the GreyMan...
cheaprvliving.com
Use common sense, keep your head low and be the Grey Man..
There really isn't much else to say. One significant point I just want to rehash is to think about who is looking for you. The implications are significant because who is looking for you (how they look) plus their motivation and resources/ reach will dictate how you need to act.
I can not help but reiterate that having a functional vehicle with up to date tabs (registration) is essential. Nothing flashy but the turn signals/ lights/ etc need to work. Also it is worth noting that having a valid license and insurance card is essential. Unless there is a warrant for your arrest if you have the right basic paperwork all but the worst traffic violation (driving 100 in a school zone or hitting someone) is handled with a simple ticket. Don't have that stuff and your likely going to face arrest and have your vehicle impounded and things will likely go downhill from there.
I can not help but reiterate that having a functional vehicle with up to date tabs (registration) is essential. Nothing flashy but the turn signals/ lights/ etc need to work. Also it is worth noting that having a valid license and insurance card is essential. Unless there is a warrant for your arrest if you have the right basic paperwork all but the worst traffic violation (driving 100 in a school zone or hitting someone) is handled with a simple ticket. Don't have that stuff and your likely going to face arrest and have your vehicle impounded and things will likely go downhill from there.
Personally I think everyone should keep some cash around. For an average person a months worth of cash expenses is a good start and not a bad finish. If something weird is going on that is plenty to take a sudden 10 day vacation, particularly if you keep expenses down. Lets face it some lifestyles and jobs are a bit more prone to potential problems than others are. For a person with more risk having a higher percentage of their total assets on hand in physical cash would be prudent.
When it comes to guns a good pistol with some mags is probably the way to go. Keep in mind that you are worried about basic self protection, not fighting off zombies. In a case extreme enough that your disappearance is going to be lengthy having a cache with some firepower would be wise. In many areas of the US even if a cop asks if you have a gun saying "Yeah I have a Glock/ 1911in my backpack/ trunk (depending on the region)" will not raise suspicion. However having 2 semi automatic rifles, a shotgun, a sniper rifle and a carbine sitting on the back seat might cause problems.
When it comes to communicating with friends and family it really depends so much on who is looking for you. If anything short of a widespread law enforcement search or heaven forbid men who have split their adult lives between the back woods of FT Bragg and the 3rd world then a quick pre paid call to tell Momma that you will be away for awhile but are safe would be fine.
I like the van/ truck idea.
Edited to include: Three more things jumped out at me while pondering this through the day.
First is about essential prescription medications. I am not highly informed on this topic but between meth maggots/ the abuse of prescription drugs in general, insurance and computers I do not think it is not so easy to discretely purchase meds these days. This is yet another reason to have some extra lying around, at least a 30 day (and ideally 90-180 days) supply.
The last two are really just a bit more explanation of my thoughts on the "Grey Man" concept. I am sorry but aside from loitering around alleys and other obvious non typical behavior the biggest thing cops seem to profile is appearance. While certainly not always the case often scum bags dress like scum bags. Having a normal average appearance with decent clean clothes helps a lot. If you want to avoid police scrutiny instead of looking like a member of Pantera or somebody on the Discovery Channels gang special look like a normal clean cut guy. The sort of boring guy you won't look twice at or remember seeing.
Going along with the "Grey Man" theme DO NOT BREAK ANY LAWS YOU ABSOLUTELY DON'T HAVE TO! Think about it. You have gone to great lengths to disappear for awhile. This is not the time to enjoy a nice cold roadbeer or punch the loudmouth jerk at the next table or try and get some weed. in a strange town or whatever. The "Grey Man" follows the rules, all of them, all the time, or at least it seems like he does. This is part of why he is so boring and nobody is interested in him.
Hope you enjoyed this post as much as I did. Please give the VP some kudos for being nice enough to share his knowledge with us.
When it comes to guns a good pistol with some mags is probably the way to go. Keep in mind that you are worried about basic self protection, not fighting off zombies. In a case extreme enough that your disappearance is going to be lengthy having a cache with some firepower would be wise. In many areas of the US even if a cop asks if you have a gun saying "Yeah I have a Glock/ 1911in my backpack/ trunk (depending on the region)" will not raise suspicion. However having 2 semi automatic rifles, a shotgun, a sniper rifle and a carbine sitting on the back seat might cause problems.
When it comes to communicating with friends and family it really depends so much on who is looking for you. If anything short of a widespread law enforcement search or heaven forbid men who have split their adult lives between the back woods of FT Bragg and the 3rd world then a quick pre paid call to tell Momma that you will be away for awhile but are safe would be fine.
I like the van/ truck idea.
Edited to include: Three more things jumped out at me while pondering this through the day.
First is about essential prescription medications. I am not highly informed on this topic but between meth maggots/ the abuse of prescription drugs in general, insurance and computers I do not think it is not so easy to discretely purchase meds these days. This is yet another reason to have some extra lying around, at least a 30 day (and ideally 90-180 days) supply.
The last two are really just a bit more explanation of my thoughts on the "Grey Man" concept. I am sorry but aside from loitering around alleys and other obvious non typical behavior the biggest thing cops seem to profile is appearance. While certainly not always the case often scum bags dress like scum bags. Having a normal average appearance with decent clean clothes helps a lot. If you want to avoid police scrutiny instead of looking like a member of Pantera or somebody on the Discovery Channels gang special look like a normal clean cut guy. The sort of boring guy you won't look twice at or remember seeing.
Going along with the "Grey Man" theme DO NOT BREAK ANY LAWS YOU ABSOLUTELY DON'T HAVE TO! Think about it. You have gone to great lengths to disappear for awhile. This is not the time to enjoy a nice cold roadbeer or punch the loudmouth jerk at the next table or try and get some weed. in a strange town or whatever. The "Grey Man" follows the rules, all of them, all the time, or at least it seems like he does. This is part of why he is so boring and nobody is interested in him.
Hope you enjoyed this post as much as I did. Please give the VP some kudos for being nice enough to share his knowledge with us.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Only as Strong as the Weakest Links
Portugals debt rating is downgraded to AA. The Euro is going down in value. Today it was at a 10 month low. Some sort of a vague potential last resort bail out for Greece is in the works. All of their cost cutting measures are not really equaling out the current higher costs of the borrowing necessary to feed their economy. Very interesting times.
quote of the day
'There's not much that can't be fixed by white paint, a piece of pie, a bullet or an apology."
-Brigid
-Brigid
Fun With Books
This is brought to you by our VP of Awesomeness who awhile back was kind enough to send me a few books as well as a Glock mag. Today I will be talking about the book Home Security: How to select Reliable Locks and Alarms for Your Home, Office or Car by Carl Hammer.
I want to start by saying that I did not read this book cover to cover. There are some books (novels, etc) that you almost inherently need to read cover to cover. There are others that probably fall more into the reference category from which you read the parts you want. No reason to read 10 pages of super detailed directions on canning stewed tomatoes unless you have a pressure canner, ample jars and a whole bunch of tomatoes lying around.
I guess lets stick with the normal book review format.
The good: I really liked that this book was realistic. Don't get me wrong, harder homes and gardens is a nice idea. It is just that unless you are looking at some sort of underground structure or very thick reinforced concrete walls it is not very realistic. Even then unless you have an almost unlimited budget anything beyond trying to find or building a brick home is probably a miss allocation of resources. There is a reason that people stopped building Castles when cannons were invented!
This book focuses on hardening entry ways, windows, locks and doors against discrete covert entry and slowing overt entry to give residents time to react. On this topic I recall something. For a long period of my life I occasionally spent time waiting outside of a particular arms room. That arms room had an official like sign on it. It said the arms room was rated to be secure for 400 hours (or something like that) against covert entry. It was only rated to be secure for 20 minutes against forced entry. Basically it would be impossible to ninja sneak into the darn thing but if you show up with a tools to destroy cement and metal or just strait up explosives it won't take long. The thing is to focus on reality, I know it is hard for us sometimes. However if somebody with a Browning .50 cal and plenty of ammo or even a small amount of explosives and the know how wants to get in they will. However you don't (if you do then think seriously re evaluate your lifestyle;) need to worry about that. You need to worry about 3-5 armed criminals either conning you to open the door or doing some sort of a forced entry. Ignore the books and people in forums and look at what you see on the news and read about in the paper. Following the advice in this book will take you a long way toward having a secure home.
The Bad: Being written in 2001 the book is a bit dated. In particular the relatively new do it yourself glass lamination film is a real cool product for realistic home security on a normal budget. I imagine security systems have improved some since then also.
The Ugly: No serious ugly though some stuff did bother me. However the vague hints at somehow having inside knowledge of para military and covert government activities that is often present in Paladin Press books was there. Also it was a bit needlessly redundant. When it comes to locks and stuff the guy could have gotten a camera and taken some pictures instead of only doing cheesy windows paint drawings.
I got some stuff out of this book and if you are looking to make your home more secure it is well worth reading. The copy I have is going to the shelf where it will stay until I purchase a home and want to secure it.
I want to start by saying that I did not read this book cover to cover. There are some books (novels, etc) that you almost inherently need to read cover to cover. There are others that probably fall more into the reference category from which you read the parts you want. No reason to read 10 pages of super detailed directions on canning stewed tomatoes unless you have a pressure canner, ample jars and a whole bunch of tomatoes lying around.
I guess lets stick with the normal book review format.
The good: I really liked that this book was realistic. Don't get me wrong, harder homes and gardens is a nice idea. It is just that unless you are looking at some sort of underground structure or very thick reinforced concrete walls it is not very realistic. Even then unless you have an almost unlimited budget anything beyond trying to find or building a brick home is probably a miss allocation of resources. There is a reason that people stopped building Castles when cannons were invented!
This book focuses on hardening entry ways, windows, locks and doors against discrete covert entry and slowing overt entry to give residents time to react. On this topic I recall something. For a long period of my life I occasionally spent time waiting outside of a particular arms room. That arms room had an official like sign on it. It said the arms room was rated to be secure for 400 hours (or something like that) against covert entry. It was only rated to be secure for 20 minutes against forced entry. Basically it would be impossible to ninja sneak into the darn thing but if you show up with a tools to destroy cement and metal or just strait up explosives it won't take long. The thing is to focus on reality, I know it is hard for us sometimes. However if somebody with a Browning .50 cal and plenty of ammo or even a small amount of explosives and the know how wants to get in they will. However you don't (if you do then think seriously re evaluate your lifestyle;) need to worry about that. You need to worry about 3-5 armed criminals either conning you to open the door or doing some sort of a forced entry. Ignore the books and people in forums and look at what you see on the news and read about in the paper. Following the advice in this book will take you a long way toward having a secure home.
The Bad: Being written in 2001 the book is a bit dated. In particular the relatively new do it yourself glass lamination film is a real cool product for realistic home security on a normal budget. I imagine security systems have improved some since then also.
The Ugly: No serious ugly though some stuff did bother me. However the vague hints at somehow having inside knowledge of para military and covert government activities that is often present in Paladin Press books was there. Also it was a bit needlessly redundant. When it comes to locks and stuff the guy could have gotten a camera and taken some pictures instead of only doing cheesy windows paint drawings.
I got some stuff out of this book and if you are looking to make your home more secure it is well worth reading. The copy I have is going to the shelf where it will stay until I purchase a home and want to secure it.
A Note From Our Advertisers
This message brought to you by our friends at Directive 21.
We now carry Potassium Iodate (KiO3) - 85mg Bottles. Each Bottle comes with 90 pills, expiration is either 2018 or 2019 on the bottle. We have them for 12.95 a bottle w/ Free Shipping. Retail value is 14.95 plus shipping.
Everyone should have a bottle in their BOB or preparedness kit, just in case of a nuclear fallout or attack.
For more info, the manufacturers website is here:
http://www.kio3.com/
We now carry Potassium Iodate (KiO3) - 85mg Bottles. Each Bottle comes with 90 pills, expiration is either 2018 or 2019 on the bottle. We have them for 12.95 a bottle w/ Free Shipping. Retail value is 14.95 plus shipping.
Everyone should have a bottle in their BOB or preparedness kit, just in case of a nuclear fallout or attack.
For more info, the manufacturers website is here:
http://www.kio3.com/
This Week Your Homework Assignment Is....
Tell a friend, family member, gun buddy or LMI who you think would be interested about the blog. Just shoot them the link to the front page or maybe to your favorite post or one you think they would get something out of. It would be fun to get some new voices and thoughts into our discussions.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Just Askin
I am in the market for a basic home brewing setup. Don't want to spend an arm and a leg but I want stuff I can use for awhile and build upon instead of just discarding down the road. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
PCSing with Physical Precious Metals
One of the annoying parts of moderating comments is that you can read a comment, click to approve and then have it vanish back into the archives somewhere. That happened this afternoon. Anyway Chris from Alaska asked my thoughts on moving with physical precious metals, he said a bit more but that is the jist and well the comment is back somewhere. Anyway here it goes.
Personally I would be inclined to hand carry precious metals during a move. If for some reason that didn't seem like a good idea another option if you have a PO Box or very trusted individual on the other side would be to ship them in the mail (or UPS/FEDEX) insured up to their full replacement value. Well those are my thoughts. There will be a normal post later.
Personally I would be inclined to hand carry precious metals during a move. If for some reason that didn't seem like a good idea another option if you have a PO Box or very trusted individual on the other side would be to ship them in the mail (or UPS/FEDEX) insured up to their full replacement value. Well those are my thoughts. There will be a normal post later.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Bunking Together During SHTF
I saw an interesting post over at Survivalblog today. It got me to thinking on the matter. While this isn't entirely focused on groups there is definitely some overlap. I can think of two quantifiable points and a few intangibles. In and around that will be some examples and thoughts.
We are generally talking about people we know well, usually friends and family. However especially in a bad situation people people tend to look after their selves at least partially in most decisions. It is a lot more likely that someone will be OK with an extended house guest if they perceive that guest as being useful in some way. Maybe it isn't nice but I think it is true.
A friend or relative might think that having a veteran/ cop with a pump shotgun sleeping on their couch during the aftermath of a hurricane might be a good decision.
Also people are far more likely to be willing to take someone in if that person doesn't need much from them. The first point is what a guest brings to the table and the second is what they take away. Being able to provide for some or most of ones own basic life needs makes a guest a lot more attractive. Generally this means having food and maybe fuel, or water/ the means to filter it.
A friend or relative would almost surely think that having a veteran/ cop with a pump shotgun who brought a bunch of food, water and a Coleman stove with some fuel sleeping on their couch during a riot would be a good decision.
Aside from the two above observations the big thing is having a plan in advance. I am not talking about a full on group, though having one is not a bad idea. It could be as simple as having a conversation with your uncle who lives 20 miles out of town on a little farm. The point is that you don't want to find out that he would rather ride out the aftermath of a hurricane (or whatever but hurricanes are common and widespread enough to cause real problems) alone with a packed car that is running on fumes. Of course you should keep at least some fuel around, especially in hurricane country but that is another discussion. Also if you have a plan then pre positioning some supplies may be possible. Particularly if someone lives in a rural area with a bit of land (generally the sort of place you want to go anyway) then space isn't a huge issue. If they do not have a huge barn that is a relic of the working farm the place used to be rural people generally have space. I imagine at this point if you asked to put up a little shed near the main house/ shop/ whatever but out of the way they would be fine with it. Depending on your skills, budget and needs one of those pre fab things might work or you could build something nice, maybe even with a couple bunk beds if the climate suits it.
Shelter is a point of friction and when it comes to putting significantly more people than we are used to in a home it isn't ideal. However if things were ideal you would all be hanging out in your own places like normal. Climate and the situation are big factors in your options. Any but the heartiest souls do not want to sleep in a tent in the winter in Michigan. Also in a situation where defense from more than an average looter/ burglar is an issue having people divided and all over the place would be really bad. If there are 3 feet of snow and you are fighting off the people from New Burn then suck it up and have a bunch of people sleeping in the living room. Otherwise hanging out in the house and retiring to sleep in a tent might not be a bad idea. If your budget is a bit flexible then a small travel trailer might be a great answer for some of these situations. For a non super worst case scenario you could keep one comfortable at night with just the tanks of propane it could carry.
When it comes to being a house guest I take come cues from my Gypsy Uncle. He is like the Kato Kaelin of the greater Pacific Northwest and is the closest thing to a professional house guest I know of. He has 3 notable characteristics that (probably developed over years of practice) lend themselves well to this sort of lifestyle. First he is never a bother, at all. Unless you were having a conversation with him or looking at the place he was sitting/ laying or the corner his bag was in you would never know he was there. Next he does not need to be entertained. If you have something to do he might watch some TV or read a book or take a walk or have a nap or whatever. He is certainly not anti social (in fact he is pretty fun) but if you are doing something else that is cool too. Last he is always willing to help out. If you are working in the garden he will lend a hand, if you cooked dinner he will always offer to help with the dishes.
One rather natural situation for doubling up/ bunking together is the relatively young and the somewhat older. Young people are often energetic and physically capable but have not yet been able to get onto great logistical footing let alone purchase their own retreat. Older folks (say 55+) have had decades to build up great logistics and build a retreat. However older folks often have old injuries and just plain wear and tear on their bodies that would be a real issue if regressing to a 19th century lifestyle was the only way to survive. While it is true that you see a lot of farmers who are pretty old, I think even they would admit that has plenty to do with trucks, tractors and combines. [At one point we had an arraignment like this. A fellow we know has a very sound logistical footing at a well planned retreat. His biggest needs were a younger back and help with defense as well as more hands to do work in an absolute worst case scenario. A fall of a ladder that would leave me bruised and sore the next day might take him out of action for a few days, or worse. Wifey and I could show up with the clothes on our backs and be an asset.] The thing I like best about this sort of situation is that the two groups naturally balance out each others weaknesses and it is mutually beneficial.
So I guess in conclusion: bring something to the table, provide for as many of your needs as possible, plan in advance and if you are going to be a house guest, be a good one.
We are generally talking about people we know well, usually friends and family. However especially in a bad situation people people tend to look after their selves at least partially in most decisions. It is a lot more likely that someone will be OK with an extended house guest if they perceive that guest as being useful in some way. Maybe it isn't nice but I think it is true.
A friend or relative might think that having a veteran/ cop with a pump shotgun sleeping on their couch during the aftermath of a hurricane might be a good decision.
Also people are far more likely to be willing to take someone in if that person doesn't need much from them. The first point is what a guest brings to the table and the second is what they take away. Being able to provide for some or most of ones own basic life needs makes a guest a lot more attractive. Generally this means having food and maybe fuel, or water/ the means to filter it.
A friend or relative would almost surely think that having a veteran/ cop with a pump shotgun who brought a bunch of food, water and a Coleman stove with some fuel sleeping on their couch during a riot would be a good decision.
Aside from the two above observations the big thing is having a plan in advance. I am not talking about a full on group, though having one is not a bad idea. It could be as simple as having a conversation with your uncle who lives 20 miles out of town on a little farm. The point is that you don't want to find out that he would rather ride out the aftermath of a hurricane (or whatever but hurricanes are common and widespread enough to cause real problems) alone with a packed car that is running on fumes. Of course you should keep at least some fuel around, especially in hurricane country but that is another discussion. Also if you have a plan then pre positioning some supplies may be possible. Particularly if someone lives in a rural area with a bit of land (generally the sort of place you want to go anyway) then space isn't a huge issue. If they do not have a huge barn that is a relic of the working farm the place used to be rural people generally have space. I imagine at this point if you asked to put up a little shed near the main house/ shop/ whatever but out of the way they would be fine with it. Depending on your skills, budget and needs one of those pre fab things might work or you could build something nice, maybe even with a couple bunk beds if the climate suits it.
Shelter is a point of friction and when it comes to putting significantly more people than we are used to in a home it isn't ideal. However if things were ideal you would all be hanging out in your own places like normal. Climate and the situation are big factors in your options. Any but the heartiest souls do not want to sleep in a tent in the winter in Michigan. Also in a situation where defense from more than an average looter/ burglar is an issue having people divided and all over the place would be really bad. If there are 3 feet of snow and you are fighting off the people from New Burn then suck it up and have a bunch of people sleeping in the living room. Otherwise hanging out in the house and retiring to sleep in a tent might not be a bad idea. If your budget is a bit flexible then a small travel trailer might be a great answer for some of these situations. For a non super worst case scenario you could keep one comfortable at night with just the tanks of propane it could carry.
When it comes to being a house guest I take come cues from my Gypsy Uncle. He is like the Kato Kaelin of the greater Pacific Northwest and is the closest thing to a professional house guest I know of. He has 3 notable characteristics that (probably developed over years of practice) lend themselves well to this sort of lifestyle. First he is never a bother, at all. Unless you were having a conversation with him or looking at the place he was sitting/ laying or the corner his bag was in you would never know he was there. Next he does not need to be entertained. If you have something to do he might watch some TV or read a book or take a walk or have a nap or whatever. He is certainly not anti social (in fact he is pretty fun) but if you are doing something else that is cool too. Last he is always willing to help out. If you are working in the garden he will lend a hand, if you cooked dinner he will always offer to help with the dishes.
One rather natural situation for doubling up/ bunking together is the relatively young and the somewhat older. Young people are often energetic and physically capable but have not yet been able to get onto great logistical footing let alone purchase their own retreat. Older folks (say 55+) have had decades to build up great logistics and build a retreat. However older folks often have old injuries and just plain wear and tear on their bodies that would be a real issue if regressing to a 19th century lifestyle was the only way to survive. While it is true that you see a lot of farmers who are pretty old, I think even they would admit that has plenty to do with trucks, tractors and combines. [At one point we had an arraignment like this. A fellow we know has a very sound logistical footing at a well planned retreat. His biggest needs were a younger back and help with defense as well as more hands to do work in an absolute worst case scenario. A fall of a ladder that would leave me bruised and sore the next day might take him out of action for a few days, or worse. Wifey and I could show up with the clothes on our backs and be an asset.] The thing I like best about this sort of situation is that the two groups naturally balance out each others weaknesses and it is mutually beneficial.
So I guess in conclusion: bring something to the table, provide for as many of your needs as possible, plan in advance and if you are going to be a house guest, be a good one.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Focusing on my own Comings and Goings
Last night I started some pineapple dehydrating. For the last batch I bought a whole fresh pineapple but this time I got a couple cans of pineapple rings. The rings have the benefit of being a lot cheaper because unless you live in the tropics pineapples are expensive. These turned out to be really good. Decreasing the dehydrating time slightly helped but also it was easier to get uniform slices to dry the same. Did I mention these are really good.
I didn't work today. Sleeping in was nice and had a leisurely morning. Took Wifey to work and then headed back home. I have been watching the news but only halfway paying attention. Mainly I have been cooking. I made a big old crock pot full of chili. In about an hour when the beans are all the way done it should be pretty darn tasty.
Chili is best with corn bread. We have used the recipe on the bag of corn meal a couple times and found it grainy and not particularly great. I mentioned looking for a good recipe on Facebook and MIL sent me a link to this post by The Pioneer Woman. I got to cooking this stuff up and it looks pretty darn good.
This whole health care debacle has been in the back of my head all day long. However life is just too short to get all whipped up about something I can't do anything about it anyway. I am going to have some chili and cornbread now. After dinner I will have a drink and do some reading. All things considered it hasn't been a bad day here.
I didn't work today. Sleeping in was nice and had a leisurely morning. Took Wifey to work and then headed back home. I have been watching the news but only halfway paying attention. Mainly I have been cooking. I made a big old crock pot full of chili. In about an hour when the beans are all the way done it should be pretty darn tasty.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Radio Log 2
I have set up a little ghetto short wave station in the spare bedroom. Pulled up a filing cabinet to keep the radio on and a desk chair we don't really use. Now it is more comfortable to sit for awhile. 16, 19 and 22 meter bands seem to come in well in the evening and have lots of stations. Last time I did this I just went through and wrote down frequencies and brief descriptions. This time I am going to stick on a station for a bit longer. This will get me get a better idea what the station is broadcasting and such.
I listened to the BBC at 15402. It is clear though not loud. This is the BBC out of England.
There is some sort of a semi news/ talk show at 4965. They are talking about the internet in Afghanistan. This very helpful site says it is Christian Voice out of Zambia which is pretty cool.
This stuff is fun. Will definitely have to fiddle with the radio some more. It is a lot more satisfying now that I can hear stuff.
I listened to the BBC at 15402. It is clear though not loud. This is the BBC out of England.
There is some sort of a semi news/ talk show at 4965. They are talking about the internet in Afghanistan. This very helpful site says it is Christian Voice out of Zambia which is pretty cool.
This stuff is fun. Will definitely have to fiddle with the radio some more. It is a lot more satisfying now that I can hear stuff.
What Did You Do To Prepare This Week?
Well a case of .223 ammo alone made this a good week for me. I also dehydrated some pineapple. It is pretty good though I need to really figure out the exact right amount of time. I did a lot of cooking this week in the crock pot. Since Wifey is working these days our dinner choices seem to be crock pot, quick pasta or meat and taters kind of stuff and occasionally some sort of cheater meal. For a little while there we were slipping from eating real food as a general rule. We started eating out a bit more and then when our cheapness made up knock that off moved to easier stuff. Not that there is anything wrong with some good processed Americana like hot dogs now and then but too often just isn't good for you. This week we were better which is good. Today I made barley casserole which is pretty darn good.
We put away some more Euro's which is good. Folks occasionally question that. Some of them likely weren't tracking that I am in Europe right now. I keep some Euro's around because that is what spends here. If I was in Japan I would have Yen and if I was in Canada I would have Canadian Dollars. Other folks don't seem to see the point in keeping cash on hand and favor silver or something. The thing is that you need cash. Yesterday I counted up our random change and took it to the bank to exchange for a fiver. One of the interesting parts of having one and two euro coins instead of bills is that having too many of them gets bulky and heavy fast. We do keep some onesies, twosies and change around for small purchases. Stashing a 10 or a 20 every week seems to be working pretty well. It isn't particularly likely that we will need them but like the case of ammo, when you need it you really need it!
The next several weeks are going to see little to nothing getting done but that is life. Tonight or tomorrow night I will fiddle with the Shortwave Radio which is getting more entertaining as I can hear stuff now. Will write about that later.
We put away some more Euro's which is good. Folks occasionally question that. Some of them likely weren't tracking that I am in Europe right now. I keep some Euro's around because that is what spends here. If I was in Japan I would have Yen and if I was in Canada I would have Canadian Dollars. Other folks don't seem to see the point in keeping cash on hand and favor silver or something. The thing is that you need cash. Yesterday I counted up our random change and took it to the bank to exchange for a fiver. One of the interesting parts of having one and two euro coins instead of bills is that having too many of them gets bulky and heavy fast. We do keep some onesies, twosies and change around for small purchases. Stashing a 10 or a 20 every week seems to be working pretty well. It isn't particularly likely that we will need them but like the case of ammo, when you need it you really need it!
The next several weeks are going to see little to nothing getting done but that is life. Tonight or tomorrow night I will fiddle with the Shortwave Radio which is getting more entertaining as I can hear stuff now. Will write about that later.
quote of the day
"You've got to realistically look at what preps you need and what you can afford. Then figure out what's "good enough" and fits your budget."
-TEOTWAWKI Blog
-TEOTWAWKI Blog
Thoughts On The 20th Century
The 20th century was a heck of a time. It probably saw more change for the living conditions of normal people than any other period. Around 1900 most peoples lives were pretty darn close to how they had been since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. Most peoples lives revolved around working on a small family farm or in some sort of a shop. In big cities people worked in the labor intensive factories and such. By the end of the 20th century the lives of people were radically different. In the US something like 2% of people feed the rest. Instead of a typical farm being a guy with a couple hundred acres and a mule or two it is tens of thousands of acres worked by a man with tractors and combines. Even now massive agricultural businesses are making farming not viable for the typical family farm. Communication and massive technological innovations have radically changed the lives of all but the poorest people (I mean like Zimbabwe poor, not American poor) into something unimaginable back in 1900.
One of the biggest single misconceptions in the opening part of the 20th century was that history was set. It is really tempting to think that somehow the era you are in is the ultimate creation of all of history, but it is entirely inaccurate. War came about early as in part because the recently unified Germany sought to gain power and territory. The beginning of the century saw the massacre of almost an entire generation in the fields of Western Europe. The fall of the massive and decayed Ottoman Empire happened immediately after the war ended. Also WWI brought America onto the forefront of the world stage for the first time.
It is easy for us to look back with perfect hindsight about how foolish it was for people and nations to think history was set back then but we far too often laugh at those folks but think the same thing ourselves about today. Nations are going to gain and lose territory and power through natural coming of age (India, maybe China) and decay but also the old fashioned way, by taking it from someone else. Also I think it would be a dangerous assumption to think that even Europe is done with war. They may well come out of the shell shock of WWI and WWII and revisit old ambitions, rivalries and feuds. Just as the 20th century saw all of these events the 21st will also.
Economies will collapse. Some will just sputter out because of new developments making areas undesirable and products unnecessary and others will fall apart in spectacular hyper inflationary crashes. When this happens a few rich, smart people will be able to see it coming and prepare. As almost always is the situation it is normal average people who get the worst end of these collapses.
Lots of folks talk about how a hyper inflationary collapse is coming for America. Some say that it is coming next week and that gold will hit $9,734 an ounce. They also often say that a certain type of gold coin is best and happen to be selling them. I do not know if this will happen. Maybe we will just have a period like the late 70's and early 80's with fairly high unemployment and only 15-20% inflation. I know America is a huge, powerful and amazing nation. If anybody could figure a way out of the box it seems we are painting ourselves into it would be this great nation, however I am not so naive to think it could not happen here. If nothing else minimizing debt, particularly adjustable interest rate debt is always sound advice. If you have a few bucks that do not go strait to putting a roof over your head and food in the kitchen buying some silver and gold is a good idea.
"If the 20th century taught us anything it is that life is pretty cheap"- Jim Rawles on Coast to Coast Radio
Lots of people died in the 20th century. World War One darn near killed an entire generation of young European men. World War Two did a pretty good job on the next generation. Russia has been unsuccessful in proving that a country can kill off its entire population through revolution, war, government produced famine leading to starvation starvation and just plain purges. They do however get an A for effort.
Speaking of famine food has been used as a weapon multiple times in history. Most notably the Holodorm comes to mind. Seriously I think Russia has a running bet with somebody that they can kill off more of their population than anyone else. Though Pol Pot might have won that one. Anyway things can get bad and people go hungry, not missed a meal, like those starving African kids in the aid commercials hungry.
Sometimes war or economic craziness or nutty national policies mess up the normal flow of food that begins with production (farms, ranches, etc) and ultimately ends up in our kitchens. What can we do as individuals to mitigate this? Storing food obviously comes to mind. Having multiple ways to procure food is probably prudent. Debit cards are good but having cash as a backup is very prudent. If you are worried about a situation where a single currency/ country collapses then having some other currency on hand might be prudent. For a long time this was the dollar, nowadays Euro's, Swiss Franks or Canadian dollars might be good. A single ATM transaction worth of a foreign currency might be a big deal for your family some day. If nothing else it is cool to reference your foreign currency reserves. Again as with the hyper inflationary situation having some precious metals is a good idea if you can afford it. Assuming food is available you can get some of it if you have precious metals, as noted in Zimbabwe. Depending on your situation and how concerned you are about this particular possibility (or saving money, healthy eating, etc) producing some of your own food can be a good move. In my opinion if it is possible with your lifestyle producing some food is a good idea. However it is not a cure all. If a 40 armed men with a tank show up they will take what you have, sorry but it is true. Storing some food off site in a cache might not be a horrible idea depending on your level of concern and overall scenario. Again in a perfect world having multiple ways to get food, multiple ways to grow/ harvest your own food and multiple ways to trade/ barter/ buy food would be nice.
On a tangent I greatly enjoyed the little Reece's peanut butter eggs I ate while researching/ writing about famine. I also like having ice cream while watching Survivor and Lost.
I do not think the 21st century is going to be as bloody as the 20th. If nothing else the combination of Nuclear Weapons creating a MAD scenario between some larger nations and the faster, more technological nature of warfare the body count will almost certainly be lower. However it could still be pretty darn bad under a variety of situations. Also it doesn't matter if the total number of people killed is far lower then the last century if you and your family end up being part of the death toll.
Even aside from fully state vs state conflicts groups of people will kill each other. Sometimes states kill certain minority groups that are present within their society. Also sometimes states sponsor or allow to act without fear of intervention a group that is actively killing another group. Our world started the 20th century with a few genocides and mass killings in Turkey and Russia then finished up with a couple of bangs in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia. The time in the middle wasn't exactly calm either.
I would be quite surprised if the 21st century doesn't have a few times when certain groups of citizens are targeted by state or quasi state actors. What can be done to minimize ones risk to this sort of cultural/ ethnic/ racial violence? Well if a place seems like a cultural/ ethnic/ racial powder keg now then it might not be a great place to live, especially if you belong to the wrong cultural/ ethnic/ racial group for that area. It probably isn't politically or socially correct to say that but IMO it is something to consider. Matthew Bracken's books depict some events in the South West and California which one might want to think about.
I guess in conclusion I will reiterate a few key points. History isn't set and nations will rise and fall. It is prudent to take some common sense steps to mitigate your exposure to economic collapses, famine and cultural/ ethnic/ racial violence. This century is going to be a lot like the last one just with computers and Ipods. There are certainly new risks (terrorism, EMP's, etc) but the old ones haven't gone away.
One of the biggest single misconceptions in the opening part of the 20th century was that history was set. It is really tempting to think that somehow the era you are in is the ultimate creation of all of history, but it is entirely inaccurate. War came about early as in part because the recently unified Germany sought to gain power and territory. The beginning of the century saw the massacre of almost an entire generation in the fields of Western Europe. The fall of the massive and decayed Ottoman Empire happened immediately after the war ended. Also WWI brought America onto the forefront of the world stage for the first time.
It is easy for us to look back with perfect hindsight about how foolish it was for people and nations to think history was set back then but we far too often laugh at those folks but think the same thing ourselves about today. Nations are going to gain and lose territory and power through natural coming of age (India, maybe China) and decay but also the old fashioned way, by taking it from someone else. Also I think it would be a dangerous assumption to think that even Europe is done with war. They may well come out of the shell shock of WWI and WWII and revisit old ambitions, rivalries and feuds. Just as the 20th century saw all of these events the 21st will also.
Economies will collapse. Some will just sputter out because of new developments making areas undesirable and products unnecessary and others will fall apart in spectacular hyper inflationary crashes. When this happens a few rich, smart people will be able to see it coming and prepare. As almost always is the situation it is normal average people who get the worst end of these collapses.
Lots of folks talk about how a hyper inflationary collapse is coming for America. Some say that it is coming next week and that gold will hit $9,734 an ounce. They also often say that a certain type of gold coin is best and happen to be selling them. I do not know if this will happen. Maybe we will just have a period like the late 70's and early 80's with fairly high unemployment and only 15-20% inflation. I know America is a huge, powerful and amazing nation. If anybody could figure a way out of the box it seems we are painting ourselves into it would be this great nation, however I am not so naive to think it could not happen here. If nothing else minimizing debt, particularly adjustable interest rate debt is always sound advice. If you have a few bucks that do not go strait to putting a roof over your head and food in the kitchen buying some silver and gold is a good idea.
"If the 20th century taught us anything it is that life is pretty cheap"- Jim Rawles on Coast to Coast Radio
Lots of people died in the 20th century. World War One darn near killed an entire generation of young European men. World War Two did a pretty good job on the next generation. Russia has been unsuccessful in proving that a country can kill off its entire population through revolution, war, government produced famine leading to starvation starvation and just plain purges. They do however get an A for effort.
Speaking of famine food has been used as a weapon multiple times in history. Most notably the Holodorm comes to mind. Seriously I think Russia has a running bet with somebody that they can kill off more of their population than anyone else. Though Pol Pot might have won that one. Anyway things can get bad and people go hungry, not missed a meal, like those starving African kids in the aid commercials hungry.
Sometimes war or economic craziness or nutty national policies mess up the normal flow of food that begins with production (farms, ranches, etc) and ultimately ends up in our kitchens. What can we do as individuals to mitigate this? Storing food obviously comes to mind. Having multiple ways to procure food is probably prudent. Debit cards are good but having cash as a backup is very prudent. If you are worried about a situation where a single currency/ country collapses then having some other currency on hand might be prudent. For a long time this was the dollar, nowadays Euro's, Swiss Franks or Canadian dollars might be good. A single ATM transaction worth of a foreign currency might be a big deal for your family some day. If nothing else it is cool to reference your foreign currency reserves. Again as with the hyper inflationary situation having some precious metals is a good idea if you can afford it. Assuming food is available you can get some of it if you have precious metals, as noted in Zimbabwe. Depending on your situation and how concerned you are about this particular possibility (or saving money, healthy eating, etc) producing some of your own food can be a good move. In my opinion if it is possible with your lifestyle producing some food is a good idea. However it is not a cure all. If a 40 armed men with a tank show up they will take what you have, sorry but it is true. Storing some food off site in a cache might not be a horrible idea depending on your level of concern and overall scenario. Again in a perfect world having multiple ways to get food, multiple ways to grow/ harvest your own food and multiple ways to trade/ barter/ buy food would be nice.
On a tangent I greatly enjoyed the little Reece's peanut butter eggs I ate while researching/ writing about famine. I also like having ice cream while watching Survivor and Lost.
I do not think the 21st century is going to be as bloody as the 20th. If nothing else the combination of Nuclear Weapons creating a MAD scenario between some larger nations and the faster, more technological nature of warfare the body count will almost certainly be lower. However it could still be pretty darn bad under a variety of situations. Also it doesn't matter if the total number of people killed is far lower then the last century if you and your family end up being part of the death toll.
Even aside from fully state vs state conflicts groups of people will kill each other. Sometimes states kill certain minority groups that are present within their society. Also sometimes states sponsor or allow to act without fear of intervention a group that is actively killing another group. Our world started the 20th century with a few genocides and mass killings in Turkey and Russia then finished up with a couple of bangs in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia. The time in the middle wasn't exactly calm either.
I would be quite surprised if the 21st century doesn't have a few times when certain groups of citizens are targeted by state or quasi state actors. What can be done to minimize ones risk to this sort of cultural/ ethnic/ racial violence? Well if a place seems like a cultural/ ethnic/ racial powder keg now then it might not be a great place to live, especially if you belong to the wrong cultural/ ethnic/ racial group for that area. It probably isn't politically or socially correct to say that but IMO it is something to consider. Matthew Bracken's books depict some events in the South West and California which one might want to think about.
I guess in conclusion I will reiterate a few key points. History isn't set and nations will rise and fall. It is prudent to take some common sense steps to mitigate your exposure to economic collapses, famine and cultural/ ethnic/ racial violence. This century is going to be a lot like the last one just with computers and Ipods. There are certainly new risks (terrorism, EMP's, etc) but the old ones haven't gone away.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Friday, March 19, 2010
Ammo, New Years Resolutions and Extra Magazines
Today I bought a case of .223 ammo. It is 75 grain match JHP's made by Prvi Partisan. For what it is I am pretty happy with the price. So that takes another resolution off the list which is sweet. I got to thinking about my other ammo resolution
13. Half cases each of 7.62x39, 9mm and just maybe .38. Full ones if I am feeling rich. Decided to go in a slightly different direction. I am going to get a full case of 9mm, some sort of JHP ammo. After the rest of my goals have been met I may look at some 7.62x39.
Also as per #14 I will get 20 Glock 9mm mags before moving onto more spare parts or after that some M1a mags. Who knows what will happen and it would be nice to have enough extra mags that I could pass a few to a friend if need be or get another gun and not be short mags. As I discussed earlier it would be nice to be able to stash a few here and there just in case.
Oh yeah and since I made the jerkey #18. Get a dehydrator and dehydrate something. is complete. Speaking of which I am doing pineapple slices right now.
13. Half cases each of 7.62x39, 9mm and just maybe .38. Full ones if I am feeling rich. Decided to go in a slightly different direction. I am going to get a full case of 9mm, some sort of JHP ammo. After the rest of my goals have been met I may look at some 7.62x39.
Also as per #14 I will get 20 Glock 9mm mags before moving onto more spare parts or after that some M1a mags. Who knows what will happen and it would be nice to have enough extra mags that I could pass a few to a friend if need be or get another gun and not be short mags. As I discussed earlier it would be nice to be able to stash a few here and there just in case.
Oh yeah and since I made the jerkey #18.
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Taking Over A Town: I Call Bull Spit
This recent article on survivalblog reminded me of something I have been meaning to write. There are always bunches of ideas floating around in my head and often it takes a post somewhere that touches on the topic to remind me that I had a strong opinion/ article idea.
I grew up on Westerns. When I was in my mid teens and we got non antenna TV Dad and I would often pass windy and rainy winter days by watching the Western Channel. With rare exceptions there were only a few different plots. One of those plots was taking over a town.
It basically goes like this a fairly large group of say 12-40 bad guys show up in a town and ride roughshod over the sheriff and push people around generally doing whatever they want, until the hero comes......The thing is that in real life a loner who has a questionable past but is pure of heart with a white hat who is lightning fast with a Colt .45 doesn't show up. Also more importantly towns wouldn't need one anyway. They can take care of themselves pretty well.
If you think of the bank robbers of that era they did not stick around in an isolated town with their speed of drawing and shooting a 6 gun securing their safety. They grabbed as much cash as they could quickly and rode out of town (hopefully for them) before getting shot to ribbons by farmers and store keepers with rifles and shotguns. Most of the reason people did this is that in the pre FDIC days, if a bank got robbed the money people kept in it was gone. Nowadays average people have little to no incentive to get involved in this sort of crime but if the money in the bank/ grain in the silo/ whatever was essential to the towns very survival people would not just stand by.
I remember in one book Louis Lamour gave his opinion on that plot. Basically he talked about how it would never work and was totally rediculous. There were just too many veterans of the Civil War and the Indian Wars and too many guns in the hands of the townspeople. Some things have not changed. It is often difficult to wrap ones head around how many guns are privately owned by every day, law abiding average Americans. Not everyone is a gun enthusiast with a Glock/Sig sticker on their car but Americans own a ridiculously awesome amount of guns.
This reminds me of my late Grandfather. He was a normal professional guy, pillar of the community, member of the Kiowas and all that stuff. In their nice normal home in a mid sized town he had a snubby .38, a full sized .357mag, a couple shotguns, a couple .22's and a bolt action rifle. Also one of my old Scout Masters comes to mind. Somehow when I was a bit older we got to talking about worst case scenarios. This Vietnam vet and normal retired guy casually mentioned that he had 4 AK-47's and 10 cases of ammo for them stashed away, as well as enough rimfire for a lifetime of small game. Few veterans I know are without a firearm and most have some sort of a defensive pistol as well as a defensive rifle (mostly AR's in this generation), not to mention whatever sporting arms they own.
Once you start looking at how many people are veterans, cops, hunters or just plain angry rednecks there are a lot. Thanks to the almost 10 year long GWOT we have a lot of young veterans and those Nam era guys are still around, heck a few Korea and WWII vets are still alive and kicking. There were simply way too many armed, trained and experienced individuals in even the smallest town of say 750 people a lethal proposition.
I can only speak with some measure of experience about the Pacific Northwest and the Deep South as I have lived there. In either of those places there is probably more firepower in 3 or 4 city blocks than any group of bikers/ raiders would want to deal with. A couple of smart local cops or city officials who are either veterans themselves, which is pretty common or have the basic sense to listen to those with applicable military experience could easily make the juice not worth the squeeze.
People talk about how the gloves would be off when it comes to dangerous, violent criminals (alone or in groups) doing whatever they want. That is true but those folks pretty much do what they want now, if they followed the rules they would not be dangerous violent criminals. The real game changer in the criminal to citizen relationship would be that the gloves would be off for the citizens. The idea of a group of bikers storming into town on screaming Harleys and taking over is the stuff of bad 60's era movies. Citizens and cops have a pretty good idea who the scumbags are, they are just currently bound by rule of law. I can see law and order societies, sheriffs posses, healthy reserve police forces and maybe just strait up vigilantes becoming the norm if things get bad. If you add up the police force, the local gun club, the Elks lodge, angry rednecks and all the veterans in a town of 750-2,000 there are ample numbers to make some thugs seek a weaker target.
If things were bad enough that nationwide law and order were gone and biker gangs could act without any fear of legal consequences they would likely meet a volley of rifle fire about a quarter mile from town. A biker on the move with a rifle or submachine gun (being a crook means you can ignore firearms laws which is a plus) would be no match for a deer hunter in a fighting position with a scoped flat shooting rifle, especially at a couple hundred yards.
Personally I see this sort of roving biker gang being a real issue for travelers, isolated farms, ranches and retreats. Without a serious plan to get outside reinforcements a group of 6-15 adults would have a very hard time dealing with a group of 1-2 dozen armed hard core criminals, especially if a couple of them had even minimal military training. I would be a lot more worried about relatively small groups doing what amounted to home invasions on steroids than some mobile mega gang a la Mad Max.
I grew up on Westerns. When I was in my mid teens and we got non antenna TV Dad and I would often pass windy and rainy winter days by watching the Western Channel. With rare exceptions there were only a few different plots. One of those plots was taking over a town.
It basically goes like this a fairly large group of say 12-40 bad guys show up in a town and ride roughshod over the sheriff and push people around generally doing whatever they want, until the hero comes......The thing is that in real life a loner who has a questionable past but is pure of heart with a white hat who is lightning fast with a Colt .45 doesn't show up. Also more importantly towns wouldn't need one anyway. They can take care of themselves pretty well.
If you think of the bank robbers of that era they did not stick around in an isolated town with their speed of drawing and shooting a 6 gun securing their safety. They grabbed as much cash as they could quickly and rode out of town (hopefully for them) before getting shot to ribbons by farmers and store keepers with rifles and shotguns. Most of the reason people did this is that in the pre FDIC days, if a bank got robbed the money people kept in it was gone. Nowadays average people have little to no incentive to get involved in this sort of crime but if the money in the bank/ grain in the silo/ whatever was essential to the towns very survival people would not just stand by.
I remember in one book Louis Lamour gave his opinion on that plot. Basically he talked about how it would never work and was totally rediculous. There were just too many veterans of the Civil War and the Indian Wars and too many guns in the hands of the townspeople. Some things have not changed. It is often difficult to wrap ones head around how many guns are privately owned by every day, law abiding average Americans. Not everyone is a gun enthusiast with a Glock/Sig sticker on their car but Americans own a ridiculously awesome amount of guns.
This reminds me of my late Grandfather. He was a normal professional guy, pillar of the community, member of the Kiowas and all that stuff. In their nice normal home in a mid sized town he had a snubby .38, a full sized .357mag, a couple shotguns, a couple .22's and a bolt action rifle. Also one of my old Scout Masters comes to mind. Somehow when I was a bit older we got to talking about worst case scenarios. This Vietnam vet and normal retired guy casually mentioned that he had 4 AK-47's and 10 cases of ammo for them stashed away, as well as enough rimfire for a lifetime of small game. Few veterans I know are without a firearm and most have some sort of a defensive pistol as well as a defensive rifle (mostly AR's in this generation), not to mention whatever sporting arms they own.
Once you start looking at how many people are veterans, cops, hunters or just plain angry rednecks there are a lot. Thanks to the almost 10 year long GWOT we have a lot of young veterans and those Nam era guys are still around, heck a few Korea and WWII vets are still alive and kicking. There were simply way too many armed, trained and experienced individuals in even the smallest town of say 750 people a lethal proposition.
I can only speak with some measure of experience about the Pacific Northwest and the Deep South as I have lived there. In either of those places there is probably more firepower in 3 or 4 city blocks than any group of bikers/ raiders would want to deal with. A couple of smart local cops or city officials who are either veterans themselves, which is pretty common or have the basic sense to listen to those with applicable military experience could easily make the juice not worth the squeeze.
People talk about how the gloves would be off when it comes to dangerous, violent criminals (alone or in groups) doing whatever they want. That is true but those folks pretty much do what they want now, if they followed the rules they would not be dangerous violent criminals. The real game changer in the criminal to citizen relationship would be that the gloves would be off for the citizens. The idea of a group of bikers storming into town on screaming Harleys and taking over is the stuff of bad 60's era movies. Citizens and cops have a pretty good idea who the scumbags are, they are just currently bound by rule of law. I can see law and order societies, sheriffs posses, healthy reserve police forces and maybe just strait up vigilantes becoming the norm if things get bad. If you add up the police force, the local gun club, the Elks lodge, angry rednecks and all the veterans in a town of 750-2,000 there are ample numbers to make some thugs seek a weaker target.
If things were bad enough that nationwide law and order were gone and biker gangs could act without any fear of legal consequences they would likely meet a volley of rifle fire about a quarter mile from town. A biker on the move with a rifle or submachine gun (being a crook means you can ignore firearms laws which is a plus) would be no match for a deer hunter in a fighting position with a scoped flat shooting rifle, especially at a couple hundred yards.
Personally I see this sort of roving biker gang being a real issue for travelers, isolated farms, ranches and retreats. Without a serious plan to get outside reinforcements a group of 6-15 adults would have a very hard time dealing with a group of 1-2 dozen armed hard core criminals, especially if a couple of them had even minimal military training. I would be a lot more worried about relatively small groups doing what amounted to home invasions on steroids than some mobile mega gang a la Mad Max.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Fitness For Preparadness and Fighting
FerFal wrote about fitness the other day. It made me think of something. Obviously fitness is really important. A very legitimate argument could be made that just being physically fit (or the other extreme of being really not fit) could well be a bigger factor in your ability to survive than any other single factor in many (both realistic and extreme) scenarios. Anyway the topic of different types of fitness came up and I have some semi new thoughts.
YES! Yes, you need to maintain a reasonably body weight. Yes, you need to have cardiovascular endurance, maybe enough to run a few miles or walk all day long. Yes, you need muscular endurance. Yes, you need a strong core to protect yourself from all sorts of injuries. Yes, you need the muscular strength to pull yourself over a wall or pick up and drag/ carry another person some distance.
The thing is that as a survivalist/ prepper/ whatever you want to call it you do not know what will happen. You can make some generalizations and take some guesses but you don't really know. In order to prepare as much as you can a good holistic approach to fitness. Likely one that includes cardiovascular strength, muscular endurance with core work and muscular strength is a darn good start.
FerFal also mentioned upper body strength when it comes to being a deterrent from aggression and as it factors into hand to hand combat. As a deterrent the difference between an normalish sized guy weighing a normal 165 and packing on 10-15 pounds of muscle to get to 175-180 is likely not going to cause a strong arm robber to look elsewhere. Unless you are just naturally huge (guys who are 6'5" and 300 don't likely get strong armed much regardless of muscle tone or look just strait up scary like Chucky Pancamo I am not so sure about the deterrent factor.
As for physical fitness as it factors into fighting. I think that after will to win (a Granny with a .38 will take out the best MMA guy) and skill, strength and size (then don't always go together but often do) are by far the biggest factor in street (non organized) fights. It is possible to dominate people at stand up grappling and punch their heads off with sheer skill, but it is a lot easier with some muscle, doubly so with a lot of muscle.
I have never seen cardiovascular conditioning be a factor in a street fight. One way or another they always seem to be decided before wind is a factor. When it comes to strength that is a bit harder to nail down. I do not think I have ever seen someone lose a fight because of lack of muscular (mostly upper body but also overall (a guy who can power clean #250 probably has a good punch)) strength but that would be hard to really pin down. However I can honestly say I have seen many fights won because of muscular strength. Some folks can certainly hit very hard (or whatever) without a lot of muscle because they have serious skills. However from guys I have spent time around both in the weight room and fighting (on the same side with or as an observer) with I have never known a guy who could legitimately bench press 300 pounds that didn't hit like a freight train.
Personally I have some idea what I face though that doesn't help me out much. I am an Infantryman. I need to be able to run wearing full kit, fast for a little bit or at a decent pace for a couple miles. I need to be able to put on a heavy pack and cover many miles quickly then be useful when I get there. I need the core strength to let my other muscles function and protect myself from injury. I also need to have the upper body strength to be able to get myself, wearing about 40 pounds of stuff over walls and other obstacles or (God forbid) be able to kill some jerk with my hands before he kills me with his. Basically I need to have as much strength, speed, and endurance as I possibly can.
As folks with a passion for preparedness you do not know what you are going to face. Hopefully you will face nothing but if you were comfortable with 'hopefully' you would probably not be reading my blog. I try to build as much strength, speed and endurance into myself as is possible in order to be prepared for anything that comes. I suggest you do the same.
YES! Yes, you need to maintain a reasonably body weight. Yes, you need to have cardiovascular endurance, maybe enough to run a few miles or walk all day long. Yes, you need muscular endurance. Yes, you need a strong core to protect yourself from all sorts of injuries. Yes, you need the muscular strength to pull yourself over a wall or pick up and drag/ carry another person some distance.
The thing is that as a survivalist/ prepper/ whatever you want to call it you do not know what will happen. You can make some generalizations and take some guesses but you don't really know. In order to prepare as much as you can a good holistic approach to fitness. Likely one that includes cardiovascular strength, muscular endurance with core work and muscular strength is a darn good start.
FerFal also mentioned upper body strength when it comes to being a deterrent from aggression and as it factors into hand to hand combat. As a deterrent the difference between an normalish sized guy weighing a normal 165 and packing on 10-15 pounds of muscle to get to 175-180 is likely not going to cause a strong arm robber to look elsewhere. Unless you are just naturally huge (guys who are 6'5" and 300 don't likely get strong armed much regardless of muscle tone or look just strait up scary like Chucky Pancamo I am not so sure about the deterrent factor.
As for physical fitness as it factors into fighting. I think that after will to win (a Granny with a .38 will take out the best MMA guy) and skill, strength and size (then don't always go together but often do) are by far the biggest factor in street (non organized) fights. It is possible to dominate people at stand up grappling and punch their heads off with sheer skill, but it is a lot easier with some muscle, doubly so with a lot of muscle.
I have never seen cardiovascular conditioning be a factor in a street fight. One way or another they always seem to be decided before wind is a factor. When it comes to strength that is a bit harder to nail down. I do not think I have ever seen someone lose a fight because of lack of muscular (mostly upper body but also overall (a guy who can power clean #250 probably has a good punch)) strength but that would be hard to really pin down. However I can honestly say I have seen many fights won because of muscular strength. Some folks can certainly hit very hard (or whatever) without a lot of muscle because they have serious skills. However from guys I have spent time around both in the weight room and fighting (on the same side with or as an observer) with I have never known a guy who could legitimately bench press 300 pounds that didn't hit like a freight train.
Personally I have some idea what I face though that doesn't help me out much. I am an Infantryman. I need to be able to run wearing full kit, fast for a little bit or at a decent pace for a couple miles. I need to be able to put on a heavy pack and cover many miles quickly then be useful when I get there. I need the core strength to let my other muscles function and protect myself from injury. I also need to have the upper body strength to be able to get myself, wearing about 40 pounds of stuff over walls and other obstacles or (God forbid) be able to kill some jerk with my hands before he kills me with his. Basically I need to have as much strength, speed, and endurance as I possibly can.
As folks with a passion for preparedness you do not know what you are going to face. Hopefully you will face nothing but if you were comfortable with 'hopefully' you would probably not be reading my blog. I try to build as much strength, speed and endurance into myself as is possible in order to be prepared for anything that comes. I suggest you do the same.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
The American Dream 2: Opting Out
I intended this to be one post but it got pretty long and I realized that to really hit my main points it was going to have to get broken up. Figured this was the best route so I pushed my other plans to the right a day.
I have been accused of being heartless or inexperienced or otherwise somehow not well informed on this topic. I have said more or less that people are where they are because of choices they made. That elicited a series of unhappy comments. Here is my take on the whole thing. First of all I believe in personal responsibility. Aside from truly freak accidents and blind dumb luck pretty much everything that happens in our lives is a result of some choice or another.
However it seems that maybe some folks see this position of mine as an attack against them or a view on them as an individual. That is not the case. I have a solid measure of respect for people who instead of complaining about this or that come right out and say "I made a mistake and am living with the consequences". Good people can and do often make poor choices. Maybe it is just that my mind is compartmentalized but I can really empathize with someones tough situation without trying to shift blame for it away from them. I can feel bad for someone in a rough spot while completely recognizing they put themselves in that spot.
As I talked about in length yesterday the American Dream is getting harder to achieve. Its price has gone up and the earning power of a lot of folks has gone down. No point in excessively rehashing, read yesterdays post if you need to catch up.
I see two broad reasons people opt out of the American Dream. The first is that they (at least right now) just plain can not afford it. The second is that they want to take another path. We will talk about them in order.
Some folks just plain can't afford the "American Dream". They may have the exact same job their father had (unlikely but lets go with it) however they make less money and stuff costs more. There is a lot of pressure to drive this and live here, etc. It is a hard decision to do something else, like what you can really afford. One of the downsides of the relatively recently passed insane credit bubble was that it was very easy for people to borrow their way into the American Dream. Then their adjustable rate mortgages adjusted or they got cut from 40 hours a week to 35 and their whole house of cards falls down.
Some people do not want the American Dream, at least not all of it or right now. They might just like being foot loose and fancy free preferring to live in a motor home instead of a 3 bedroom ranch. Maybe they realize that to them it is worth downsizing their expenses in order to be able to work less or take a few months every year off. Maybe they are just super cheap and would rather have cash in the bank then wood floors in the dining room.
To a certain degree Wifey and I fall into this category. We like most parts of the American Dream but are going to do it on a time line we are comfortable with. One thing about my rough age group (call it 23-33) we seem to expect to walk into a darn near ready made American Dream like a week after we get even a mediocre job. It is sometimes possible to do it that way these days (more so 3 or so years ago) with the ready available credit to anyone close to worthy.
Personally Wifey and I were not comfortable with that format. The idea of having a solid emergency fund and little or no debt suits us. We are living pretty modestly now in order to be able to do well and still be well within our means later. It might be a pretty solid idea for someone like our friend 5:59 to bite the bullet and live in a cheap little apartment for two years to pay off those student loans and otherwise shore up their financial foundation. Like many things in life the right answer is not the easy one.
We would love to own a nice home and drive a couple of solidly decent cars. However right now we can not pay for them in a fashion that is comfortable for us. We have very different opinions on how we should spend, save and borrow than most other folks. When we got married we lived in an RV for a few months. Lots of other folks would have gotten a nice apartment or even rented a house. We had some interesting times in the RV and Trailer Park and saved up some money. Folks at work messed with me a bit until I mentioned that our total housing expenses were $300. In hindsight I should have gotten a travel trailer and lived in it through college. In Alabama we chose a fairly modest apartment in order to save money.
I would love to drive a newish Toyota FJ Cruiser and Wifey would enjoy a nice little BMW. To be honest we could have these things this weekend. However we really do not want a car loan (let alone 2!) and thus we have one beat up old car. Instead of having 2 car loans eat up our income we chose to save up for a modest second car. Also by living well below our means we are able to put money towards stuff we think is worthwhile. Two car loans would make it impossible to establish an emergency fund, save for the future or otherwise get ahead.
In a few years we will buy a house. It will likely be a pretty modest fixer upper type place. A wood stove for sure and ideally a basement but nothing too amazing. I would rather fix up a place a bit than pay for a perfect place. We will come at home ownership a bit later than a lot of my peers. After all until you are a home owner you haven't made it. Too many people over the last few years jumped into something they could barely afford if they got a normal paycheck and nothing bad happened without even enough savings to get some basic repair on their car. Between their ARM mortgages adjusting or a crazy event like having a few slow weeks at work and these folks can have real issues. Personally I would rather have a bit more modest home, slightly later in life but with a solid emergency fund and with a home we can genuinely afford during a bad month when everything goes wrong.
I strongly encourage you to think long and hard. First think about what you can realistically afford and then think about what your priorities are. Remember, no matter how much someone else says you need to drive this or live here unless they are going to pay for it they don't get a vote. It is fine to want this and that and the other thing, most of us do. However you have to look at what you can afford and choose. Also to make things even more complicated you need to balance how much of a lifestyle you want to make yourself be able to afford. A guy who lives a lifestyle, even the American Dream that requires him to work 70 hours a week at a job he hates might just be happier with a smaller house, or even a trailer, and a more normal job that is not so stressful.
We all face a variety of different kinds of pressure. This pressure both real and perceived can couple together with our own desires and be a recipe for disaster. People back themselves into a circle where they have to have that house filled with those electronics in that neighborhood with those cars out front. They get all this stuff which they can't afford, seeing it as the only option and then don't understand how things are so bad. I do not have a great answer for this. Just like anything else your choices are your own and others do not pay the price for them. The same way that a friend who encourages you to do shots with them on a work night when they have the next day off is not going to feel your hangover the next day at work. People might cheer you on or encourage you to do something or another but at the end of the day your choices, good or bad are your own.
I have been accused of being heartless or inexperienced or otherwise somehow not well informed on this topic. I have said more or less that people are where they are because of choices they made. That elicited a series of unhappy comments. Here is my take on the whole thing. First of all I believe in personal responsibility. Aside from truly freak accidents and blind dumb luck pretty much everything that happens in our lives is a result of some choice or another.
However it seems that maybe some folks see this position of mine as an attack against them or a view on them as an individual. That is not the case. I have a solid measure of respect for people who instead of complaining about this or that come right out and say "I made a mistake and am living with the consequences". Good people can and do often make poor choices. Maybe it is just that my mind is compartmentalized but I can really empathize with someones tough situation without trying to shift blame for it away from them. I can feel bad for someone in a rough spot while completely recognizing they put themselves in that spot.
As I talked about in length yesterday the American Dream is getting harder to achieve. Its price has gone up and the earning power of a lot of folks has gone down. No point in excessively rehashing, read yesterdays post if you need to catch up.
I see two broad reasons people opt out of the American Dream. The first is that they (at least right now) just plain can not afford it. The second is that they want to take another path. We will talk about them in order.
Some folks just plain can't afford the "American Dream". They may have the exact same job their father had (unlikely but lets go with it) however they make less money and stuff costs more. There is a lot of pressure to drive this and live here, etc. It is a hard decision to do something else, like what you can really afford. One of the downsides of the relatively recently passed insane credit bubble was that it was very easy for people to borrow their way into the American Dream. Then their adjustable rate mortgages adjusted or they got cut from 40 hours a week to 35 and their whole house of cards falls down.
Some people do not want the American Dream, at least not all of it or right now. They might just like being foot loose and fancy free preferring to live in a motor home instead of a 3 bedroom ranch. Maybe they realize that to them it is worth downsizing their expenses in order to be able to work less or take a few months every year off. Maybe they are just super cheap and would rather have cash in the bank then wood floors in the dining room.
To a certain degree Wifey and I fall into this category. We like most parts of the American Dream but are going to do it on a time line we are comfortable with. One thing about my rough age group (call it 23-33) we seem to expect to walk into a darn near ready made American Dream like a week after we get even a mediocre job. It is sometimes possible to do it that way these days (more so 3 or so years ago) with the ready available credit to anyone close to worthy.
Personally Wifey and I were not comfortable with that format. The idea of having a solid emergency fund and little or no debt suits us. We are living pretty modestly now in order to be able to do well and still be well within our means later. It might be a pretty solid idea for someone like our friend 5:59 to bite the bullet and live in a cheap little apartment for two years to pay off those student loans and otherwise shore up their financial foundation. Like many things in life the right answer is not the easy one.
We would love to own a nice home and drive a couple of solidly decent cars. However right now we can not pay for them in a fashion that is comfortable for us. We have very different opinions on how we should spend, save and borrow than most other folks. When we got married we lived in an RV for a few months. Lots of other folks would have gotten a nice apartment or even rented a house. We had some interesting times in the RV and Trailer Park and saved up some money. Folks at work messed with me a bit until I mentioned that our total housing expenses were $300. In hindsight I should have gotten a travel trailer and lived in it through college. In Alabama we chose a fairly modest apartment in order to save money.
I would love to drive a newish Toyota FJ Cruiser and Wifey would enjoy a nice little BMW. To be honest we could have these things this weekend. However we really do not want a car loan (let alone 2!) and thus we have one beat up old car. Instead of having 2 car loans eat up our income we chose to save up for a modest second car. Also by living well below our means we are able to put money towards stuff we think is worthwhile. Two car loans would make it impossible to establish an emergency fund, save for the future or otherwise get ahead.
In a few years we will buy a house. It will likely be a pretty modest fixer upper type place. A wood stove for sure and ideally a basement but nothing too amazing. I would rather fix up a place a bit than pay for a perfect place. We will come at home ownership a bit later than a lot of my peers. After all until you are a home owner you haven't made it. Too many people over the last few years jumped into something they could barely afford if they got a normal paycheck and nothing bad happened without even enough savings to get some basic repair on their car. Between their ARM mortgages adjusting or a crazy event like having a few slow weeks at work and these folks can have real issues. Personally I would rather have a bit more modest home, slightly later in life but with a solid emergency fund and with a home we can genuinely afford during a bad month when everything goes wrong.
I strongly encourage you to think long and hard. First think about what you can realistically afford and then think about what your priorities are. Remember, no matter how much someone else says you need to drive this or live here unless they are going to pay for it they don't get a vote. It is fine to want this and that and the other thing, most of us do. However you have to look at what you can afford and choose. Also to make things even more complicated you need to balance how much of a lifestyle you want to make yourself be able to afford. A guy who lives a lifestyle, even the American Dream that requires him to work 70 hours a week at a job he hates might just be happier with a smaller house, or even a trailer, and a more normal job that is not so stressful.
We all face a variety of different kinds of pressure. This pressure both real and perceived can couple together with our own desires and be a recipe for disaster. People back themselves into a circle where they have to have that house filled with those electronics in that neighborhood with those cars out front. They get all this stuff which they can't afford, seeing it as the only option and then don't understand how things are so bad. I do not have a great answer for this. Just like anything else your choices are your own and others do not pay the price for them. The same way that a friend who encourages you to do shots with them on a work night when they have the next day off is not going to feel your hangover the next day at work. People might cheer you on or encourage you to do something or another but at the end of the day your choices, good or bad are your own.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
The American Dream
I think most of us grew up on more or less the same American Dream. Do the right thing and study hard then get a good job. By doing this you will be able to do a bit better than your parents did, assuming equitable career choices. Somewhere along the line you get married and buy a nice house with a white picket fence. Get a lovable dog and a good (not necessarily flashy but not shabby either) family vehicle. Join the local Rotary club or the Kiwanis or Lions or Moose lodge (in order depending on how much you actually want to help people and how much you like to party:) have 1.8-2.4 kids who also do the right thing and study hard. Maybe get a water ski boat or a hunting cabin or a time share in Hawaii. A few more years down the road and then a gold watch and a comfortable pension. Now you have time to make ships in bottles or spend winters in Arizona and of course enjoy the grand kids.
So where are we now? Some folks would say that the American Dream is dead. I would not say that it is dead but I would say that it is realistic for fewer people than it was 40 years ago and far less realistic than 60 years ago. What were some factors that let then, well be then.
If we look at 60 years ago we see 1950. Things were pretty darn good. A lot of this was because the rest of the world was basically blown to bits and missing a big chunk of two generations of workers, under the iron grip of Communism or both and the rest of the world was still largely undeveloped.
40 years ago the nations largest employer was General Motors and wages started at the equivalent of $17.50. Someone could graduate from high school or get out of the Army and walk into a good job with the kind of wage where you can afford the American Dream. Most jobs also had pretty good stability in addition to health care and pension plans.
So why are things not going so well now? I think it is a combination of a lot of different factors. Lets look at some of them:
First as noted pretty much everywhere real wages are going down for a lot of jobs. Most notably manufacturing which used to be the ticket for a minimally educated and skilled person to have a solidly middle class American Dream life has taken a real hit. A nice young man can't graduate from high school and get a job at the plant with a secure future for him and a family anymore. The same sorts of folks are often getting the same sort of jobs; those jobs are just buying less.
Also what we consider to be "normal" has gradually trickled up. Homes are bigger and not surprisingly more expensive. We also fill our homes with all manner of expensive gadgets and electronics. People in 1970 did not have $150 a month IPhone and Blackberry packages or tv's that cost as much as a decent used car. As with anything else when the cost rises it means fewer people can afford it.
The above two reasons are the biggest issues at hand but a couple others are in my opinion notable.
Interesting credit and debt have also been factors, if smaller ones. I am under 30 and I distinctly remember a time when many stores and shops did not accept credit cards. Debit cards were still a dream for some time after that. It is pretty hard to rack up debt when you can't buy stuff on credit. Of course stores have had payment plans and such but not too long ago most people only borrowed money for homes and cars.
Along with the long period of Greenspanian artificially low interest rates, an explosion in home prices, Fanny, Freddie (and eventually derivatives) home mortgages as well as other debt started becoming more and more available to less and less qualified people. I guess when it started bankers were confident that the long and reliable increase in home prices made them getting their money back a sure deal. Later on bankers made their quick money and sold the loans off anyway.
Somewhere along the lines it became more socially acceptable to be further and further in debt. Home prices were a huge factor in this. Getting that 3 bedroom 2 bath with a decent yard got a lot more expensive, but it was still the dream. People used to have to wait until they could buy something or a reasonable person who was concerned about getting their money back (from them, not in general) would give a loan. For the reasons listed above the grip on reality in our economy loosened a bit and then just plain took a vacation for a couple years. Also to make matters even worse as it got more acceptable to be in debt the American Dream got even bigger.
So people were having a harder time and trying to reach bigger goals to boot. Also folks were were getting further into debt trying to get the American Dream. Somewhere along the line maybe a nice slightly idealistic idea turned into an unrealistic, unsustainable and warped vision of its former self, at least for some.
As Mayberry noted "EVERYONE is force fed the "American Dream" virtually from birth." Our parents, family, teachers and friends as well as the ever present media say this is a good thing and we should want it. I certainly would not say that (at least in the slightly more retro interpretation) it's not a nice idea. However sometimes the dream isn't for everyone, at least not today.
Tomorrow I will talk about defying the norms.
Monday, March 15, 2010
quote of the day
"Let us never forget that government is ourselves and not an alien power over us. The ultimate rulers of our democracy are not a President and senators and congressmen and government officials, but the voters of this country." -- Franklin D. Roosevelt
Buying From APMEX and Radio Fun
Our friend Saddle Tramp who asked about buying silver eagles sent me another email. He asked about getting started buying from APMEX as he was a bit put off by the process. Really it is pretty easy. If you have registered for an online forum or with Amazon the process is basically the same, except you have to actually put your real info. No matter, I will go through the process of registering an account and then explain the buying process. So here we go step by step.
1. Go to www.apmex.com.
2. On the top right hand side and click on the green rectangle with rounded corners that says "Create my free account".
3. Fill out all the information.
4. Click that you agree to the user agreement.
5. Click create my secure account.
Now you have an account and can log in and buy stuff. When buying stuff you have to secure the purchase with a credit card. If I recall correctly this is so people can't say they will buy at a certain price and only actually pay if prices go up. You can pay by card, check or for big enough amounts wire transfer. There is a charge for cards and wire transfers. This is because more so than any business I know of precious metals dealers operate on very thin margins. The charge, if i recall correctly is $15. Personally I send them a check, wait for it to get there then clear (again thin margins leave no room for fraud) and eventually get my PM's for the cheapest prices possible.
If there are any more questions please just email me.
Yesterday I got to the Grundig 350DL cranking. Picked up some speaker wire at the store. It was lame that I had to buy 10 meters when I needed 4 feet but oh well. First I needed a piece of wire to hook the stupid antenna (a bit miffed at both that product and the Grundig for that one). You know how it goes. Strip the wire a bit so the metal is exposed and you can get a good connection. Getting the antenna hooked up helped some but nowhere near as much as the ground did. For the ground I took a chunk of the same wire with an appropriate amount of each end stripped. I took that wire and wrapped it around the metal pipe for the heater (do not do this with a gas pipe) and the reception improved exponentially. I picked up a whole bunch more stations. It was pretty awesome. The log is in the other room so I will have to post it later.
I have heard that shortwave radio reception, particularly on the upper end is better at night so I will have to give it a shot a bit later in the evening next weekend.
1. Go to www.apmex.com.
2. On the top right hand side and click on the green rectangle with rounded corners that says "Create my free account".
3. Fill out all the information.
4. Click that you agree to the user agreement.
5. Click create my secure account.
Now you have an account and can log in and buy stuff. When buying stuff you have to secure the purchase with a credit card. If I recall correctly this is so people can't say they will buy at a certain price and only actually pay if prices go up. You can pay by card, check or for big enough amounts wire transfer. There is a charge for cards and wire transfers. This is because more so than any business I know of precious metals dealers operate on very thin margins. The charge, if i recall correctly is $15. Personally I send them a check, wait for it to get there then clear (again thin margins leave no room for fraud) and eventually get my PM's for the cheapest prices possible.
If there are any more questions please just email me.
Yesterday I got to the Grundig 350DL cranking. Picked up some speaker wire at the store. It was lame that I had to buy 10 meters when I needed 4 feet but oh well. First I needed a piece of wire to hook the stupid antenna (a bit miffed at both that product and the Grundig for that one). You know how it goes. Strip the wire a bit so the metal is exposed and you can get a good connection. Getting the antenna hooked up helped some but nowhere near as much as the ground did. For the ground I took a chunk of the same wire with an appropriate amount of each end stripped. I took that wire and wrapped it around the metal pipe for the heater (do not do this with a gas pipe) and the reception improved exponentially. I picked up a whole bunch more stations. It was pretty awesome. The log is in the other room so I will have to post it later.
I have heard that shortwave radio reception, particularly on the upper end is better at night so I will have to give it a shot a bit later in the evening next weekend.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
What Did You Do To Prepare This Week?
I have let this one go for a few weeks. No great reason why but things got sort of busy when I traveled for that week and I got out of the pattern of it.
Over the last couple weeks we got a bunch of clothes at the thrift store. I got a pair of nice fleece jackets for 50 cents each.
Whatever money out of our entertainment fund we have not spent has been going toward the goal of stashing some more Euro's. At some point we will pull the difference out of the bank but at 10-20 Euro's a week over the course of the year it will be easier on the budget than just grabbing it all at once.
We got a bunch of flour as well as sugar and salt at the store plus some peanut butter and jelly.
Got a couple of interesting books at the library. One on war in European history, another on Pakistan and a third that is by Thomas Friedman, the title of which escapes me.
Really got the Grundig up and running. Will talk more about that later.
Today we saw running shoes on sale for 50% off. They happened to be Asics which are the brand I wear exclusively. They had my size so we snagged a pair. I got a new pair recently so I will not need another for probably 4 months but for a bit over $36 instead of $72 snagging my next pair was an easy decision. One of the real benefits of having a few bucks lying around is that you can take advantage of that sort of thing.
Well it has been a pretty decent couple weeks.
What have you been up to?
Over the last couple weeks we got a bunch of clothes at the thrift store. I got a pair of nice fleece jackets for 50 cents each.
Whatever money out of our entertainment fund we have not spent has been going toward the goal of stashing some more Euro's. At some point we will pull the difference out of the bank but at 10-20 Euro's a week over the course of the year it will be easier on the budget than just grabbing it all at once.
We got a bunch of flour as well as sugar and salt at the store plus some peanut butter and jelly.
Got a couple of interesting books at the library. One on war in European history, another on Pakistan and a third that is by Thomas Friedman, the title of which escapes me.
Really got the Grundig up and running. Will talk more about that later.
Today we saw running shoes on sale for 50% off. They happened to be Asics which are the brand I wear exclusively. They had my size so we snagged a pair. I got a new pair recently so I will not need another for probably 4 months but for a bit over $36 instead of $72 snagging my next pair was an easy decision. One of the real benefits of having a few bucks lying around is that you can take advantage of that sort of thing.
Well it has been a pretty decent couple weeks.
What have you been up to?
Thoughts On Insurgencies....
Last week I got to talking with a co worker about insurgencies. Also I prioritized watching and really enjoyed a recent episode of FRONTLINE where a reporter spent 10 days with the Taliban. Based on these two things I have some thoughts on insurgencies in Iraq (more a couple years ago than now) and Afghanistan as well as elsewhere.
-First insurgents need to blend in with the population be it in a rural or urban setting. Of course their neighbors know what is up but they will not tell the occupiers. Insurgents out in a non typical for the area heavily armed compound never have a happy ending. However just another house or farm which has the normal comings and goings (versus say 30 military aged males) is not going to get noticed.
-Secondly insurgents have the ability to choose where and when they fight. To be blunt if they are on the defensive as anything but a delaying action before retreating from superior forces they get massacred. However if they choose a time and place that suits their strengths and minimizes their weaknesses they can do some real damage with a rifle and 4 mags a piece. Considering that US Infantry are likely carrying close to half their weight in stuff it isn't suprising that they can't catch the Taliban when they retreat. (There is a very interesting article called Bring Back The Light Infantry Projecting Combat Power More Effectively that you may get something out of ) .
While I do have a stark differences with the Taliban and their Al Queda friends (I want to kill them and they want to kill me) I can honestly say that they are very effective Light Infantry. They are very physically fit, highly motivated and adept at fighting in their environment. They know how to use their strengths and minimize their weaknesses. They attack at times of their choosing with IED's and complex heavy weapons ambushes from outside of the engagement range of most of our organic platoon weapons. I hate pretty much everything they stand for but darn it I can't say they are not very good Infantrymen.
-I think a modern insurgency needs the ability to get at least a mobility kill against moving armored tracked vehicles. Without this the other side is able to move with impunity which is not a good thing for said insurgents. If the insurgents can't find an answer to this issue it is going to just massacre them. Insurgents can't win in stand up fights so if they also can't engage mobile forces they are pretty much done for. The way they are successful is by making the cost of conducting everyday operations (movement, log pacs, transport, combat ops, etc) high and eventually outlasting them.
Being able to (at least mobility) kill an armored vehicle means more than punching a hole in the side of it with a .50 cal. It requires anti tank mines, some sort of heavy IED's or genuine modern anti tank weapons. Usually manufacturing IED's is the most practical option as all it takes is some decent explosives and a bit of ingenuity. A reasonably motivated fellow with a bit of initiative and access to some sort of explosives could make an IED but making a home made Javaline missile is at best a difficult prospect.
- Insurgents have a hard time with communication. Particularly when facing a major modern military their attempts at any form of discrete radio or electric or electronic communication are futile. A modern highly skilled force that has almost limitless (at least relative to the insurgents) resources can break any form of electronic or radio communication insurgents are capable of fielding widely enough to be tactically useful. A few authors and bloggers talk about how various forms of COMSEC (namely digital encryption) which can be downloaded for free and used by anyone with half a brain can easily defeat group of dozens of PHD holding geniuses who have nothing but time and the most powerful computers in the world. If you didn't pick it up from the last sentence; to be very blunt I do not think the kind of COMSEC available to average normal citizens is good for much but keeping Barney Fife from the local PD from knowing what you are doing.
One technique which has been used with moderate success is pre paid anonymous cell phones. In some places they are really the only kind available anyway. The theory is that if someone on one anonymous cell phone calls someone on another one it is totally discrete. Easy wireless secure communications for prices any insurgent can afford.
Here is reality. People are lazy and stupid and modern methods of tracking/ snooping on cell phones are very good. This is how laziness and modern snooping collide. Lets say a dozen insurgents all have anonymous pre paid cell phones. Someones gets lazy and uses theirs to call their Moms house or their buddy at the local Mosque to ask what time the potluck is. Being as the people who are looking for them have done a good job in targeting they were snooping on Momma and the Mosques phone lines. They electronically snoop on the pre paid cell phone now, really recording and searching for key words (bomb, Allah, US, soldier, rifle, Israel, whatever). Pretty darn quickly they realize this phone is of interest. Lazy Insurgent calls one of his co conspirators to talk about the big soccer game or planting some IED's. Now they got Co Conspirators number from Lazy Insurgent. Of course being smart they wait awhile and Co Conspirator calls a couple more Insurgent buddies and so does Lazy Insurgent. More likely than not the whole network gets taken down.
Insurgents have realized this to a certain degree. They realize that if nothing else due to sheer dumb luck (it is hard to track all the cell phone conversations in a decent sized town but they will sure listen to some) that sooner or later their network is going to get infiltrated. Their answer to this is that it is easy enough to just toss a cheap anonymous cell phone and get another one. Seriously for $20 or so even your average small farmer/ insurgent can afford a new one, particularly with some help from their Saudi friend at the Mosque. However they can never seem to all ditch them at the same time. As we noted above with the way that these phones are tracked it does no good for one person to ditch theirs unless everyone they call and everyone who calls them does also, at the exact same time. Insurgents have a real hard time with this one for some reason.
The answer that Al Qaeda and the Taliban eventually came to is based on admitting that they will never be able to reliably use modern communication (radio, the internet, phones, etc all) securely. They went stone age simple and primarily rely on runners. The most sophisticated surveillance can't tell you what a scrap of paper in some guys pocket says or what the message he memorized means. This stone age method of communication combined with a a structure of cells which means the capture of any one person doesn't take everyone down is pretty effective.
Insurgents by and large just can't come up with a way to cancel out the problem of their enemy controlling the air. Not even Hamas has an air force. Without lots of money and great (from this perspective) connections getting your hands on decent man portable surface to air weapons is not realistic. The large occupying force controls the skies. Insurgents can mitigate this by blending into the population and doing things to not obviously look like insurgents. Having someone who watches the airfield the helicopters operate out of that tells them when they take off and in which direction would help a lot also. Drone aircraft are an interesting development but they don't fundamentally change the situation. Large well funded forces always controlled the skies.
Finally to close the biggest thing that benefits insurgents is taking a long view. As the Taliban say "you've got the watches but we have the time." Sort of like George Washington (a real old school insurgent;) and the Continental Army they do not have to win any battles, they just have to not get totally wiped out. Most insurgencies do not develop into full scale conflict where insurgents openly battle occupiers. If insurgents were capable of openly battling the occupiers and winning they would not be insurgents, it would be a conventional fight. It is more realistic that insurgents annoy the heck out of (yeah it is far more than annoying if it is your patrol/ convoy that gets shot to pieces but we are looking at the big strategic picture here) the occupiers until they decide the cost isn't worth it and leave. Insurgents want to make the cost of occupying their area higher than the occupiers are willing to bear.
I hope you found this somewhat informative and maybe even interesting as I spent a ridiculous amount of time writing it.
-First insurgents need to blend in with the population be it in a rural or urban setting. Of course their neighbors know what is up but they will not tell the occupiers. Insurgents out in a non typical for the area heavily armed compound never have a happy ending. However just another house or farm which has the normal comings and goings (versus say 30 military aged males) is not going to get noticed.
-Secondly insurgents have the ability to choose where and when they fight. To be blunt if they are on the defensive as anything but a delaying action before retreating from superior forces they get massacred. However if they choose a time and place that suits their strengths and minimizes their weaknesses they can do some real damage with a rifle and 4 mags a piece. Considering that US Infantry are likely carrying close to half their weight in stuff it isn't suprising that they can't catch the Taliban when they retreat. (There is a very interesting article called Bring Back The Light Infantry Projecting Combat Power More Effectively that you may get something out of ) .
While I do have a stark differences with the Taliban and their Al Queda friends (I want to kill them and they want to kill me) I can honestly say that they are very effective Light Infantry. They are very physically fit, highly motivated and adept at fighting in their environment. They know how to use their strengths and minimize their weaknesses. They attack at times of their choosing with IED's and complex heavy weapons ambushes from outside of the engagement range of most of our organic platoon weapons. I hate pretty much everything they stand for but darn it I can't say they are not very good Infantrymen.
-I think a modern insurgency needs the ability to get at least a mobility kill against moving armored tracked vehicles. Without this the other side is able to move with impunity which is not a good thing for said insurgents. If the insurgents can't find an answer to this issue it is going to just massacre them. Insurgents can't win in stand up fights so if they also can't engage mobile forces they are pretty much done for. The way they are successful is by making the cost of conducting everyday operations (movement, log pacs, transport, combat ops, etc) high and eventually outlasting them.
Being able to (at least mobility) kill an armored vehicle means more than punching a hole in the side of it with a .50 cal. It requires anti tank mines, some sort of heavy IED's or genuine modern anti tank weapons. Usually manufacturing IED's is the most practical option as all it takes is some decent explosives and a bit of ingenuity. A reasonably motivated fellow with a bit of initiative and access to some sort of explosives could make an IED but making a home made Javaline missile is at best a difficult prospect.
- Insurgents have a hard time with communication. Particularly when facing a major modern military their attempts at any form of discrete radio or electric or electronic communication are futile. A modern highly skilled force that has almost limitless (at least relative to the insurgents) resources can break any form of electronic or radio communication insurgents are capable of fielding widely enough to be tactically useful. A few authors and bloggers talk about how various forms of COMSEC (namely digital encryption) which can be downloaded for free and used by anyone with half a brain can easily defeat group of dozens of PHD holding geniuses who have nothing but time and the most powerful computers in the world. If you didn't pick it up from the last sentence; to be very blunt I do not think the kind of COMSEC available to average normal citizens is good for much but keeping Barney Fife from the local PD from knowing what you are doing.
One technique which has been used with moderate success is pre paid anonymous cell phones. In some places they are really the only kind available anyway. The theory is that if someone on one anonymous cell phone calls someone on another one it is totally discrete. Easy wireless secure communications for prices any insurgent can afford.
Here is reality. People are lazy and stupid and modern methods of tracking/ snooping on cell phones are very good. This is how laziness and modern snooping collide. Lets say a dozen insurgents all have anonymous pre paid cell phones. Someones gets lazy and uses theirs to call their Moms house or their buddy at the local Mosque to ask what time the potluck is. Being as the people who are looking for them have done a good job in targeting they were snooping on Momma and the Mosques phone lines. They electronically snoop on the pre paid cell phone now, really recording and searching for key words (bomb, Allah, US, soldier, rifle, Israel, whatever). Pretty darn quickly they realize this phone is of interest. Lazy Insurgent calls one of his co conspirators to talk about the big soccer game or planting some IED's. Now they got Co Conspirators number from Lazy Insurgent. Of course being smart they wait awhile and Co Conspirator calls a couple more Insurgent buddies and so does Lazy Insurgent. More likely than not the whole network gets taken down.
Insurgents have realized this to a certain degree. They realize that if nothing else due to sheer dumb luck (it is hard to track all the cell phone conversations in a decent sized town but they will sure listen to some) that sooner or later their network is going to get infiltrated. Their answer to this is that it is easy enough to just toss a cheap anonymous cell phone and get another one. Seriously for $20 or so even your average small farmer/ insurgent can afford a new one, particularly with some help from their Saudi friend at the Mosque. However they can never seem to all ditch them at the same time. As we noted above with the way that these phones are tracked it does no good for one person to ditch theirs unless everyone they call and everyone who calls them does also, at the exact same time. Insurgents have a real hard time with this one for some reason.
The answer that Al Qaeda and the Taliban eventually came to is based on admitting that they will never be able to reliably use modern communication (radio, the internet, phones, etc all) securely. They went stone age simple and primarily rely on runners. The most sophisticated surveillance can't tell you what a scrap of paper in some guys pocket says or what the message he memorized means. This stone age method of communication combined with a a structure of cells which means the capture of any one person doesn't take everyone down is pretty effective.
Insurgents by and large just can't come up with a way to cancel out the problem of their enemy controlling the air. Not even Hamas has an air force. Without lots of money and great (from this perspective) connections getting your hands on decent man portable surface to air weapons is not realistic. The large occupying force controls the skies. Insurgents can mitigate this by blending into the population and doing things to not obviously look like insurgents. Having someone who watches the airfield the helicopters operate out of that tells them when they take off and in which direction would help a lot also. Drone aircraft are an interesting development but they don't fundamentally change the situation. Large well funded forces always controlled the skies.
Finally to close the biggest thing that benefits insurgents is taking a long view. As the Taliban say "you've got the watches but we have the time." Sort of like George Washington (a real old school insurgent;) and the Continental Army they do not have to win any battles, they just have to not get totally wiped out. Most insurgencies do not develop into full scale conflict where insurgents openly battle occupiers. If insurgents were capable of openly battling the occupiers and winning they would not be insurgents, it would be a conventional fight. It is more realistic that insurgents annoy the heck out of (yeah it is far more than annoying if it is your patrol/ convoy that gets shot to pieces but we are looking at the big strategic picture here) the occupiers until they decide the cost isn't worth it and leave. Insurgents want to make the cost of occupying their area higher than the occupiers are willing to bear.
I hope you found this somewhat informative and maybe even interesting as I spent a ridiculous amount of time writing it.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
How To Handle Anything
I got to thinking of the basics of solving any problem. Some USAF COL named John Boyd came up with a concept called the OODA loop. It stands for observe, orient, decide and act. To me this is one of those ridiculous military things where we make up an acronym and a very complicated way of saying what people have always done. I think it is utterly stupid that this thinking is considered new or unique.
My Great Grandfather did this without any sort of fancy acronym. When standing in the kitchen where he saw (observed and oriented) a rabbit eating the plants in garden. He then decided (decided) to shoot it. He grabbed the Remington 241 Speedmaster, opened the door and shot that rabbit (acted). He then walked outside, picked up the rabbit, cleaned it and Great Grandma cooked it up for dinner. He had a functional understanding of how to see a problem and react to it without a fancy acronym. Also he had a very nice .22 to shoot rabbits and such.
So my little rant aside back to how to handle anything.
First you need to see a problem or something worth handling. We don't fix stuff that we don't see as broken. This could be anything. It could be that your area could have a natural disaster that is an equivalent to Katrina. The rise of home invasions may have you concerned. You might get worried about losing your job in these crazy times. So you have seen a problem.
Next you take reasonable steps to deal with the problem. If you are worried about a natural disaster then stashing some water, easy to prepare food, a radio and flashlight with spare batteries, a gun (of any type except rimfire, lets not degenerate to gratuitous gun talk) with a couple hundred rounds of ammo, an envelope full of a few hundred bucks in small bills and a couple gas cans would be a great start and not a bad finish.
Lets say you have long had plans for dealing with a generic burglar. You keep a loaded .357 magnum near the bed and practice with it monthly. However with all of the home invasions going on your wheel gun is not looking like a solution. You decide to replace the old wood and glass front door with a heavier solid metal one with good locks and reinforce the door frame to boot. You also get a heavy "screen door" just for good measure. You keep them both locked and are extra vigilant about opening the door. Unless you know someone or expect them to show up you don't open it. Also you always have the revolver on you when answering the door. A couple paychecks down the road you get a pump shotgun with an 18-20 inch barrel and some buckshot. You move the pistol into the living room when you are out there during the evening and weekends. Eventually you decide to laminate the glass on all first floor windows with that film stuff. You go to the range more and learn to move tactically through your residence. Of course not much of anything is going to help if a half dozen outlaw bikers crash through the wall (Sons of Anarchy "Eureka") but you have gone a long way toward dealing with 2-3 criminals tricking their way to get you to open the door and forcing their way in. Also you have armed yourself and hardened your home to give you time to get set in case 2-4 criminals try to bust the door or a window and force their way in.
Or course we will always see new problems from time to time. For example I wasn't too worried about things going totally nuts until Katrina. I saw no real reason to own silver until the Subprime Crisis and subsequent all around financial mess. All of a sudden having some silver seemed like a pretty good idea to me. I saw a problem in potential currency weakness/ failure and took reasonable steps to mitigate that by getting some silver.
See a problem and do what you can to mitigate it that is the simple way to handle anything.
My Great Grandfather did this without any sort of fancy acronym. When standing in the kitchen where he saw (observed and oriented) a rabbit eating the plants in garden. He then decided (decided) to shoot it. He grabbed the Remington 241 Speedmaster, opened the door and shot that rabbit (acted). He then walked outside, picked up the rabbit, cleaned it and Great Grandma cooked it up for dinner. He had a functional understanding of how to see a problem and react to it without a fancy acronym. Also he had a very nice .22 to shoot rabbits and such.
So my little rant aside back to how to handle anything.
First you need to see a problem or something worth handling. We don't fix stuff that we don't see as broken. This could be anything. It could be that your area could have a natural disaster that is an equivalent to Katrina. The rise of home invasions may have you concerned. You might get worried about losing your job in these crazy times. So you have seen a problem.
Next you take reasonable steps to deal with the problem. If you are worried about a natural disaster then stashing some water, easy to prepare food, a radio and flashlight with spare batteries, a gun (of any type except rimfire, lets not degenerate to gratuitous gun talk) with a couple hundred rounds of ammo, an envelope full of a few hundred bucks in small bills and a couple gas cans would be a great start and not a bad finish.
Lets say you have long had plans for dealing with a generic burglar. You keep a loaded .357 magnum near the bed and practice with it monthly. However with all of the home invasions going on your wheel gun is not looking like a solution. You decide to replace the old wood and glass front door with a heavier solid metal one with good locks and reinforce the door frame to boot. You also get a heavy "screen door" just for good measure. You keep them both locked and are extra vigilant about opening the door. Unless you know someone or expect them to show up you don't open it. Also you always have the revolver on you when answering the door. A couple paychecks down the road you get a pump shotgun with an 18-20 inch barrel and some buckshot. You move the pistol into the living room when you are out there during the evening and weekends. Eventually you decide to laminate the glass on all first floor windows with that film stuff. You go to the range more and learn to move tactically through your residence. Of course not much of anything is going to help if a half dozen outlaw bikers crash through the wall (Sons of Anarchy "Eureka") but you have gone a long way toward dealing with 2-3 criminals tricking their way to get you to open the door and forcing their way in. Also you have armed yourself and hardened your home to give you time to get set in case 2-4 criminals try to bust the door or a window and force their way in.
Or course we will always see new problems from time to time. For example I wasn't too worried about things going totally nuts until Katrina. I saw no real reason to own silver until the Subprime Crisis and subsequent all around financial mess. All of a sudden having some silver seemed like a pretty good idea to me. I saw a problem in potential currency weakness/ failure and took reasonable steps to mitigate that by getting some silver.
See a problem and do what you can to mitigate it that is the simple way to handle anything.
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