Quote(s) of the Day

 "What is your preferred method for prying them (guns) from my cold dead hands?"

"You're probably not going to take my guns.....because I have guns"
-Steven Colbert

Steven Colbert discussing gun control with Congresswoman Donna Edwards on the TV. Excellent. It turns out that I'm watching a rerun which means you can see the clip here.

Casting Call: Wanna Be Famous?

Do you and your family need a change? Something that will put family time back to the top of the priority list.

The makers of GOLD RUSH are looking for a family in need of a new challenge.

If you want more family time round the table and less in front of the tv; if you want your gadget addicted children to learn a few more life skills; if you would rather spend more time making a home and less paying for one; or if you would just like to slow things down, then this could be the show for you. 

We are working with a major cable network channel to cast for an incredible new documentary series. If you would like a trial run at a life less ordinary then this is your chance. We are offering a taste of life outside the rat race. No gadgets, no junk food, no social media taking over. Land, space, fresh air and plenty of challenges await those looking to try something new… 

We look forward to hearing from you. Don’t forget to tell your friends too.

documentarycharacters@gmail.com

Ryan here: Based on my anecdotal observation of how people have/ can be portrayed as well as obvious OPSEC/ PERSEC concerns I would have a hard time recommending this sort of thing to others. This guy is definitely not interested. Regardless of my personal opinion somebody here might be interested so I'm passing the info along to you all.

Doomsday Preppers and Solar Charger Test

Today we caught a couple episodes of Doomsday Preppers on the tv. We hadn't seen that show before as it was not available in Germany so it was pretty interesting. Some things definitely jumped out at me.

First the amount of people who were very prepared but seriously overweight amazed me. I'm not talking could stand to lose a few pounds or a bit of a belly but strait up obese. I just don't get it. The odds they will have to walk more than a couple miles, maybe carrying a moderate load like a get home bag, face a physical confrontation or pull their body over an obstacle are far higher than that they will need a year's worth of food, a Faraday cage or whatever. Also even if they have the discrete skills to survive a gunfight their fat body might not be able to move fast enough and their already taxed heart might give out due to the stress. I talk physical fitness a lot here. Running, lifting heavy things, ruck marching and generally how to be a modern day guerrilla or whatever else you wanna call it. You do not have to do what I do exactly but for goodness sake do something.

Other than that rather obvious note the biggest thing that jumped out at me were gaping holes in peoples preps. Mostly it was people with otherwise great setups that had no serious security plans. Some were seemingly intimidated by the subject and others were back to nature gardening types that are rather naive to the ways of the world.

I decided to do some testing with our little Bruton solar charger. It did a great job charging 2 AA batteries (holds 4 but I only had 2 dead ones) in about 2 hours. I tried charging a device via the USB port some time ago and it failed for undiagnosed reasons. However it did just fine with the batteries and they are what is really important so that is good. Looking at getting a bigger setup. Something large enough to charge a few devices and run some lights. Goal 0 makes some pretty nice stuff.

Anyway I hope you all have a great Sunday

The Walking Dead: Killer Within

Continuing our series on The Walking Dead.

The guy busting the chain securing the fence and baiting a bunch of Walkers into their little prison hidey hole is not boding well for this awkward roomie thing. I can't see myself accepting that sort of situation; one way or another somebody would have to go.

Rick's crew are getting settled into the prison which makes sense. One should strive to continually improve their situation in terms of security and comfort whenever possible. Seeing the prisoners out and about and potentially baiting them into a trap is not an indicator for good things to come. The group's discussion of what to do with these people is interesting. 

On the bright side Rick's crew learned from their experiences at the farm and are staging their vehicles and presumably supplies to leave in a hurry if need be. Still as Commander Zero noted the group would really benefit from a system of caches. Even a little bit of food, some clothes, blankets and tools plus weapons if they could let them survive in a less unpleasant fashion if they have to e and e to get away from a Zombie horde.

The open gate turned out to be really ugly. The crew have a whole lot of perimeter to man and not a lot of folks to do it. This is a good reminder that an obstacle will only serve to delay enemies and only really do that well if covered by folks with guns.

T Dog getting bit is bad. Not just rather obviously for him but for the group. They are losing a strong healthy guy which are in short supply these days. Hopefully everybody else makes it but still bad.

The Governor hitting golf balls from that barrier reminds me of guy's driving balls off HESCO walls into the desert in Afghanistan.

Those sirens going off at the prison point to somebody with inside knowledge AKA one of the prisoners setting this up. To top off all of the awesomeness that is going on at the prison Lori seems to be giving birth.

It turns out that the guy Rick left for dead in the prison yard full of zombies didn't actually die. Seriously if movies and TV have taught you nothing do not ever leave somebody to die and assume they are dead. Take the time and put a bullet in their head, slit their throat, bash their skull in with a rock or otherwise make absolutely sure they are dead. The other prisoner saving Rick's life then handing over that big shiny Colt should earn some serious good will from the group. Taking in new people, especially convict's is iffy but they are running pretty short on healthy folks who can work and fight.

The C Section without anestesia on a prison floor during the Zombie Apocalypse was pretty graphic and a bit much for my pregnant wife.

Offing 3 main characters (T Dog, Carol and Lori if I saw it right) in a single episode was pretty nuts. It made SOA killing off Opie out of the blue seem minor in comparison. That is a lot of holes to fill and people will step up to fill roles and relationships will adjust to the new situation.

Anyway I've got to get moving towards bed.

The Walking Dead: Walk With Me

 Alternate Title: Unless You're Hershel whose leg got nommed by a Zombie then chopped off with a hatchet.

Last week we did a sort of free form Walking Dead post. I plan to do it again today. Really this isn't a blow by blow recap parse it's just random thoughts that pop into my head while watching the show. Of course there will be significant spoilers so if you care about that then watch the episode first.

It is worth noting that this new (tentative) feature's inspiration comes from Alexander Wolfe of TEOTWAWKI Blog. He's been doing a Walking Dead feature for awhile and reading those posts lead to me giving it a shot.

Anyway it's time for the episode to start:

From the recap it seems Merle may reappear.

The helicopter pilot calling Mayday when they crash seems to imply somebody is listening that might be able to help. Maybe there is still some element of the military or government that are relatively intact.

Andrea does not seem to be doing well. Not sure what she is sick with but it seems to be lingering.

Some folks show up to the crash. I believe this is the first introduction of the Governor and his people. They seem like a well equipped and efficient bunch. Their use of bows and bat's in manageable situations while covered by firearms is very solid. Also their apparent SOP of  carrying a knife strong side and a pistol cross draw on the weak side seems to be representative of the order they are to be used in.

Unless I am mistaken the voice of Merle Dixon greets us. A second later we see our tough guy kinda psycho old acquaintance in the flesh. His bayonet hand is pretty neat for zombie killing. This should be fun.

Maybe sawing your hand off after being left for dead does something to put things into perspective. Meryl seems to either have come to terms with things or has an endgame. "Show of hands" is a good ironic phrase for a one handed dude.

The Governor's town of Woodburry seems like a nice place to ride out the end of the world. Then again we don't know much about the management setup except Merle is a key figure which is almost surely bad. Also holding onto their weapons (while in and of itself prudent) isn't a good sign for their benevolence.

 The breakfast discussion between Andrea, Michonne and the Governor was definitely interesting. The Governor and his guys ambushing the rest of the GI's from the group that had the chopper go down says a lot about who they are. It is now pretty obvious how they are so well armed and supplied. Not sure what their deal is (maybe they don't want other strong groups around but will accept individuals, maybe it's a crazy religious apocalypse thing or who knows) but this crew is definitely playing for keeps.

Next week it looks like Rick's group and the prisoners might come to a head and the situation with the Governor and our heroine's will continue to develop. 

Anyway I hope you all have a great Monday morning.

Dry Fire Practice

I have started doing dry fire practice over the past few days. Definitely good stuff. I have figured out a few things and am getting my overall concealed carry system sorted out. While K over at Combat Studies Group has some interesting ideas to fill a few sessions I am sort of flying fast and loose without an overall plan. Suspect I will end up with something cyclical. Will figure it out soon enough; if I recall there is a good book on dry fire training on my Amazon wish list.

Need to figure out the shooting scene here. My goal is to conduct dry fire training not less than 6 days a week and live fire training monthly. Would like bi weekly better but I am not sure if that is realistic right now. Will have a better idea once I figure out the logistics of shooting here and some other stuff. Certainly monthly is realistic.

I discovered the TV show Longmire and it is pretty cool. A contemporary Western that has some of the good parts of those old shows without being a cheese throwback.

Anyway that stuff was all going on and all of a sudden I realized it was after midnight and I hadn't posted anything today. Now I'm off to bed.

Random Thoughts: Money, Life and Stuff

This weekend I got to catch up with some long time friends. One guy I grew up with just happened to be in town for the weekend to go to a wedding and we were able to catch up. That was great.

In particular it was great to see one friend with whom I have a lot in common. At the surface we are very different but a lot of core beliefs and attitudes are the same. Stuff like meeting a girl, getting to know her, getting hitched and then having a kid and how we deal with finances and such.

We talked a lot about all manner of things. He has done real well for himself. It was a reminder to me that I need to put some energy into developing additional streams of income or at least the skills and stuff to do so if needed. Also I need to get better at mechanical stuff. We talked about a few things and I was pleased he was on the right track and gave him some ideas to think about.

I was disappointed to hear that a couple we know was going through bankruptcy. I do believe that bankruptcy is a necessary legal mechanism. Things can happen that make it so people cannot meet their debts. Somebody could do all the right things and get hurt or disabled or whatever. This is not one of those cases. They seem to have just bought a bunch of toys on credit and generally lived a lifestyle they could not afford. My friend also mentioned that the guy thought his wife did not need to work as a contributing factor. He sort of implied this was an antiquated or impractical way of living.

I sort of dissented at this point. I said it is perfectly possible and relatively simple. Figure out what Dad (or really mom if you want to go that way) makes, chop out some to save and then live on it. Simple, though not necessarily easy. He makes enough money that it could work but they would have a pretty modest life. No big fancy trucks or boats or expensive hobbies. Apparently they wanted to have their cake and eat it too.

Anyway I have a hard time with this. I suppose they had good intentions to honor the debts they took on. However at some point before deciding to file for bankruptcy I wonder if they knew the jig was up. Maybe they decided to have some fun going down. I don't know. The idea that they are deciding it is too unpleasant to honor their debts and it is easier to default is difficult for me. It isn't that Chevy or Visa or Cabellas or whatever are going to be unduly hurt or are worth anything in particular. More that I have, maybe theoretically to my own detriment, a sense of honor about these things. [ Wifey once said there are two things to know about me. I don't do things I don't want to do  and I do what I say I will do.] Doesn't matter if the other party is worthy, like a friend or relative, or not. If I say I will do something then I do it, or at least give it my best. 

Went for a little run today. It is amazing how a half dozen long (150m ish) sprints totally change the character of a 2 mile run. Between that and the 3 miler I did late last week puts me at 20.5. Getting to 50 might be rough this month. However in the big picture considering I have never done any sort of exercise program on leave getting halfway would be something solid.

Today we had a family dinner. That was pretty good. A couple relatives drove a long way to make it which was totally surprising and great. One of them who is pretty like minded and I got to talking about life and our economy. The benefits of diversification came up. Having some silver and an extra gun or three you could sell or swap without shorting yourself is a good thing.

I saw the new show Revolution which was interesting. Will watch next week. Between it and Sons of Anarchy my TV lineup is getting going again. Big fun.

Sorry for a rather random post. I had planned on something else but the evening kind of got away from me. Anyway I hope all is well for everybody.

Black Duffelbag Full of Guns

In every decent action, adventure, crime type drama if the main characters get into some totally crazy situation they have a black duffel bag full of guns they grab. These seem to be kept in attic's, closet's, garages and basements. Sometimes they are hidden in crazy locations.

I currently have the components necessary for this. While I have backed off on talking specifics over the last couple years folks who've been reading for awhile with decent memories know I have a fairly solid gun collection. I also happen to own a black duffel bag.

Part of the coolness of this TV staple setup is that all of the stuff is dedicated to the purpose. It takes away a lot of the utility and cool factor if things get crazy and I go dumping out my duffel from our last long trip and stuffing it with guns. Needless to say for this to be stored all together it couldn't have the pistol I carry every day either.

Allocating a certain portion of the battery for this sort of setup makes sense. It meshes well with a sort of PACE plan and spreading my proverbial eggs out. With a little bit of forethough and a few more purchases I could fill out (not totally full but worth the while) a duffel bag.

Random Thoughts From Lost

Wifey and I have been watching Lost on Hulu plus lately. Finally about to finish the series. I have observed some things both good and bad that are worth talking about. We will alternate good and less good. Otherwise there is no particular order.

Good: Most characters carry basic gear with them all the time. How everybody got a backpack I am not sure but they all seem to have them. Basically they all had the best survival kit they were able to put together. Contents are basic stuff like a water bottle, some food, as well as other useful stuff they might have like fire starting gear, a knife and a firearm if they have them.This stuff makes surprise events or unplanned trips much more comfortable than they otherwise would be. Also this lets them survive if they can't make it back to camp/ their supplies though since it is TV the nitty gritty is glossed over.

Less Good: Repeatedly I have been disappointed that the characters fail to use even the most primitive caches. [The only exception is Sawyer occasionally hiding the stuff he stole from the group] They get a bunch of food, medicine or weapons and then end up losing it all due to an accident/ explosion or needing to flee from an overwhelming force. Simply by putting a rifle with ammo, some food and gear in the most water resistance stuff you can find and tucking it under an overhang of a cave or a hole in an old tree they would be way ahead of the game.

Good: The importance of having medical skills in your groups was emphasized. It is awful convenient  that they had a bunch of Doctors on the island. The value of such skills cannot be overstated. Regardless of if you have a doc (lucky!) or not everybody needs to get as proficient as they can because Doc might be the guy who gets unlucky in a gunfight or cutting wood.

Less Good: The kumbaya  factor was a bit high. The fights and conflict in the beginning of season 1 are probably pretty realistic. People do band together in times of need but they sometimes go all Lord of the Flies.

Good: The need to be fit in a variety of ways is emphasized. Be able to run, swim, climb, lift stuff and if need be carry people. 

Less Good: The ratio of accidental/ illness to dramatic crazy stuff in terms of injuries was quite off. Granted it was a TV show but for every gunfight there are going to be a dozen cuts from inexperienced people using sharp tools, cases of the common cold or food poisoning or whatnot.

Good: The importance of skills was emphasized.There is a saying that the more you know the less you need to carry. That is really helpful if circumstances leave you less than ideally equipped.

Anyway I hope this gives you something to think about.

Saturday Randomness

Today was a pretty good day. Our weather finally snapped out of early spring nastiness if just for the day. We went out to a you pick field which was pretty fun. Kiddo had a good time. He didn't quite get putting them into the bucket but ate it all instead. The fruit we picked was pretty cheap which was cool. Far cheaper (healthier and fresher) than we could get in a store. This was definitely a reminder that we want to be close to our food. Producing some of our food would be ideal but with my job that can be problematic. Certainly we can buy from farmers markets (did it in the South) and if possible look into coop and group buy type stuff.

Went through and layed out my purchasing priorities for the next few months using my Intentional Purchasing Plan. Using this as a forcing function to put more money into medical stuff, alternative energy and food will probably make things much better balanced. Incidentally I planned to buy a bunch of medical stuff to put together a few IFAK's tonight but the Chinook Medical website, or at least my connection to it, is on the fritz. Sure it will be up tomorrow or the next day.

I stumbled onto the Hillpeoplegear site. Their recon kit bags are probably the best way to carry concealed on your body with a ruck on your back that I have seen. The stuff isn't cheap but I have heard good things about it. Don't need anything they make but some of their stuff would be aweful nice and make the outdoors more comfortable. In a couple years when, having squared up more basic stuff, I can afford some luxuries they will get some money from me.

A big highlight in our recent lives is getting hulu plus running through the Wii. We get a lot of TV for $7 a month which is pretty cool. We are enjoying watching Lost. As we have been over here for almost 3 years we are pretty behind the TV power curve. Some new entertainment opportunities are surely enjoyed in our house.

We had a pretty good Saturday here. Tomorrow will be a pretty quiet day as we take care of a lot of household stuff like grocery shopping and laundry on Sunday's. Anyway I hope you all are having a good weekend.

Wanna Be on TV?

Friday Randomness

Well it seems President Obama's view has evolved to where he now supports Gay marriage. My thoughts on that issue are on the record and I am pretty much ambivalent about this new development. I suspect it is about firming up his base and making Romney look like an evil hate monger.

If you have been waiting to buy PM's at a dip it might be time to pull the trigger.

In case you were wondering 2 year old girl scout cookies taste just fine.

If you are short on doom and gloom there is an outbreak of whooping cough in Washington State. In case you needed any more reason to vaccinate yourself and your children.

JP Morgan lost a couple billion dollars in the last few weeks.

Greek leftists want to stay in the Euro but avoid any sort of austerity.

France's economy isn't doing so well.

I have been enjoying the show Person of Interest lately. It is a bit big brothery and will make you want to delete all social networking stuff then smash your laptop and cell phone but those may not be thoughts worth fighting anyway. There is always action and the good guys win which makes for an enjoyable show.

Dewars Scotch whisky has found a place in our liquor cabinet.  It is smooth and affordable enough to drink whenever the mood strikes me.  It isn't going to be mistaken for a nice single malt but at half the price that would not be a reasonable expectation. One of the downsides of scotch is that a decent blend is the price of a bottle of Crown Royal or a good burbon.

Have a good weekend,

Ryan

Wanna Be On Tv

CASTING:

SURVIVALIST AND PREPPERS, WHO ARE SINGLE AND LOOKING TO DATE

DO YOU BELIEVE THAT THE END OF THE WORLD IS NEAR, YET YOU ARE STILL SEARCHING FOR SOMEONE TO FALL IN LOVE WITH?

A Major television production company is casting single men and women who share the belief that the world is soon ending for a new major television series. We are in search of people who passionately believe in the world’s inevitable end, are serious about survival skills, but are also single and looking for someone to enjoy the rest of their time on earth with! Please tell us your story.

Please email us with your story with a current photo of yourself along with a current contact telephone number and email address to Sean De Simone (http://seandesimonecasting.com/) at survivaldatecasting@gmail.com

 

[TOR here: I have no interest in the current TV fascination with preppers and survivalists. I feel this way for a lot of reasons including that I am rather cautious about personal security. However I figured some of you might just be interested in this type of thing. Please think hard about it though.]

Quote of the Day

"It bothers me that in this society, it’s OK seeing a guy blow another’s head off, but a child seeing Janet Jackson’s boob at the Super Bowl is the worst thing that could happen. It’s not the end of the world! It’s just a breast!"

- Charlize Theron

Quote of the Day

"When in doubt, shoot them all"-Wifey

We are watching the movie Face Off where the good guy looks like the bad guy who looks like the good guy.

Quote of the Day

"I don't have to be careful. I've got a gun. "-Homer Simpson

Totally the wrong way to think for so many reasons but really funny because it is Homer.

Walking Dead Season 2 Finale and Thoughts

First of all I want to thank AMC for donating The Walking Dead to AFN which lets me watch it, albeit a week or two behind. Sure I can watch it on the internet but it isn't the same as the TV. Having a show I like on the TV is pretty cool. The last two episodes were pretty crazy, a lot of stuff came to a head.
As CZ notes the folks in this show are not survivalists. They are also not military or whatever. They would be a lot better off if anybody had half a clue how to defend anything. Failing to understand that security is the first priority of work is a problem. Also missing the good old P6 (proper preparation prevents piss poor performance) and it hurts them.
As CZ noted Rally Points are important in some situations. If you realistically may need to leave the location that you are in rally points are important. In the Army rally points are most applicable in small operations that are dangerous or complex and patrol bases (defined as a short term location where a small unit may stay for 0-24 hours). Typically for a patrol base you will have two ralley points in opposite directions. Black and Gold or Budweiser and Tyson or whatever. If you are attacked by an overwhelming force from one side you go to the other. Ideally the leader would yell the rally point that folks should head to. Rally points should be far enough away from your location to be away from whatever is happening but not so far that getting there is problematic or folks will stumble into a bunch of junk along the way. Terrain dictates as 300-400 meters in deep woods with varied terrain is probably enough but it certainly would not be in flat open terrain. Since these sort of things always seem to come up at night it needs to be a recognizable place. Folks won't get to a random arbitrary location (400 meters strait west, or whatever) at night in a chaotic situation when they can't necessarily go in a strait line. On the other hand the big clump of bamboo immediately north of the bend in the creek is a recognizable area. Granted it is easier to do this when the location you are at is fixed (vs stopping for the night or whatever).

The idea of rolling/ SOP type rally points can work in some situations. I remember seeing a show once about a con man who had a daughter. If things got crazy their rule was that she would meet him at the bus station. This worked because every town of any size has one and you can wait there with minimal scrutiny. On the other hand 300 meters back or the last terrain feature is not a great plan. Folks will get it wrong. Specifically designate a readily recognizable place.

To take a step back the point of ralley points is that if things go entirely to hell everybody can organize and consolidate at a pre coordinated locations. If you get hit hard and need to leave the leader can yell "Black" or whatever and groups will move toward that location.

The real key with ralley points is that they are readily recognizable. Invariably attacks will come at night. A plan that the ralley points are 300 meters west and east of the patrol base is fundamentally flawed. Imagine you are a soldier who just got attacked at 2 AM when you were asleep. You shove boots on your feet and grab your ruck and when your leader yells to move to the ralley point you go. Finding 300 meters to the west is seriously problematic. Folks will stop short and go long and go to the left and right. Conversely if you go for the saddle (low are between 2 hills) 100 meters short of a crossroads or an open area in a valley folks can find that.
Also if your area is not entirely secure have your bag(s) packed.

No matter how well prepared your defenses are there may come a time when your situation could become untennable with staying only resulting in death. Spreading your equipment and supplies out with some at a friends, some in caches and some at home would help decrease the pain of needing to leave.
I can't wait for next season.

Killed Our TV, Well the Cable Anyway

When I deployed and Wifey went home we canceled the tv, internet, etc all. During the last year the cable company changed the services they offer. They added a couple channels and made it 'digital' then almost doubled the cost. We were not happy with the value of the service BEFORE the price almost doubled. It went up to $80 IIRC which we just were not going to pay.

Also we have another significant consideration, we now have a small child. Babies don't notice things like TV but toddlers sure do. So we decided to drastically cut down on our TV watching. In the past the TV was just kind of on most of the time. As background noise more often than not. Well that needed to change.

We have AFN (which is a few (4 or 5 I think) networks put together by the military to provide US news and entertainment to service members all over the world) which is sufficient. We watch a bit of cartoons with the kid every day, sometimes for him and sometimes for us to get a breather. After he goes to bed we watch a bit of TV before hitting the hay.

Wifey doesn't miss watching more TV. I sort of miss the news in the morning while drinking coffee. I have started listening to news online which is not a bad substitute. Wifey listens to the radio during the day. We don't plan to cut TV out entirely, just to cut it back. Wifey enjoys some shows and The Walking Dead on Saturday night is the highlight of my entertainment week.

If you are short on money and time but still have cable or satelite you might want to consider this.

Quote of the Day

"Winners take responsibility, losers blame others."-Chris Wallace Brit Hume

Apparantly I attributed this to the wrong middle aged guy with black hair in a suit who works for Fox news. Oopsy.

Quote of the Day

"You go for a man hard enough and fast enough, he don't have time to think about how many's with him; he thinks about himself, and how he might get clear of that wrath that's about to set down on him."


-Roster Cogburn in True Grit (2010)