Confessions of Preparedness Junkies

Someone Else's Teachable Moment

2012-02-16T12:59:00.000-08:00

People are always busting my chops for the amount of "stuff" I carry on my person or in my vehicle at all times. To these people I usually say, "You just never know what may happen." That or, a rather lengthy string of expletives followed by 'Mind your own *expletive deleted* business!"

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/02/16/couple-survives-three-days-stuck-in-snow-on-girl-scout-cookies-peanuts/#ixzz1mXsBN1gl?test=latestnews

I realize it is EXTREMELY easy to Monday Morning Quarterback this story and point out what I would have done differently. And to do so would be beneath some other people. But, not me!!

Let's just go down the list...

"...they traveled down a remote road that had not been plowed and their car got stuck in snow."

You might think the mistake here was driving down an unplowed road, but you'd be wrong. It's much more basic than that. They didn't know, or acknowledge the limitations of the vehicle they were driving. I drive down unplowed roads all the time...in my JEEP with 4WD and All terrain tires. I've got $20 that says they were in an ordinary FWD car with All Weather radials.

"...with his cellphone almost dead and no charger. "

Seriously? No cell phone charger? This is a classic example of just how short-sighted some people are. Cell phones probably save more lives than anything else. How do you leave the house without some way to recharge your cell phone? It can be something as simple as a cigarette lighter charger. It doesn't have to be a solar charger or spare battery pack. But guess what...those things will keep your cell phone running for a helluva' long time, even of you're not near your vehicle. Like...while you're hiking 6 miles to get to someplace your cell phone will work.

"Searchers say it was difficult to find the couple because they were searching in the wrong area. The couple did not tell friends or family where they were going."

Freaking tell someone where you're going for crying out loud! I mean, not necessarily if you're just headed to the grocery store for milk. But, you're driving into the mountains. THE MOUNTAINS!!! People die in the mountains all the time by doing just this sort of thing. Let someone know where you're headed.

"Schroeder is being treated for minor frostbite."

Another $20 says he didn't have decent footwear with him. Or gloves. Or a hat. You know...the basics for driving into THE MOUNTAINS in the SNOW!!!!!

"DeGrace has a medical condition that, rescuers say, would have killed her if they stayed stuck a day longer."

Congratulations jackass. You almost killed somebody. Nice work. Of course, the same could said for her. If you med's you have to take every day, you MIGHT want to carry a couple days worth of those with you. Again, incredibly short-sighted to think you will be home to take your med's every time you need to. Nothing could ever possibly keep you away from them for any period of time. Nope!! Nothing at all.

Frankly, these kinds of stories piss me off. I would LOVE to be stuck in the snow for a couple of days. It would be like a freaking vacation. God!! The sleep I could catch up on curled up in my sleeping bag for three days...epic! EPIC!!!! And when I got hungry, I could munch on a Cliff Bar and make some tea. If I got REALLY bored with sleeping all day(not likely), I could read a book on my tablet. Oh wait, the battery on the tablet is getting low. I'll just plug it into the cigarette lighter.

Three days later...maybe I should try to get rescued. Naaaaaaaaaaaa! I'll give it another couple of days. I am getting to the good part of "Lights Out" again after all. Yeah, two more days and then I'll put on my heavy boots, gloves and hat. That way I can walk to somewhere my freshly charged cell phone can get reception and not lose any fingers or toes.

But, in reality, the wife had the Search and Rescue folks out looking for me two hours after I'm "missing"(read: not home doing laundry) and they know just where to look. Despite my having buried the car in snow, on purpose, they go right to me.

*Expletive deleted* Now I have to go to work tomorrow!!

Finally got it right. Well...mostly

2012-02-07T15:49:00.000-08:00

My clothing for the weather that is.

Took another hike today during lunch. 3.4 miles with my 21 Essentials pack at 19.11 minutes/mile. This speed is showing a little slower than I actually walked since I did take a very short break at the turnaround point.

The temperature outside was right around 36 Deg. F. It was overcast and the winds were very calm.

I wore a fleece jacket over the short sleeve shirt I was wearing for work today.

I started the hike pretty danged cold. I knew better than to put on any more clothes even though I had a fleece hat, gloves, and my pack-able nylon shell in my pack. I stayed cold all the way up until I stopped to turn around and head back to the office. Something about taking that little break before I did head back helped though and I was really comfortable all the way back.

If anything, I would say I was a little too warm still. Not too bad though. I didn't really notice I was sweating until I got back in the building. Maybe that had something to do with going from spending an hour in 36 deg. weather to instantly being in a 70 deg.+ climate.

Either way, I don't think I was sweating enough to have been a problem if I would have had to stay outside for a while. I think I could have easily taken off the fleece jacket and cooled off enough to dry out before I did get chilled.

It just goes to show though, you really need to pay attention to your clothing when you moving around outside in the cold. It doesn't take much to start working up a sweat that could end up in hypothermia in the wrong circumstances. It really does take some practice to figure out what is right thing for you to be wearing for the weather conditions AND level of physical activity you're going to be doing while out in it.

I said it once before, but I'll say it again. Doing these little fitness hikes during lunch has been a real eye opener in several different ways. The first and foremost being that I don't think I could actually hoof it all the way home from the office in a relatively short period of time. I'm thinking it's going to take at least 8 hours or so. Probably even longer. I'm walking right around 3 1/2 miles per hour on a paved trail. Going cross country is going to be a LOT slower. And this is carrying a SMALL pack this is no where near the weight of my BOB. And, I am walking alone and really pushing to maintain this pace.

Not that I will be carrying by BOB from the office. But, if it came down to bugging out from home on foot...I certainly would be carrying it. I REALLY do need to make sure I have the Paratrooper set up to use if I did have to do this. Walking is just painfully slow. Yes, it's nice to get out for a nice little hike with nowhere in particular to get to. I REALLY would like to be able to move faster if I had to get out of the area in a hurry though.

The other thing is gear. I did end up buying a pretty decent pair of light hiking boots over the weekend. These made all the difference in how I felt during this hike. I had ZERO discomfort once I got back to my desk this time. My shins were a little tight when I first started walking. But they stretched out after the first mile and felt fine after that. The moral of the story is...if you are going to have to hike home...make sure you have some decent footwear. Walking home any kind of distance at all is gonna' SUCK HARD in dress shoes.

Even if you take leisurely walks all of the time...I would be really careful about thinking it's NOT going to be a very big deal to throw your BOB on and hike out of the area. It's a whole different ballgame when you're carrying a pack and trying to move as quickly as you can.

PJ

A Corollary to A Walk in the Park

2012-02-03T02:33:00.000-08:00

A side note to yesterday's post....

As the afternoon wore on yesterday, my shins were KILLING me!! When I got home from work, I changed out of the shoes I was wearing during the day. This seemed to help the shin pain a lot. The Doc Martin boots I was wearing yesterday have certainly seen better days. This probably was the biggest source of my problem.

The pain I was experiencing yesterday afternoon got me thinking about two different things. First of all, I was wondering if I could make it all the way home on foot in a day. I would have about a twenty mile hike home. That's a haul! I used to think it was no big deal, I could do that easily. Now I know better. It would be a lot easier without any kind of pack. But, that's probably not how it would happen.

The other thing I was thinking about was how if you weren't ready for this kind of hike, and I'm apparently not, you could walk 4 or 5 miles and have to stop simply because of the pain. Then, it might be a couple of days before you could continue. I could barely move yesterday after my walk.

What this all comes down to is...I think most people, myself included, over-estimate their ability to bug out on foot. Even if I were able to keep up the pace of my 3 miles hike yesterday, and I'm positive I couldn't, it would take me 6 1/2 hours to walk home from the office. And if yesterday were any indication, I would probably have to stop after 4 or 5 miles. After that, I don't know how quickly I could start walking again. Also, I wasn't carrying my full BOB yesterday. I did have a significant amount of weight in my pack, but it was probably more along the lines of a Get Home Back...definitely NOT as heavy as my BOB. I REALLY don't won't to think about having to haul the BOB for any kind of distance in my current level of condition.

This is something I am certainly going to keep working on. Getting in better physical shape to the point where I could walk home carrying a pack if I needed to AND getting some better footwear while I do it. I've always been one who doesn't buy cheap shoes or boots. This has proved the importance of that once again.

Another thought I had yesterday after I got back to the office from this walk...BICYCLE!!

Just another walk in the park...

2012-02-02T10:09:00.000-08:00

3.0 Miles in 55 minutes today. Which puts it around an 18.33 minute mile pace. And I filled the hydration bladder to add a bit more weight to the pack. And I carried the Glock. I'm working my way up to being able to carry my BOB for extended periods.

The temperature was a little cooler than yesterday. But, I still managed to work up a decent sweat. I really do have to get the clothing thing down if I'm going to keep doing this. If I could have zipped the sleeves off of the nylon shell I was wearing over my pullover, I think I would have been much cooler. It's amazing how a little physical exertion will really warm you up. I had a fleece hat and gloves with me in the pack and didn't even THINK about putting them on.

I talked to my buddy SnaFu for the first half of the walk on the HT. I have to admit, I'm really liking this little TYT TH-F5 HT. For a $50 radio, this thing really seems to get out there. Thanks for picking it up for me ID.

I ended up repacking my EDC pack last night. So, I did, in fact, have my "21 Essentials" with me. Alas, there was not a single Trail Nazi to be found though. Dang it!!

Operation "Move Your Ass" has officially begun

2012-02-01T13:25:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure why I haven't done this before now. But, I took about a 2 1/2 mile walk today at lunch. We've been having a remarkably warm stretch of weather this week. And, my office is embarrassingly close to a paved path in the local metroparks.

I threw my EDC pack on just to have a little additional weight...like I need it...and headed out at noon.

I had my HT with me, as always and actually managed a QRP QSO(Low Power Radio Contact) on my favorite repeater while I was walking.

I did a rather brisk 2.6 miles at approximately 17 minutes per mile. I didn't actually intend to go quite this fast. I tend to walk really fast when I'm by myself though.

The temperature was right around 50 deg. F when I did this. I thought I was going to end up being cold because I was only wearing a light jacket and the wind still had a bit of chill to it. By the time I got back to the office though, I was actually sweating a bit. I should have taken my jacket off when I turned around and headed back. Sweating in the wrong situation will get you killed. It wasn't a problem today, just something to keep in mind the next time I do this.

Hopefully the weather will stay decent this week and I can get out at least one more time before the weekend.

A SLIGHTLY healthier,

Taking the 21 Essentials on the road.

2012-01-22T16:21:00.000-08:00

Myself and a buddy, I'll call him SnaFu, took a short hike yesterday. I loaded up a CamelBak HAWG with my "21 Essentials" and filled the water bladder mostly to add some weight to the pack.

It was really meant to be any sort of Death March. We hiked along a paved path for just over a mile. We stopped at a park pavilion and played a little radio. We were kind of down in a valley so we threw a length of paracord over a limb in a tree and hoisted up my roll-up j-pole antenna. We were able to hit quite a few of the local 2M and a 440 repeater. We did make a Simplex contact with the local ARES group that happened to be set up for a demo at a public event.

We tried to make a contact on the 2M Simplex calling frequency. But, we weren't successful.

We talked to a couple of our regular contacts on a 2M repeater for a bit before we packed up and headed back to the vehicles.

I did learn a couple of things during this short little hike. First of all, even though the trail had been plowed of the snow we got overnight, it was a bit slick in spots. I nearly went down at of the steeper hills on the path. I actually caught myself with my hiking staff/Cold Steel Magnum Blowgun. I got to thinking about how if I had been Bugging Out on foot, some Yak Traks would have been really handy to have.

I had the drinking tube for the Camelbak set up wrong too. I fixed that after I got back.

It was a nice little hike with a couple of lessons to be learned.

10 Essentials...PJ style

2012-01-18T13:51:00.000-08:00

I have to admit, I had never even heard of the "10 Essentials" before Tonto got his butt reamed by a Trail Nazi for NOT having them with him when he went on a short hike last year during one of our Winter camps. You've heard of Range Nazi's...well, apparently there are Trail Nazi's too. Those hikers who think it is their duty to make sure everyone is up to THEIR standards whilst out on the trail.

Of course, the whole "10 Essentials" thing gave us a WHOLE lot of fun picking on Tonto for being utterly unprepared for something as simple as a day hike. He countered this with "I had my handgun...I could have just taken HER 10 Essentials." Not that he was condoning armed robbery on the trail. But hey! If it was a life or death situation....just sayin'.

Since then, I have read up on what different people think the "10 Essentials" should be. Most of these lists are pretty close to each other in content. And, just recently, I have started putting together a small pack I can just grab as I'm headed out the door for a short hike or bike ride. And...since I'm not exactly known as a "light packer" so mine rounds up to more like 12 or 13 or 19 Essentials.

I give you "PJ's Comprehensive 19...uh 20 No...Dammit! 21 Essentials"

Nylon Poncho - This can be used as a shelter in an emergency or...wait for it...a poncho

Mylar Space Blanket - Also multiple uses...shelter, heat reflector inside the poncho shelter etc.

Paracord - It's paracord...'Nuff said

Snare Wire - I'm not talking 100's of feet. Maybe 10 feet or so. Wire, like paracord, has a bunch of uses. Up to and including trip wires for Trail Nazi harvesting.

Small First Aid Kit - Pretty much a boo boo kit. A couple of bandaids and alcohol swaps, maybe some moleskin and blister treatment stuff too. Leave the suture kit at home. That's what the snare wire and paracord are for.

Fixed Blade Knife - It doesn't have to be an ESEE Junglas...but it could be. More likely an ESEE Izula though. Or a Becker Necker...for those NON-ESEE Fan Boys.

Steel Water Bottle - Steel so it can be used to boil water to sterilize it or just make it hot.

Water Purification Tablets - For... purifying...water. Right. Moving on....

Vaseline Cottonballs - Awesome firestarting materials, and a source of Vaseline for chapped lips etc.

Ferro Rod - Indestructible Fire Starter

BIC Lighter - It's always nice to have a backup to the indestructible fire starter. This is how I roll.

Signal Whistle - This one goes against my "stay the Hell away from me" life style. But, if I should actually NEED someone to find me say if I twisted an ankle or needed help dragging a freshly trapped Trail Nazi back to the vehicle....

Signal Mirror - For attracting Trail Nazi's toward the trip wire. Oooooooh shiny!

Spare Magazines - Full handgun magazines, not back issues of "Trail Nazi Quarterly"

Headlamp And Spare Batteries - I usually have a flashlight in my pocket, so this may be a little redundant. Headlamps are great for hands free lighting when you need it.

Multitool - This is probably overkill on a day hike. But...like I said...I'm hardly ever mistaken for a light packer.

Trick Candles - This one I wish I could claim I came up with myself, but I can't. Those little trick birthday candles that re-ignite when you try to blow them out...think about it...yeah. Fire starting in windy conditions...brilliant!!

Bandanna - Again...a whole bunch of uses. Making a sling, wrapping a wound, pre-filtering muddy water, hiding your identity while beating the Hell out of Trail Nazi's, waving as a signal...the list goes on and on.

Cell Phone - I almost didn't include this one because, these days, saying "take your cell phone" is kinda' like saying "don't forget to wear pants. Seriously, it could save your butt though. The cell phone...I suppose the pants could too.

Tri-Band HT Radio - There actually are true stories of people using amateur radio to call for help. That...and...I just can't help myself.

Compass - A map would be nice too. Maybe a GPS unit. But, now I MIGHT be getting a little carried away.

So...there you have it. My version of the "10 Essentials". I did actually end up with 19 my first go-around. But, then you know it goes. So...my list is over TWICE as awesome. Mostly because most Tree Humping, Green Weeny, Sierra Club Life Member, Dirty Trail Nazi Hippies aren't going to be carrying around a Glock 23 with them on the trail and really don't care about making QSO's while hiking.

Be Prepared for whatever and do NOT be a Trail Nazi!

New Year...New Goals

2012-01-11T16:24:00.000-08:00

I make New Year's resolutions the same as just about everyone else. Get in shape, de-clutter the house, etc. Those are some of mine as well. I do some prep related goals for this year too though. Maybe it's because the world is actually supposed to end the year. But, I have been thinking a lot about stuff I need to ge done to be more prepared. Some of these are activities I want to do. Others are more organizational in nature.

Last year, Tonto and I talked about doing a simulated bicycle bug out. I laid out a route to a local State Park campground. I have all of the gear I need. We just never got together to do this. This year it's going to happen. Hear that buddy? There's no use fighting it. It's Going To Happen.

An simulated vehicle bug out. Again, this was in the planning stages last year. It just never came together. This is one I'm going to have to get the Mrs. PJ excited about doing. That would mean getting her excited about camping. Not an easy thing to do. But, I'm going to do everything I can to make it happen. I do need to go through my bug out gear and make sure everything is there and what we may need. That's also something I have been meaning to do. I started reorganizing it last year, but I think I fell a little short of having it all together in one place where we can grab it quickly if we need to.

I have GOT to get to the range more. The wife and I BOTH need more time behind the guns. We did tell my mom we were going to pay for a handgun class for her once we found one. I think we'll all go ahead and take the class just to get the training. I certainly could use a refresher.

I also need to use my gear more. The wife needs to use hers more too. She has a GHB(Get Home Bag) in her vehicle at all times. I can't remember the last time I sat down with her and went through it so she's knows what is in there. And to make sure she knows how to use everything as well. I'm thinking I want to do more actual camping only out of my BOB this year. I've come pretty close to using just the BOB, but I always manage to sneak some extra gear or food along for these trips. I need to buckle down and use only the BOB and figure out what works and what doesn't in it.

The biggest project I need to complete this year though is to finalize my entire Emergency Plan. I've been working on it here and there. Gathering bits and pieces of information for it. I need to put it all together and type it up. Along with this goes getting all of the important documents scanned and on a thumb drive.

Another part of the plan I need to finalize is what the Mrs PJ and I would do if things go pear-shaped and we're not together. Like...during the workday, or if one of us happens to be traveling for work etc. I've got a lot of ideas about how we would deal with this. But we've hardly ever really sat down and discussed. Let alone, get it down on paper. This is a really important goal of mine for this year.

Lately I have been thinking a lot the different ways we may need to bug out from home. By vehicle...that's easy. But if it came down to walking or riding our bikes out...that, I don't think we are fully prepared for yet. Nobody wants to think about it, but it needs to be part of the prep's. Add that to the list.

I also need to really firm up possible bug out locations. Scout out my bug out routes more. And, firm up commitments with friends about bugging out to their location if need be.

I'm quite certain other things will come up that I need to do to feel better prepared for whatever may happen. This is the short list to be sure.

Prepping in my Sleep

2012-01-03T23:58:00.000-08:00

I just woke up from a dream about a teenage girl that was collecting silver dimes and canned food so she could take care of herself and her younger brother if her abusive, alcoholic father ever went to jail or was killed while driving intoxicated.

Someone really should write a story about this. I know it wouldn't have Rokons or non-electronic, diesel Harley Davidsons in it. But, it would still make a decent prepping fiction story I think.

Quick Winter Tip

2011-12-09T15:53:00.000-08:00

Just a quick thought I had....

For those of us that live where it does snow and freeze and the like, clearing the windshield of the vehicle before you can get on the road is a way of life. Normally, it's no big deal to let the vehicle warm up and run the defroster. But, if it should come down to having to Bug Out or get going in a hurry for some other reason, this might present a problem. For those times, or when I'm just feeling to lazy to scrape the windows...I try to keep a can of de-icer spray in the vehicle.

This makes it a lot easy to get going when the vehicle is covered in snow or ice. Needless to say...this could be crucial if you were to have to Bug Out in a hurry.

It's Moving Day!!

2011-11-19T06:03:00.000-08:00

Well...moving from one cube to another at work that is.

Work has been beyond crazy for the last couple of months or so. Mainly because the other engineer quit. And while this does put me in charge of the entire Engineering Department...it also makes me the entire Engineering Department.

Another thing that happened because of this is...I get to move to a much nicer cube!!!! This particular cubicle is about as close as you can get to having a private office without having the "Sales" in your title. Not that I'm bitter mind you. Okay...maybe a LITTLE bitter.

ANYWAY...since I was moving all of my stuff from one cube to another, I took this opportunity to re-organize some of the stuff I keep at the office in case of a spontaneous Hippie outbreak. Mainly, this is the food I have stashed in a desk drawer. Since they brought me back after being laid off, I haven't stock piled stuff like vacuum-packed bags of rice like I had done previously. It's mostly snack kinds of foods. Cliff bars, jerky, nuts, and the like. I can't honestly say I have made a concerted effort to stockpile food in my office, it's just sorta' happened. And that's okay. As it stands now, I probably have almost a month's worth of food in my desk if I cut back to an absolute minimum intake. Let's be honest...I could certainly cut back on my food intake for quite a while and be just fine.

This is much more likely to be used if I had to bugout from the office. I have a really hard time picturing exactly what would trap me in the office. I would probably throw most of it into my pack when I left. It's nice to know it's there at all times though. I never really have to worry about what I'm doing for lunch on any given day.

I also have a can of Sterno, a couple of lighters, and a couple of chem lights in this stash as well. I'm sure I could find something to fashion a small stove out of here in the office if I needed to. I know for a fact we have several wire coat hangers in the server room.

Yes, those are two empty Altoid tins. I just can't seem to chuck those things in the recycling bin when I empty them. I also have one of the REALLY big resealable Monster cans in my desk as well as the metal water bottle I normally EDC. They are both a great way to boil water.

Speaking of water...we normally have at least two five gallon water bottles in the office at any given time. If I was stuck here by myself, which is not very likely...I'd be okay for quite a while. If there were other here with me, water might become an issue unless we could figure out where to get some more inside the building. That could be a bit tricky to say the least. I'll have to think about this one for a bit and see if I can't come up with some way around this problem.

The other drawer in my desk has a large pack of wet wipes, a travel size deodorant, travel size body spray. I could at least not stink too badly if it came down to it. These things are really in my desk for the times when I ride my bike into work. But, I could stay sequested in the office for a while and still not be mistaken for an Occupy Wall Street participant(read "Dirty Hippie").

That's about all I have at the moment. Work has really been cutting into the time I spend thinking about prep's and actually doing them. It shouldn't...but it does. It's nice to take a break from the daily grind once in a while and play "what if" though. Even if it's just at the office...*sigh*...on a Saturday.

Hypermiling

2011-10-31T16:07:00.000-07:00

Not really a preparedness topic. Maybe if you consider you could use it for a vehicular bugout...maybe.

Even as much as I am truly a "truck guy", I do get a certain perverse pleasure out of NOT having to fill up the gas tank three times a week. And, I've always had a problem with huge, gas guzzling bug out vehicles. Lately, I've been playing around with hypermiling in my new vehicle. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_economy-maximizing_behaviors Maybe it's because I have a display that shows instantaneous and average MPG...but I'm starting to become acutely aware of my mileage. It's become sort of a game I play to see just how high I can keep it. I actually catch myself wishing I had bought a new vehicle that got even better mileage sometimes. Not often...but once in a while.

In my case, hypermiling is simply using a VERY light foot on the gas pedal and the occasional dropping the transmission into Neutral and coasting when ever possible. I've been doing this for about a week now. Mostly on my way into work. The drive home is usually pretty busy on the roads and the additional traffic makes it difficult to do.

I've been able to add 3 or 4 miles per gallon to my fuel economy by simply keeping my the rev's down on the motor. I end up driving with the tach more than the speedo to do this. Normally I can keep the motor under 1500 rpm for the entire drive. Even when starting up from a complete stop. It takes patience and a VERY light touch on the gas pedal. But it can certainly be done.

This weekend I stepped up my hypermiling game a little bit and swapped out the paper air filter for a K&N filter. http://www.knfilters.com/ I've always been a fan of these. But more for the additional horsepower than increased fuel economy. It's still pretty early to tell just how much of an improvement it will make. But, I did manage to hold 40MPG for a longer trip on Sunday and for the entire drive into work this morning. I've normally been around 34 MPG. I'm sure the highway miles are kicking my average MPG up a bit even though most of that trip was on back country roads.

This really does make me giggle when I think about the Jeep getting 16MPG on a really good day. And all I'm really doing is paying attention to just how much I am pressing the gas pedal and and how fast the engine is revving. The next step would be to pump up the tires to a higher air pressure to make the car roll easier. I'm going to wait on that for a little bit though until I see what the K &N filter is doing.

The point to all of this? Honestly, I'm just doing it for the challenge of it all. No, I'm not overly concerned with my carbon footprint. Not even a little. I just REALLY like NOT spending money on fuel for the vehicle. I'd rather spend that money on...oh...I don't know...KNIVES!!!!!

I can see where it might come in handy if you were trying to stretch out your gasoline reserves during a bug out though. Practicing this on a daily basis could help if you ever got into that situation. I'm hypermiling in a small, economy car, but it can be done in a much larger vehicle. I'd be curious to see if anyone has tried it to see just how much they can improve their fuel economy.

That's all I got!!

Paratrooper In the House!

2011-09-01T12:01:00.001-07:00

Actually...this was taken in my office yesterday. I got a chance to test how a couple of things yesterday by having Mrs. PJ drive me part of the way into the office and riding my new Paratrooper the rest of the way.

We bought the Paratroopers http://www.montaguebikes.com/paratrooper-folding-military-bike.html, one for each of us, because we needed mountain bikes. I am a firm believer in having bikes to be able to bug out on if it should come to that. And, it doesn't have to be an EMP strike to have it come down to NOT being able to use your vehicle to bug out. I recently listened to radio traffic of an incident that happened a little while ago where an LP delivery truck wrecked and was leaking gas. Everyone in the area had to evacuate ON FOOT. So...it could and has happened.

The Paratroopers, beside their near cult status in the survival community, just made sense to me. The ability to fold them up makes them easy to just throw in the back of the vehicle. No rack to carry them. Plus, I'd really rather have them locked up in the vehicle if we are on the road as opposed to sitting out on a rack where everyone can see them. Or worse...steal.

I did look at a lot of other folding bikes. I wanted full-sized bikes. No little 20" wheeled things. And they had to be able to carry a decent load. Montague seems to be one of the few folding bikes with a decent load bearing capacity. I did entertain the idea of buying a couple of their road bikes. But, I wanted to be able to take them offroad if I needed to. No, they're not the most efficient of bikes on paved surfaces. But, at least you CAN ride them on paved surfaces. The same can't be said for taking a road bike offroad.

The pack is my newly assembled GHB(Get Home Bag). I've been toting around my BOB for years now. But, I wanted to come up with a lightweight pack I could use just to get me home from within short distances. IE within my normal AO. Lightweight being a relative term compared to my BOB. I wanted to be able to move quickly with it. There are no provisions for hot food or long term shelter.

I simply took my normal EDC pack and beefed it up a bit. I added a poncho and small tarp for shelter. Some zero-prep foods like Cliff bars and jerky. And put my previously posted "Pocket Survival Kit in the pack as well. The idea was to keep it light and mobile.

I also added a couple of tools along the lines of Nutnfancy's Urban Survival Kit. I can certainly see where a small pry bar and a couple of hand tools could come in handy in an urban environment. My office is JUST inside what I consider "urban". I can be "out in the country" fairly quickly. I do like the idea of being able to open a locked door if I absolutely needed to take shelter though.

The GHB was a little heavier than what it normally would be since I had a change of clothes for work in it. But, it still wasn't too bad carrying it on the bike. Between the pack and the mountain bike, I didn't set any speed records getting into the office. But, it was definitely do-able. Even in my horrible physical condition. And, it was still a whole lot faster than walking.

My plan is to carry both the bike and my GHB in the vehicle pretty much all of the time.

I'll give my review of the Paratrooper once I get a few more miles on it. So far...I'm really liking it though.

Here's one for your bag of tricks....

2011-08-01T18:29:00.000-07:00

Saturday evening I decided I should finally cut my grass. It had been about three weeks, but the weather has been so hot the grass was just now needing to be cut. I roll the garage door up where the lawnmower is kept...CRAP!!! Flat tire! Figures. I got get my air tank and proceed to try and air up the tire. It was so flat, the tire had come off of the bead. #%@$@#^@&#%&!!!! I jack the mower up, take the wheel off the mower and proceed to try to get the tire to seat back on the bead for a good half an hour without any luck at all. All the tire places were already closed, and none of them would be open on Sunday. I'd have taken it to a gas station, but when was the last time you saw one that actually had a functioning garage?

So...just about the time I'm figuring I'm completely screwed for getting the grass cut this weekend. I remembered something about seating a tire with starter fluid and a lighter. I watched a couple of YouTube videos. Some where people were successful and a couple of others where the idiots nearly killed themselves.

I figured I'd play it safe and start REALLY small. I sat the tire on the ground on it's side, sprayed in a tiny bit of ether, maybe a half second spray, and touched it off with a long handle lighter. The ether went boomppp, the tire jumper up off the ground a couple of inches, and you know what...it freaking worked!!! It absolutely freaking worked perfectly. The tire was seated on the rim and actually almost aired up. I filled it up the rest of the way, remounted it on the mower and proceeded to cut my grass. Of course, I had to call a couple of buddies to tell them the story since I was so freaking proud of myself first though.

Anyway...I'm thinking this would be a really good thing to have in your bag of tricks if you ever had a tire unseat itself during a vehicular bug out.

Here's a couple of the videos I watched before attempting this. The last one being what NOT to do. Hint: You do NOT need to use a half a can of starting fluid to do this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZhszvMjvjg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nmU_hcf3jQ&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLX2p54o7Dc

http://www.youtube.com/user/bbxlt

Gerber Sliding Saw

2011-06-12T17:12:00.000-07:00

I've always been a huge fan of this saw. I have one in my BOB. one in my CERT pack, and one in my Bushcraft kit. As well as a couple of them floating around the house.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words....

Granted, this was all Honeysuckle which is a very soft wood when it's green. But, some of it was dead and quite a bit harder. I debated breaking out the chainsaw for some of the bigger stuff. But, it was so easy to cut through even the largest limbs, I didn't think it would be worth having to heft it around.

I ended up cutting back five bushes like this over the weekend. The Gerber saw worked flawlessly through all of this.

I've been using these saws for years now. They just work and work well.

Simply put...this is a saw I would bet my life on.

Yes...yes. More Comm's

2011-06-04T11:45:00.000-07:00

A couple buddies and I are gearing up for the upcoming ARRL Field Day. http://www.arrl.org/field-day Which is basically, for those who don't know, operating amateur radio gear remotely, or "in the field". This is a test of an amateur radio operators' ability to operate during emergency situations, or EMCOMM's (emergency communications).

I've always been interested in EMCOMM's. It's the reason I got my amateur radio license in the first place. I want to be able to communicate and gather information in case the grid goes down.

We are planning on meeting up at a local State Park and camping out for the weekend. We've been bouncing messages back and forth like crazy the last week figuring out what we will do for antennas, power, and radio equipment. I have a couple of new antennas I want to test out specifically during this weekend.

One of them is a "roll-up j-pole". It's basically a length of ladder line antenna wire that is worked into a 2 Meter/440 dual band j-pole antenna. http://www.n9tax.com/Slim%20Jim%20Info.html My buddy ID had one when we met up to go to the Dayton Hamvention. I'd never even heard of them before.

I was impressed with the portability of this antenna. I ended up buying one that already had 16' of coax cable built into it. N9TAX sells all different kinds of them. Different connectors, with or without the coax built into them...stuff like that. I carry mine along with my HT in my EDC pack. With the right adapter, I can simply connect it to my HT and hang it up in the air with a little paracord from a tree or whatever I can find. This will greatly extend the range of my HT. I did this quickly a couple of weeks ago at home. It allowed me to reach one of the local repeaters and check into a Skywarn Net with only 5 Watts of power. I was impressed since I only had the antenna hanging from a hook in the ceiling of my living room. Getting it further up in the air will give me even greater range. It's an awesome piece of gear.

The construction of this antenna is great. It's very well executed. N9TAX knows what he is doing. And the price is right as well. Plus, it will work for the 440 band as well as 2M. My Yaesu VX-6R will work nicely with this antenna.

For those who know about these kinds of things...the SWR on this antenna is really impressive too. The needle barely moved when I hooked it up to my 2M antenna analyzer.

For those who don't...SWR is a measure of how much of your radio signal gets reflected back into the radio. If antenna radiates the signal out effectively, it performs better. High SWR is bad juju. It burns up radios. Low SWR...mmmmm...good. This antenna...very good.

Like I said...I carry mine in a decent sized backpack. It would easily fit into a small fanny pack though. Along with an HT, spare batteries, speaker mic, and a repeater guide...making it a very effective, compact communications option in an emergency.

Matter of fact, I was so impressed with this antenna, I bought another one to hang in my attic permanently. I'm going to run the coax down into my basement so I can hook a radio up to it down there. That way I can operate a radio or just gather information from the safety of my basement if we have a severe storm roll through. Plus, the antenna will be tucked away safety in my attic so I don't have to worry about lighting strikes during thunderstorms. I can still operate during storms. I never would hook up an outside antenna during a thunderstorm.

I'm looking forward to playing with this antenna during Field Day and any time I'm out in the field.

That's all I have for the moment.

Comm's, Comm's, Comm's, and more Comm's

2011-05-25T07:12:00.000-07:00

I LOVE intell. I really do.

The other evening, as I was firing up the grill to cook some dinner, we had a nice little storm blow through. I just happened to have my HT in my hand and was scanning through the frequencies I had programmed into to radio when I came across the tones sounding on one of the local repeaters signalling a SkyWarn activation. Naturally I listened in on all of the traffic for the SkyWarn Net. And, my wife turned to the local news station for more information.

As it turns out, it was a pretty severe little cell that rolled through. An actual funnel cloud was spotted although it never did touch down. There were reports of quarter sized hail in the center of the storm and wind speeds topping 60mph. Damage such as downed power lines, trees, even minor structural damage were being reported throughout the area. At one point, our local EMA director, who happens to be am amateur radio guy himself, reported into the net, explaining why they had issued the Tornado Warning.

The reason I found all of the information that was being reported so interesting is that at my home...we didn't get even a single drop of rain out of this storm. The wind didn't even pick up. We got a buncha' NOTHING. Now...I LOVE a good storm as much as the next guy. Probably more. And, I was a little disappointed we didn't get anything out of this storm. But, the REALLY interesting part of this whole thing is that the most damaged received from this storm was no more than three or four miles from my house.

Had I not been listening to my HT, I probably wouldn't have even known there was such a severe storm in the area. Plus, by listening to the SkyWarn traffic, I was getting firsthand information about exactly what was happening, and exactly where it was happening. There's nothing quite like a guy on the radio saying this is where I'm at and this is what is happening. Perfect! That is information I can use.

I am, by my own admission, a total and complete, information addict. I HAVE to know what is going on around me at all times. I haven't found anything else that works as well as my HT for just that purpose. By listening to public service radio traffic as well as the local amateur radio guys, I have a readily available source of information.

I would recommend everyone have something to listen to this kind of radio traffic whether they are an licensed amateur radio operator or not. This particular event drove that point home for me even more. You need to know what's going on around you so you can be ready to deal with it.

Another quick lesson I learned....

2011-05-02T10:01:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I posted anything at all. I know. My apologies. It's been kinda' nuts lately. Hopefully things are calming down enough to where I can get back to making some updates.

Anyway...got a eye-opener this weekend. Yesterday, my wife was trying to listen to her niece's softball game. They were streaming the radio broadcast over the internet at the start of the game. But, for some reason, about halfway through, they blacked it out online. No problem, I thought, I'll just grab one of my portable AM/FM radios. I know I have several of them. The larger, crank radio is in one of my Bug Out Tubs. Sadly, it was NOT. I'm not sure where the danged thing got off to. I know I had it out a little while ago do a Preparedness demo for a recent CERT class. Apparently, it never got put back where it was supposed to be. Shame on me.

While I was running around the house looking for a different radio, my wife got her radio out of her BOB. The batteries were not only dead in it, they had exploded. I know, I know. Never leave the batteries in ANYTHING. I usually tape a set of batteries to things like radios that won't get used very often. Not in this case I guess. The radio refused to work even with a fresh set of batteries.

Then I got the bright idea of just using my Yaesu VX-6R to listen to the game. Nope. I simply wasn't smart enough to figure out how to tune in AM stations on it. I did get FM stations, but that wasn't what I was trying to get at the moment.

Plan...what am I up to now...G or something? I finally found my little FM/AM/SW radio I bought from County Comm a while back. FINALLY...problem solved!

Needless to say...I was mad at myself for now knowing where the heck all of radios were and not knowing how to operate my HT properly. I couple of replacement Grundigs are on order as I write this. I just need to figure out my danged HT. I do have a manual on a thumb drive. I think I'll try and figure that out right now.

Having a plan doesn't mean crap! Practice...practice...practice. Oh, and...put your crap back when you're done with it!

Spring Fever and alternative suburban cooking, by Tonto

2011-03-21T17:24:00.000-07:00

To celebrate the first day of spring I decided to utilize the little firepit for something other then a circular object to burn a fire in while drinking a cold mojito or beer on a warm summer night and BS-ing with a friend or neighbor. Most people have a outdoor grill, whether it be propane, natural gas or charcoal to use if the power goes out to cook food especially if their house is all electric, but what if your grill tank runs up empty or just has disappeared during TSHTF? A lot of people also have the little fire pits or even a Chimera/terra cotta fireplace that are semi-legal to use in a suburban setting. Why do I say semi-legal? Because in many suburban neighborhoods having any type of fire outside of a outdoor grill will bring the police and fire department to your door via a nosy neighbor who believes their rights and beliefs are more important then yours - trust me on this. It happened last summer, but it was only the police who showed up. Yeah, neighbors suck especially the ones who are total tools. I know exactly which neighbor it is, and she is always complaining about something.

Anyway, to celebrate spring and to fight off a touch of cabin fever, I broke out our cast iron pot and decided to cook up some chicken thighs/legs that were on sale using a alternative cooking method - you do have to stay in practice for the big TSHTF event right??? I had picked up at a flea market the cast iron pot a few years ago for five dollars, the firepit was free from a neighbor who was throwing it out. It was 'too rusty' for his wife, so they needed to buy a new one. The grill laying across the rebar came from a old reach in cooler from work we were turning in for scrap and cement blocks were from a house cleaning project. The only thing I had to buy were the rebar rods, that I use during the summer for the garden fencing. I'm going to be buying a nice cast iron tripod so I can hang a grill or the dutch oven over the fire, but I think this worked out just fine. The height was just about perfect so I could still feed wood underneath it as long as it wasn't to thick. We kept it simple especially since our new diet/eating habits have made us both lose over twenty pounds each since the beginning of the year I just decided to put onions, carrots little bit of olive oil and salt and pepper into the pot and let it go for a hour and a half.

Half way through the cooking, a heavy rain shower rolled through the area so I had to go out and make sure the fire wasn't going out and had to stoke it with a few more pieces of wood, at this point I noticed a neighbor looking out their back window to see what I was doing then another next door. I waved to both of them and one just shook her head. They already think I'm nuts but I don't care anymore, I found it funny every time I went out to check on the meal, one of the neighbors would be poking their head from behind the curtains.

The meal came out pretty good, I wish I would have put more carrots or other vegetables in it or we should have put it over a nice bed of rice so it could be a true TSHTF meal. Since everybody knows that rice is a meal booster - right? So now I have another way of cooking meals or heating water if we lose utilities, but as always just having the items stored away isn't enough, you MUST go out and practice these alternative methods before you really need to. If my outdoor meal would have failed, we could fall back on having a salad or something else. If this was a real TSHTF situation and I ruined the meal because I haven't practiced cooking like this we would have gone hungry for the night or even for the entire day. Get out there and practice people.

Keep safe,

Tonto

Another use for Facebook....

2011-03-16T15:15:00.000-07:00

Yes, Facebook is an evil, evil time waster. I know, because I have gotten sucked into it myself. I do try and make the best of it though. I try and make my time on it as productive as possible.

Regular readers ot those that know me personally, know that I am obsessed with playing the "what if" game in my head. And...I thought I would drag my buddies into my obsession. Monday afternoon I started up a Virtual Tabletop Exercise between myself and a couple of prep-minded friends. Basically, we have a private message thread that four of us are contributing to.

I set the scenario up as a total loss of utilities. No power, no water, no LP unless you have your own tank, no cable, no phone, no cell phones. Basically...no nuthin'! It's not an EMP strike, so, if you can power it, you can use it. The scenario started Monday at 2:30 pm and wherever you were at that time. The participants have to use only what they currently have on hand. There's no "my local gun dealer buddy gave me 8000 rounds of .223 for my AR" business. Not that we've had any protracted firefights yet. Yet....

We've been adding to the thread constantly since that time. Going into detail of what we would be doing and what we think would be going on around us. For me at least, it has been a really good exercise and pointed out some glaring holes in my preps. Like...it's way late into Winter, almost Spring. I am really low on firewood to keep the wood burning stove going. If I don't get electricity back in the next week or so...I'm going to be running around the woods looking for firewood to cut up and use. But you know...that's the reality of it all. If this was actually happening now, I would actually be trying to find wood to burn. Or at the very least, running my generator so I could fire up my furnace. Neither of which is the perfect situation.

So far, it's all been rather straight-forward. Just the basic stuff like, what and how to cook, where's your water coming from, what the neighbors are doing...stuff like that. I think I might open the scenario up the letting people throw curveballs at each other. For instance...your generator breaks down. Or...your basement is now flooded. Just to keep things interesting.

It's gotten me thinking about alternaive ways to do things and what I might have to deal with in this situation.

Preparedness Strategic Plan

2011-03-14T10:11:00.000-07:00

I've been spending some time lately trying to compile a comprehensive Preparedness Strategic Plan. What this means is basically, I have been to put into writing my overall plan for becoming and staying prepared. It sounds simple, but as it turns out, it is a lot more involved than may first appear if you start to take into consideration all of the possible scenarios you may need to be prepared for.

I'm going to try and post pieces of my Preparedness Strategic Plan here as I come up with them. Please feel free to give constructive criticism of them as I post them.

For example, the first topic of my plan might be something as simple as "Water"....

Water

Guidelines - 1 gallon per person per day potable water. Non-potable water as needed for hygiene purposes.

Stored

Bottled Water - "flats" of bottled water

5 gallon Jugs - good for having on hand in case of evac.

55 gallon Drums - can not be moved once filled, need pump to get water out of them.

Alternative Water Sources

Well - needs to be filtered to be potable

Pond - needs to be filtered and purified to be potable

Rain Collection - needs to be filtered to be potable

Toilet Tanks & Water Heater

Scenarios:

Loss of Utilities: Use stored water for drinking and cooking

Use Pond or Well water for flushing toilets

Use Well water for bathing

Shelter in Place: Use Stored Water for drinking and cooking

If possible, fill additional containers for non-potable water

Evacuation: Take 5 gallon Jugs - (1) per person

Take as much bottled water as possible

Use water filter to refill as possible

Notes: Stored water needs to be rotated every 3 months. Need to be able to gather and transport non-potable water for flushing toilets, bathing etc. Need to be able to filter water to make it potable at home and in case of evac.

This is just a start to my overall Preparedness Strategic Plan. I'll post more as I get them written up. They're all subject to change. Typing them out helps me solidify them and think about different possible scenarios I may need to deal with.

Prepping VS Hoarding by Tonto

2011-03-14T05:34:00.000-07:00

Compulsive hording or Prepping?

by Tonto

From Wikipedia : While there is no clear definition of compulsive hoarding in accepted diagnostic criteria (such as the current DSM), Frost and Hartl (1996) provide the following defining features:[3]

• The acquisition of and failure to discard a large number of possessions that appear to be useless or of limited value

• Living spaces sufficiently cluttered so as to preclude activities for which those spaces were designed

• Significant distress or impairment in functioning caused by the hoarding

• Reluctance or inability to return borrowed items; as boundaries blur, impulsive acquisitiveness could sometimes lead to kleptomania or stealing.

Recently a friend expressed a concern that I may be slipping into the compulsive hording realm and I immediately dismissed it as nonsense but yet, I heard him out as a friend would do. As I drove home later that evening I began to think about what he said with a bit of concern because while things have become a bit cluttered at the house, I surely couldn’t be falling into the ‘hording’ mentality, or could I?

I’ve been called a packrat in the past, by family and friends but I’ve always said that ‘oh it might come in use’. Well, I ask this question. When does prepping become hording? Is it when you have boxes of nuts, bolts, pieces of visqueen folded up into boxes, clothing that really should be thrown away kept for rags or to make patches in current clothing, or even into that blue jean quilt you’ve always wanted? Is there a problem when you don’t have floor space but have paths that weave between doorways, tables and shelving units that hold your precious Preparedness related items?

Is there a problem when instead of throwing away items from the table that always gets cluttered up during the week or month you put it all into a box to go through later yet you seem to never get around to cleaning out that box? Is there a problem when the throw out pile becomes a pile of useful and useless items?

So, I ask the Preparedness community this question. When does Prepping become hording?

Pocket Survival Kit

2011-03-13T08:00:00.000-07:00

Okay...so...maybe it's a LITTLE big for a pocket survival kit. But, it's certainly small enough to just throw into a coat pocket or a small pack.

Thanks to Izzy at http://timbuk2andtippycanoe.blogspot.com/ for making me aware of Walmart's new cell phone dry box. I picked up a couple for mine and the Mrs. PJ's Motorola Droids. Which, by the way, fit great in these dry boxes.

Izzy made up a pocket survival kit in one and I thought I'd give it a shot myself.

The first thing I did was swap out the clip on the end of the lanyard. I didn't trust it quite enough and I had a couple small carabiners laying around.

A quick snip with a pair of dikes removed the existing clip and let me swap in the carabiners.

I got about 15 feet of paracord wrapped around the outside of the drybox held in place with a cord lock.

Here's everything I got into the drybox.

- Duct Tape Wrapped Card

- Aluminum Foil

- P-38 Can Opener

- 15' of Snare Wire

- Fox 40 Rescue Howler Whistle

- Pax Survival Keychain Oil Lighter http://www.survival-pax.com/Keychain-Oil-Lighter.html

- Ferro Rod (Thanks Tonto)

- Ceramic Sharpening Rod

- Button Compass(Thanks again Tonto)

- Streamlight Nano

- Gerber Ridge Knife http://www.amazon.com/Gerber-45874-Ridge-Knife-Black/dp/B00006LPPR/ref=sr_1_2?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1300030301&sr=1-2

- Water Purification Tablets

- Vaseline Cottonballs

- OTC Meds (Immodium, Tylenol, & Benedryl)

- Alcohol Swabs

- Safety Pins and Sewing Needles

- The Cutest Little Spork I Have Ever Seen - I picked it up at, of all places, a Ren-Fest a couple of years ago.

I have to say, for making kits like this, the tiny little ziplock bags are great. I think I paid a whopping $1.95 for a package of 3 million of them.

Everything packs snugly into the drybox. It's tight enough that nothing rattles around in it. Yet, it's not so tight as to be Chinese Puzzle getting it back into the box.

It's a last ditch kind of kit. It's small enough though that I won't think twice about carrying it. I wish I had something to carry water that would fit into the box. But, I almost ALWAYS have my steel water bottle with me. Or, at the very least, I'm sure I can find a plastic water or pop bottle to use.

Some guys watch sports...

2011-03-07T09:20:00.000-08:00

I prep.

This weekend was a really productive one as far as prepping goes.

I tried some more dehydration Friday night. BrooklynPrepper (http://www.youtube.com/user/brooklynprepper) has some really good YouTube videos on the subject. I'm trying out some of his ideas since I picked up a dehydrator a little while ago. Seriously, he does know what he's talking about...once you get past the accent. Nothin' but love Brooklyn...nothin' but love.

All of the frozen vegetables I have dehydrated came out great with the exception of the thick cut carrots. They never would rehydrate.

Saturday morning was running around shopping and refilling water jugs. Once I got back home I started going through my stored food and moving the older things to where I would be sure to use them first.

After that, I rotated my stored water. I was told this, but I'll pass it on as well...NEVER buy the teal colored 6 gallon water jugs at Walmart. I had yet another one of them that started leaking. I went to pick the jug up and nearly threw it across the room because I expected it to weight around 63lbs. Instead, it was nearly empty. Meaning, it had leaked out during the last 3 months. I've been replacing these water jugs with the blue 7 gallon ones, also from Walmart. Those, I haven't had any problem with these.

Last on my To Do list for the day was to get around to vacuum packing 25lbs of flour I had bought a week ago.

Saturday night, before I turned in, I starting a pot of Great Northern beans soaking.

Sunday morning I got up early and drained the beans, added the spices and water and started them cooking. Then it was pancakes for breakfast. Which reminds me...Bisquick does NOT store long term. I had always planned on storing some to cook with, but I've had it go bad...really bad on me before. You'll know when it turns too. Biscuits made from it won't rise and they have a really bad acrid taste. Don't store Bisquick!! 'Nuff said.

After breakfast, I ran to the store to pick up the replacement water jug and start my PAW bartering supplies. I have just started stocking up on three things I want to have on hand for no other reason for bartering. Coffee, alcohol, and cigarettes. All I can say is Holy Buckets!! How can people afford to smoke! The cheapest, and I mean CHEAPEST carton of cigarettes was almost $41!! It killed me to pay that much, but I have officially started my barter supplies cache.

Once I got back home, I started a loaf of bread in the bread machine, made some lunch, loaded up the wood bin, baked some cookies, baked some cornbread...for the beans you know, organized some more supplies, and finally made dinner.

I had been fussing with the pot of beans all day. And, they finally were done right after we finished dinner wouldn't you know it. But, I have to tell you...I made one helluva' good pot of beans. This was only the second time I have tried to cook beans. The first time was a total failure since I didn't soak the beans overnight before I cooked them. This time it worked out great though. Now I know I can actually cook all of those beans I have been storing. That's progress no matter how you look at it.

It sure beats watching sports.

TSHTF Bannock

2011-03-05T18:55:00.000-08:00

By Tonto....

It finally happened - TSHTF has arrived and your store bought bread and biscuits are gone. You're not worried because you prepared, you go to the food storage pantry that you stashed away all those months ago gazing at all those vacuum sealed bags of flour and buckets of wheat berries you suddenly realized you forgot to put away a method to bake bread - "Awww (insert favorite curse word here)!" What do you do? It leads us to the topic of this post. How many of us actually have a way to bake bread without building a oven or hope to have that large dutch oven available if that time comes? One way of getting around it is to make a type of bannock bread so you can sop up all that remaining squirrel, rice and beans, bean and TVP soup or even as a breakfast with some honey, sugar or syrup. Another option is to pre-make this bannock mix and store it away for future use out camping or just looking to impress. For this project I used baking powder I put away in April of 2006, all purpose white flour from 2008 I just transferred to the kitchen and powdered milk from 2009.

The ingredients are simple for a dinner bread or dinner bannock. Flour, water, salt, baking powder and powdered milk.

This makes a single serving, it fits my 8" cast iron fry pan perfectly:
Dinner bread/bannock
1 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoon powdered milk
1 teaspoon baking powder

Mix all the items together then add water until you reach the consisitity somewhere between pancake batter and pizza dough. (Note: I used roughly 3/4 cup of warm water and it came out perfectly but it looked like pancake batter when I poured it into the pan.) At this point you may also add raisins, nuts, sausage to it for more flavor.
Flatten dough into greased pan until it's 1/2 inch thick. (or in my case I poured it into the pan).
Cook until medium brown underneath flip over and repeat. Each side takes about 6 to 10 minutes depending on how hot your pan is. (Full disclosure: I burnt my one side waiting for the 8 minute mark but it still came out edible.)

Once done, take out of pan and enjoy.

Here is the recipe for the breakfast bannock bread. It's mixed and cooked the same as above, just a bit different variant of it.
1 cup flour
1/2 cup powdered milk
1/3 cup powdered egg
1 teaspoon baking powder

With this mix you can also add rasins, nuts, dehydrated fruit to make it into a meal.

Full disclosure, I didn't make up this recipe. I found it on the net at http://www.tacticalintelligence.net/blog

I hope this post brings to you just another trick in your suburban preparedness plan. I've bounced this idea around with PJ about posting suburban survival/preparedness tips because I'm willing to bet 90% of us don't have a country retreat or homestead and we'll have to make due with where we are living. I currently reside in a suburban setting and unless it really gets ugly, we'll be sheltering in place.

Keep safe,
Tonto

Dang that looks good! I'm going to have to try this recipe really soon.

I Cheated Death Today...Twice.

2011-03-05T13:44:00.001-08:00

I left the house this morning wearing a...wait for it...COTTON t-shirt. AND...a cross draw holster. I have no idea how I managed to NOT freeze to death OR have my firearm pinned to my chest during a confrontation!! But, somehow...I did.

I kid, but it seems like there is an awful lot of "you have to do it this way, or YOU'LL DIE" advise out there. There is no shortage of people who feel there is only ONE way to do things. I can't help but think about "Death By Cotton" every time I put a t-shirt or a pair of jeans on. And, I just picked up a shoulder holster a little while ago and have been trying it out around the house. Today was the first time I wore it while I was running errands. Honestly, it took me a very long time to even consider buying one just because I had it beat into my head during my CHL class that if you wear a cross draw holster...YOU"LL DIE!!!!

Survival is about being able to adapt. The minute you become so rigid in how you respond to a situation...YOU'LL DIE!!!!

There are no rules that apply to everyone, all the time, in absolutely any situation.

Learn as much as you can. Test out the stuff you learn. And, make up your own mind as to what works best for you. Or...YOU'LL DIE!!!!

Now, if you'll excuse me...I'm going to go run with scissors, while wearing cotton AND a cross draw holster.

P.S. Someone else already did the "cheated death 'cuz I wore cotton" thing on their blog. I liked it enough that it stuck in my mind...and I stole it. I forget who's blog it was on. But, if you're reading this...know that I laughed when I read it on yours.

Alternative Bug Out Routes

2011-02-28T09:09:00.000-08:00

File this one under...A lesson learned BEFORE it became a life or death situation.

The weather around here has been a bit goofy the last 4 days or so. Friday was the Snow-pocalypes with 10" of snow over night for my drive into work on Friday. The drive into work was crazy fun! I had the Jeep in 4WD the entire time. Saturday was uneventful as it stayed below freezing the whole day. Sunday started things melting once it got

into the lower 40's and then we had thunderstorms and a whole bunch of rain overnight last night. Between the melting snow and the rain...there is a LOT of water on the ground these days. I mean... A LOT!!!!!

Besides my property being almost completely under water, there is a lot of flooding on the back roads in my AO.

This is a very small creek I cross over on one of my routes on my drive into work.

Normally, the creek is just a trickle of water that runs under the road. This whole intersection was just completely reworked last Summer. If anywhere should have been able to handle the excess runoff, this area should have.

This is a VERY small river.

Ironically, the high spot in the road is the bridge that crosses over the river. The area flooded in in front of the bridge. There was probably 10" or so of water across the road. A smarter, more cautious person wouldn't have crossed it as it was moving. I did wait for the guy in front of me to go through it so I could see just how deep it was before I crossed it.

These are just two of the spots I came across where the road was flooded. There were probably ten different places with varying amounts of water across the road. I ended up getting turned around three times. Twice by firetrucks or police cars and once by just sheer common sense. I probably shouldn't have driven through three of the flooded sections that I did.

In the three years I have been working where I am now, and driving these roads, I have NEVER seen anything like this.

The moral of the story is...you just never know what you are going to come across. These roads are part of my routes between work and home. I have spent a lot of time trying virtually every back road between the two places just so I have alternatives in case I come across something like this.

I have always tried to pay attention to areas along my routes that might be a problem if the weather conditions were really bad. I don't remember every getting turned around at any of those places. That is, until today.

It's just something to make sure you take into account. You may not be able to use a route you were counting on. This is just simple weather. Granted, it was a really bad combination of snow and then rain. But, it's certainly nothing that could really be considered extreme.

It is something as simple as this that could prevent you from using one of your bug out routes. Imagine if this had been a situation where EVERYONE was trying to evacuate the area. This is exactly why I have scouted out most if not all of the possible routes between my work and home. You just never know what you may come across.

I probably could have taken a safer route to work and avoided all of the flooded roads that I came across. But, honestly, I wanted to see what the back roads I plan on using were like. I wanted to see if there were going to be places that flooded. And there were. At one point, I had to turn around on one my alternative routes as it was flooded too. Now I feel like I have a better feel for where there could be problems along my routes before I get to them in the future.

I am glad I was driving a vehicle with more ground clearance than your normal car. I'm certain I would have flooded a car in a couple of the spots I forded. Matter-of-fact, there were cars stalled out in the middle of the flooded roads where I got turned around by emergency vehicles. I was wishing I had a snorkel on the Jeep a couple of times this morning.

I did make it into to work finally. Although, it did take me twice as long as it normally does. Hopefully the water levels will have receded a bit on the drive home tonight.

Finally...someone sends me something to use here.

2011-02-22T13:03:00.000-08:00

I just got this from a buddy of mine. Well...I consider him a friend. I'm not really sure what he thinks of me....

"Wolves searching for Sheep"

Is it just me or has anyone else noticed the increase of people want pictures or detailed descriptions of what YOU have stored, what YOUR TSHTF plans are, WHERE YOU are located to link up if TSHTF? Over the last two months especially I've noticed a increased amount of traffic on various blogs/prep sites of people almost searching for data or doing recon especially trying to find people within their own cities/town/region to tell them what they have stored or their TSHTF plans are. I've recently been contacted by a person within my locale who began asking really personal questions on what specific firearms I have, how much food, ammo, where it's stored - then retracts and says "how do you store it" - that raised a HUGE red flag with me and since then severed contact, something in my gut sounded the warning signal. When I pressed this person about it, they became very defensive and started calling ME crazy, paranoid and a nutjob YET, I've seen this same exact behavior during the Y2k days where I personally met four people who's sole preparedness plan was to find others in this city who have supplies and TAKE THEM at whatever the cost. I've found out two of the four have since spent jail time for various theft/assault charges. So my gut instinct wasn't far off back then about at least two of these upstanding citizens. OPSEC with blogs or Vlogs are just non-existent these days, use some common sense people.

Then, let's talk about the phonies within the prepping movement. These are the people who talk a great game, act like they have their stuff squared away and on the outside seem pretty impressive but on the inside are total phonies. Their preps are that of barely above sheeple standards. Only have enough food to last two weeks if that, always claim to 'plan on doing project x', 'been thinking of doing project y' or my greatest one, 'I think that this (insert project or idea here) would work but I've not actually done it yet'. These are the people who talk a good game, but can't or don't want to do the walk. These are the people I call fake or phony preppers, they expect others to do their heavy lifting and then THEY will cash in on your hard work/planning/experiences.

So, those that know me know I'm not into the tin-foil hat conspiracy at all. I find most to be pathetic attempts to cause trouble by people trying to raise their crappy life to one of greatness. It's beginning to look a LOT like Y2k all over again or is it just me being paranoid?

Keep safe,
Tonto

Tonto makes a great point about the fine line between OPSEC and NOT prepping alone. This is certainly something I have struggled with myself. How do you meet up with other like-minded individuals without endangering yourself and your family? I find I'm a LOT more guarded about my level of preparedness these days.

Your check is in the mail buddy!!

Dirty Hippie Bullshit

2011-02-22T05:53:00.000-08:00

Apparently, the Dervaes(Dirty Hippies) feel they OWN the phrase "Urban Homestead". As much as I USED to respect what they were achieving with their urban brand of self-sufficiency, it's really disappointing to see how quickly they turn to the guns of government to stake their claim to a phrase that I assure you has been around a LOT longer than they have been.

In their own words...

http://urbanhomestead.org/journal/2011/02/16/fyi-urban-homestead-trademark-matter/

http://chillingeffects.org/N/58166

In other's words....

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2011/02/urban-homesteader-tm-dispute.html

The more I think about this the madder I get. It's such a freakin' Liberal Dirty Hippie thing to do. You give flowery speeches about "the path to freedom" and then you turn around and sell your souls to the government the minute it serves YOUR purpose.

It's a real douchebag move on the Dervaes' part. And yet another reason I freakin' hate Dirty Hippies. I WILL be buying a copy of Coyne and Knutzen's book.http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2011/02/urban-homesteader-tm-dispute.html

I hope Coyne and Knutzen get freakin' rich off of this crap! Screw you Dervaes'!

Join in the Facebook page here...http://www.facebook.com/pages/Take-Back-Urban-Home-steadings/167527713295518?sk=wall

Quick Winter First Aid Tip

2011-02-09T03:33:00.000-08:00

A lot of people probably already know this. But since I've had a couple people ask me about it lately I thought I'd do a quick post about it.

For those of us who live in the Great White North, Winter brings dry skin and the problems that can accompany it. Myself, I have one spot at the tip of my right thumb that splits every Winter. It's right in the corner of the nail bed. And, no matter how much I try to keep it from splitting...it does.

The answer to this is really simple. Super Glue. Or, perhaps, more correctly...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanoacrylate

A small drop of Super Glue on a split will hold it closed or just cover it long enough for the split to heal. I try to glue the split closed if at all possible. It doesn't have to be closed though. It seems to work just as well by just covering the split.

I do prefer the plain ol' Super Glue for this. I have tried the Gel Super Glue. I didn't care for it. I like the thinner viscosity since it will fill the split better through capillary action. The Slow Curing Super Glue works okay as well. I still like the regular Super Glue better though.

Everything I have ever read says that Band Aid's Liquid Skin is just sterile Super Glue. The Liquid Skin seems to wash off very easily though. And, it doesn't seem to have nearly the holding power of Super Glue. Generally...I haven't been impressed with Liquid Skin.

I always have a tube of Super Glue in my First Aid kits. I have used it on a lot minor cuts. It works well for those too. But, for splits, it's always been the only thing I found to get them to heal.

Wool Blanket Misc.

2011-02-04T10:16:00.000-08:00

Mungo has got me thnking more and more about wool blankets. I have a couple already. I need MORE!!!

So, I was looking for videos on making a wool blanket into a coat and found this really good one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36edZ0FtTU8&feature=related

I also like Dave's video on sewing ties onto your wool blanket so it's already set up to make a coat out of it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkSscmFKKMM&feature=related

I'd never thought attaching ties to my blanket ahead of time. I think I'll have to do that this weekend though. I was also thinking of sewing some ties onto the inside of the blanket, when it's wrapped around you for a coat, so I can tie it around me as well. Kind of like a Gi. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karate_gi

Geesh! This blogging stuff is really easy when you just post a bunch of links to other people's stuff!

Winter Storm Preps

2011-01-31T16:43:00.001-08:00

The major Winter storm that is moving across the Midwest is supposed to be hitting us soon. The nice thing about this kind of storm is that you almost always have at least a couple of days warning. Work has been so crazy lately that preps haven't really been on mind much. So...I thought I would prepare as if this was going to be the Winter storm of the century to get me motivated.

I didn't run to the store to buy milk, eggs and bread like most people do when they are calling for any kind of snow at all. I'm stocked up pretty well in the food department. I spent a little time thinking about what I might need if the power did in fact go out for a couple of days. The first thing I did was fire up the generator to make sure it would start if I needed it. I'm happy to report, it started on the first pull. I try to start it once a month and add a little fuel stabilizer every time I do that. It seems to be working well.

Next I fired up the snowblower for the same reason. I've only had to use it a couple of times this year. So, I just wanted to make sure it was going to start without any problems too. Success there as well.

Sunday is the day we normally load up the woodbin on the back deck. So, the timing worked out well for that. We did stack up a little more wood under the eaves on the back deck...just in case. We do tend to burn more wood when we're home all day. The woodbin normally holds right at one weeks worth of wood. If we were stuck home for a couple of days, we might run out a bit prematurely. Not that it's a big deal to load up the bin from the wood we have stored. I was just being a little over-cautious.

The next thing I took care of was making sure we were all caught up on laundry. It tends to pile up during the week, and the last thing I wanted was to have the power go out with no clean clothes. Yes, I could do some laundry by hand if I had too. Better to have as much of it clean already though to put off that as long as possible.

Same thing with the kitchen. I made sure all of the dishes were clean and the refrigerator was cleaned out of any food that was dangerously close to becoming a science project. There again, if the power was to go out, I don't want a bunch of food that is already on the verge of spoiling. We pretty much ate leftovers all weekend. So, that pretty much took care of itself.

I also checked the milk jugs of water I keep frozen in the chest freezer and the kitchen freezer. The power going out in the Winter tends to be less of a problem at least where food preservation goes. I could always put stuff out on the back deck in boxes or coolers if I wasn't able to run the generator enough to keep things frozen. I could also keep swapping out frozen milk jugs of water to try and maintain at least the chest freezer. Hell, for that matter, I could pack the thing with snow!

I'm charging up all of my deep cycle 12 volt batteries as I write this. At the very least, I want to make sure I have batteries to power the back-up sump pump. I could always use the batteries to charge cell phones and run the laptop through an inverter.

Other than these things, I pretty much just try and keep the house as organized as possible. It's not where I'd like it yet. But, it's about as good as it's going to get at the moment.

Do I REALLY think I'm going to need all of these preps? Not even remotely. We never seem to get as much Winter weather as they say we will. But, as the old saying goes...It certainly is nice to sleep while the winds blows. http://beprepared.com/article.asp?ai=43&bhcd2=1296522561

Stumbled across this....

2011-01-26T02:40:00.001-08:00

My usual routine in the morning is to turn the computer on, load up the wood stove, and then check email, news, weather, etc while the wood stove gets cranking. I stumbled across this page this morning.

http://thebushcraftpodcast.com/

I haven't had time to explore much of this, but I did watch IAWoodsman's video on the Cold Steel Trail Hawk. It was a really educational video. Especially since I just picked up a Trail Hawk after playing with my buddy ID's when we camped out in December. My Trail Hawk is bone stock at the moment, but I'm going to take that set screw out just as soon as I can locate my allen wrenches. so I can utilize more of it's versatility.

A Quick Walk with the Dog....

2011-01-12T15:17:00.000-08:00

Just a really quick note....

With a fresh 8" or so of snow on the ground when I got home from work...I decided to put on my new Outdoor Research Gore-tex gaiters and take the dog for a quick walk around the property before it got completely dark tonight.

They're kind of a pain to put on but they work great for keeping the snow off of the bottom of your pants legs. I think I'll have to get the Mrs. a pair so we can do some hiking in the snow once she gets her new boots. It was really nice to wade through the snow and not have to worry about my pants getting wet. I can see these being really handy if I had to hoof it in the snow due to a vehicular break down or whatever. Especially if I was wearing anything less than my Winter boots.

That's it. I said it would be quick.

EDC Update

2011-01-01T11:21:00.000-08:00

I thought I would post a quick update on my EDC(Every Day Carry).

Somethings have stayed the same...some have changed. Among the things that have changed are the ESEE Izula, the 4sevens Quark AA and my Droid.

The 4sevens is a great flashlight. I do have a couple of gripes with it however. Mainly, the fact that it doesn't have a momentary switch. It's either on or off. Nothing in between. That, and the fact that it doesn't "remember" the last setting it was in. It's not a huge problem, but it is a minor annoyance sometimes.

The Izula has become my EDC knife since I lost my Blur. I carry it lashed to my belt horizontally. No one has said anything about it yet. I like this little knife a lot. I'm sure I'll play around with how I carry it. But, what I have been doing seems to work okay. AT the moment I have a County Comm Split Pea Lighter clipped onto it as well. Merely a backup to my trusty Ronson butane lighter. I'd really like to have a ferro rod attached to the Izula sheath.

The Droid...I love. I use the crap out of it. 'Nuff said.

The Glock 23 and spare magazine...as much as is legally possible...is always on my person.

The white tube is just chapstick. It's Winter...in Ohio...after all. I could be use as a firestarter too I suppose. I haven't tried that yet. But, I'd imagine it would burn pretty well if it was rubbed on paper or some other type of tinder.

The rest...is just wallet, keys , and a paracord bracelet.

That's all I have for now.

Air Travel Junky Style

2010-12-17T09:12:00.000-08:00

I had to take a quick overnight trip for work earlier this week. Since it was going to be such a quick trip, myself and the guy I was travelling with decided not to check bags for our flight. This forced me to think, re-think, and think through again the survival gear I would be able to take with me on this trip. I HATE being limited to only what I can take in carry-on luggage. But, it did make me spend some time planning out my gear.

What I ended up with was:

- My Beloved Droid - The Ultimate Non-PAW Survival Tool

- County Comm Multi-Screwdriver
- Cash
- Cliff Bars
- Flashlight - 4 Seven's Quark AA
- Water Purification Tablets
- Water Bottle - I simply saved the bottle I bought after going through security
- Sil-Nylon Poncho
- Aluminum Foil - about 2 foot square folded down to 2" X 3"
- 2 BIC Lighters - One in my pack, the other in my pocket
- Duct Tape Wrapped Business Card
- AA Batteries - Rechargeable - More than I care to admit.
- 2 Chem Light Sticks
- Book - The Gift of Fear by Gavin de Becker
- Compass - should have taken the lensatic...who knew the horizon was so far away in Texas.
- Paracord - around 50' or so
- Ferro Rod & Scaper

- Snare Wire - maybe 10'

- ESEE-4P Knife - Not really, just seeing if you're paying attention.
- Med's - Immodium, Tylenol, Benadryl etc.
- Mach III Razor
- Toothpaste - the really small travel tube
- Toothbrush - the really small travel type
- Deodorant - the really small travel stick
- Polo Shirt - the really small...no wait...it was full-size
- 2 pair Socks - One smart wool, one cotton
- 2 pair Underwear - also full-size
- Jeans
- Tape Measure
- Notebook
- Pens

- Project Drawings
- Tekeon Charger
- Solar Charger
- Droid USB Cord
- Droid Wall Charger

- Droid Car Charger

- Earbuds

- Yaesu VX-6R HT radio and spare battery

- HT power cords

All of this fit into a small, non-scary, non-military-looking, backpack which fit neatly under the seat in front of me on the plane. It was tight in the pack, don't get me wrong. But, I wanted to make sure my carry-on was small enough I wouldn't have to gate check it.

As it turned out, the most valuable piece of gear I had on me was my Droid. I used it to check my email, take site pictures, as a GPS to get between all of the sites we were visiting, the airport and hotel, MP3 player on the plane, E-book reader, weather radar....you get the idea. I even used it as a phone once or twice. I freaking LOVE my Droid. Love it...love it...love it.

The car charging cord for the Droid saved me a lot of fussing around with the Tekeon and the solar charger. Especially since I used it as a GPS a LOT during this trip. That is a REAL battery drain. I would have killed the battery many times over if I hadn't been able to simply plug it into the cigarette lighter every time we got in the most awesome rental car EVER...BMW 328i. Nice...once we finally figured out how to start it. Don't laugh. It's trickier than it sounds.

Getting through TSA security with all of these items was a breeze. None of it got a second look. I didn't get any special attention from the TSA agents. I did, however, have my Kershaw Tanto Blur in my pocket when I got to the airport to fly out. I'll really miss that knife. That's the price I pay for not paying attention though. I meant to leave it in the Jeep, but I completely forgot I had it in my pocket until I got right up to the point where I had to empty my pockets. Now I have an excuse to buy the S30V version though. Yay!!! I'm retarded....

As it turned out, the world did NOT end was I was out of town. So, I didn't really need any of the "survival" gear I packed. Funny story though...I got a phone this morning call from a guy in our office letting me know that he got stuck over night in Philly due to the the weather. The phone call was prefaced by, "I have to talk fast, I my Blackberry is about to die. I don't have my charging cord with me."

Freakin' Sheeple! Wadda' ya' gonna' do?

He was supposed to be making a day trip, down and back. The weather moved in, they cancelled his flight, and now he's wearing the same clothes as he was yesterday. No spare nothin'! Now he has to fly back today wearing the same underwear. Ewwwwwwwww!

Travel prepped and safe this holiday season,

Lock Out Cache

2010-12-08T06:23:00.000-08:00

I was standing on the back deck the other night, letting the dog out one last time for the night, and I got to thinking "what if I got locked outside just as I was at that moment." Well...to be perfectly honest, I'd probably be screwed. I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt and slippers and the temperature outside was around 25 degrees F or so. I'm sure I had a flashlight in my shorts pocket, but that was the extent of the "gear" I had on me at the time.

This got me thinking about putting together a "Lock Out Cache". Just some bare minimum supplies to keep me from freezing to death in case I got locked out and couldn't get back in for, say, a day for some reason. Yes, the probability of this actually happening is really, really low. But, I'm not a Preparedness Junky for nothin'. Besides, it might come in handy if I had to bolt out of the house unexpectedly in the middle of the night.

I was thinking about keeping this cache to just what I could fit into a small ammo can. Illicit Dreams suggested I could use a PVC Survival Tube to make this cache. I like this idea. And...I already have enough parts to make two PVC Survival Tubes.

I want to keep the contents inexpensive and not prone to freezing. Or at least, freezing won't ruin them.

This cache would be hidden on my property where I could get to it easily. IE: Not buried. Just well hidden. If I go with the PVC tube, I'll paint it so that it can be easily hidden.

So far, the contents of this cache are:

- Heatsheet Bivvy

- Ferro Rod and Tinder

- Small Candle Lantern and Spare Candles

- Small Flashlight and Spare Batteries

- Folding Knife

- Paracord

- Gerber Saw

- Garbage Bags

- Steel Cup

- Instant Soup Mix

- Hot Beverage Mix

- Light My Fire Spork

- Cliff Bars

- Trac Phone with the battery removed

- Sheet of Contact Information

My thoughts are that I could break into one of my out buildings and at least get out of the weather if I needed to. With this kit, I could make a fire for heat and to warm up water. The candle lantern would do double duty as light and heat for a small shelter which, if I had to, I could make up out of the garbage bags and whatever other materials I could scrounge around my property.

If there's room left over in whatever container I use for this cache, I might try to throw in some warm clothes. Or at the very least, wool socks and gloves. Maybe a couple of chem lights and hand warmers as well.

Once I get the cache put together, I'll be sure and get some pictures posted here.

This is exactly what I am talking about....

2010-12-03T05:26:00.000-08:00

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101202/ap_on_re_us/us_winter_weather_8

I love the part where they are talking to Jack Geiselman.

And I quote, "Geiselman was traveling in a Honda Civic from Keene, N.Y., to Cleveland with his black lab Boomer to help his daughter get her house ready for a baby due between Christmas and New Year. He had with him a sleeping bag and plenty of warm clothing and gas."

How many other people that were stuck in this traffic do you think were as prepared for it as he was? My money is on "Not very freakin' many".

Stuff like this happens and STILL people don't prepare for ANYTHING.

Technology VS The Knob.

2010-11-17T09:14:00.000-08:00

I freaking HATE complicated stuff! I do. I can't stand it. It simply pisses me off. I hate it!!!

And EVERYTHING seems to be complicated these days. And, in my humble opinion, things seem to have gotten complicated simply for the sake of making them so. For example, I was visiting my Bronco in the shop the other night to discuss with my mechanic some options for the new exhaust he is putting on it....as we're walking out of the shop he grabs what can only be described as a "black box". I ask him what it was and he tells me it's the "light control module" for a late model Lincoln. Turns out, this particular part is in the $350 neighborhood to replace. I asked him what it does. He says "It controls the lights." I kid you not. So...instead of the $15 switch I have on the dash of my Bronco, which I'm pretty sure I could replace myself...it's right there, mounted to the backside of the dash, I can see it, I know what and where it is, My Dad has this ultimate set of tools, I can fix it...Lincoln has decided to build in a $350 "module" that turns the lights on and off in their vehicles. God only knows where this thing is buried in the car to boot. *Course language alert" Fucking ridiculous!!!

This is EXACTLY why I chose a '79 Bronco as my BOV.

Now...lest you think I am a total Luddite...I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE my Droid phone. I totally get having what amounts to a computer in the palm of my hand. I get that. What I simply refuse to accept is that it takes a $350 "module" to turn the lights on and off in a vehicle. Annnnnnnnnnnnnnd...guess what...this particular vehicle was taken out of commission by this part failing. I don't remember seeing anything about an EMP event either. It simply BROKE. It broke! IT FRICKING BROKE!! Sorry...that was for those people who think I'm afraid of technology in my vehicles because I think an EMP will take them out. It will. I don't care what your precious government sponsored study says. EMP...daily driving...whatever. Technology fails.

Now that this is out of my system....

The whole $350 Light Control Module is pretty much a metaphor for how we tend to do things these days. Instead of a switch...we use technology to make easier something that as I recall from my drive in to work this morning, was a pretty frickin' simple thing to do. Pull the knob...lights go on. Push the knob...the lights turn off. Sorry. I can't help myself. Light Control Module!! It's just so friggin' stupid!!

Speaking of keeping it simple...stupid....

The Bronco BOV got a new carburetor a little while ago. The new carburetor has on it a...wait for it...manual choke. I could have just as easily gotten a new carb with an electric choke. No real technology there. Just a small electric solenoid that is hooked to a FREAKIN" SENSOR!!!!! But instead...I have a small knob on the dash that I pull to...Holy Hell. I think I have a thing for knobs! Keep your Homo-erotic comments to yourself please.

Truth be told...I would much rather have the ability to operate something manually than be dependent on something electric or electronic to do it for me.

The same thing goes for door locks. How freakin' lazy have we become that we can't lift a knob, or turn a key to unlock a door? The same pitfalls exist with electric door locks as do light control modules. Power windows too. These things are made infinity more difficult, and costly to fix, if they should fail, for the sake of making a really simple task slightly easier.

And, how about those electronic 4WD switches. Those can fail. I know this for a fact. I had the 4WD system disabled in my BRAND FREAKING NEW S-10 by a vacuum leak. Not only did it take out the 4WD, it also took out all of my HVAC controls. I wasn't simply vacuum leak either. It sucked "fluid"(Holy Hell...again) into the whole vacuum system. Not exactly something your going to fix on the side of the road during an evacuation. Guess what operates the transfer case in the Bronco...you guessed it...Big Freakin'...you thought I was going to say Knob. Nope...Lever...with a Big Freakin' Knob on the end of it!!

Knobs be praised!!

It's time for those Winter preps.

2010-11-07T03:50:00.000-08:00

As the Mrs. PJ and I drove around yesterday, we came across a swath of ground that actually had enough snow on it to cover the grass. That combined with the fact that the wood stove has been fired up 24/7 for a solid week or so is a very clear indicator that it is time, once again, to get serious about cold weather preps.

The biggest change I make, as compared to my warm weather prep's, is probably in what I carry in my vehicle every day. I spend a little more time thinking about what I would need if I got stuck away from home overnight. Now that the temperatures are dipping into the freezing range over night, I'll throw the sleeping bag in the vehicle along side the Bug Out Bag. My heavy boots will take up residence in the Jeep. I'll throw a bag of fleece thermals and wool socks in there as well.

I also tend to be more acutely aware of the forecast during the Winter season. I will definitely start to dress more appropriately for having to be outside if I should have to be. I get more than a little frustrated when I see people out in the Winter weather obviously dressed like they haven't given a single thought as to "what if my car breaks down and I'm stuck outside for more than it takes to run from the car to...wherever"

Dressing in layers is just the ticket for this period when the weather is really cold at night but not yet arctic all day long. If I'm not actually wearing all of the layers I would like to have, they are at least where I can get to them if I should need to. The ability to add layers when you're cold or take them off to avoid sweating when you warm up is HUGE when it comes to staying warm, dry, or even more importantly, ALIVE during the Winter months.

Just as important as cold weather gear these days, and maybe even more important, is wet weather gear. This is most certainly the time of year for those cold, windy, rainy, crappy days. Windy and Wet combine to bring on hypothermia faster than anything else. I'm a huge fan of fleece. But, it has it's limitations. It doesn't seem to do much to keep the wind off of you by itself. And, it definitely won't do much to keep you warm once it gets wet. That's wool's claim to fame. But, fleece layered under a nylon shell is a great combination for staying warm and dry. I've said this all before, I know. But, it bears repeating. It literally could be "life or death".

I might be a little different from most folks in that I actually enjoy the cold weather. I love slogging through the snow all bundled up. Perhaps why I like it though, is because I'm prepared for it. It would certainly be a different story if I were wading through knee-deep snow in dress shoes, khakis and a lightweight coat because "I was just driving into the office. What could possibly go wrong?"

For those people who insist on dressing to "look cool" in the cold weather...if you're dead...you are "cool" no matter what you're wearing.

Just sayin'...

More BOV Thoughts

2010-10-28T17:57:00.001-07:00

I spent my drive home from work thinking about all of the stuff I want to do to the Bronco to make it into my idea of the perfect BOV.

Some of the things I'd like to do are....

Convert the column shifter to a floor shifter. A floor shifter that mounts directly to the transmission and only has a single linkage rod seems a LOT more reliable to me than all of the fiddly little bits involved in the column shifter.

This just seems a lot simpler and more durable to me. Also, easier to fix if something should happen to break on it. It honestly beats the crap out of me why auto makers ever went to shifting on the column. Don't even get me started on manual transmissions being column-shifted. That is just downright silly.

While I'm at it, I might go ahead and convert the single shift lever on the transfer case to a dual shift. I like the flexibility of being able to control each axle independently. I think this would also allow you to work around malfunctions in the drive train to a certain extent as well.

The second generation Bronco's came with an option of a 33 gallon fuel tank. My only has the 22 gallon tank. I definitely want to boost my fuel carrying capacity. I can see where this would be a huge benefit if you were ever stuck in traffic during a mass evacuation.

Something else I thought about today, while I was stuck in traffic in the Jeep, was swapping out the radiator fan to an electric model. While I was sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic, even as cool as it was today, the Jeep engine temp climbed a bit higher than normal. It didn't get anywhere close to overheating. But, if you happened to get caught in gridlock, on a hot Summer day, it should would be nice to pull air through the radiator regardless of your engine speed.

As I said before, I do want to add a second battery to the Bronco. This would give me additional cranking amps if I should need them. Or, you can actually self-jump start if the primary battery happens to go flat on you. Painless Wiring has a pretty slick setup to allow you to switch between the batteries, charge one or both batteries, or use one or both batteries to start the engine. Again, I like to have options as well as back-ups. This just makes good sense to me in a BOV.

I don't have an air conditioning compressor on my Bronco. So...adding on-board air will be slightly more challenging. I want to do it though. Again, having the ability to repair and air up a tire just makes good sense to me. The ability to run air tools would be nice as well.

Another thing I would like to add is the ability to weld. This is something I don't know too awfully much about adding to the vehicle. I know that the really hardcore offroad guys do it though. I'm not sure what it would take to do this, but it's something I'm going to look into.

That's all I have for now.

Another "it's not always about the PAW moment"...

2010-10-24T13:16:00.001-07:00

Thursday of this past week, on my way to work, I swung through my local gas station to fill up as I was right at a half of a tank in the Jeep. Every one of the pumps had a small sign taped to it that read, "Unable to process credit cards at this time".

I almost always use my checking card to fill up the tank.

Of course, this got me thinking about "What if...." What if I really HAD to get gas at that moment? What if I didn't have enough cash on me to fill up on gas? What if...I mean...How screwed would I be if I was trying to Bug Out, had an empty tank, and didn't have any cash on me?

The answer to all of these questions is "Don't let any of these things happen to you." I still had a half tank of gasoline, I didn't HAVE to get gas at that moment. At the very least, I could have driven to a different gas station. Or...I had enough cash on me to get gas if I had REALLY needed to.

As it was, I simply drove to work, and filled up on my way home. Crisis averted through preparedness.

B.O.V. Part Deux

2010-10-11T10:05:00.000-07:00

Don't get me wrong...I really LOVE/HATE my Jeep. That whole "It's a Jeep thing...you wouldn't understand it"...that's NOT about offroading...at all. It's about the love/hate relationship I think EVERY Jeep owner has. But, I digress...I do think the Cherokee has a lot going for it as far as a Bug Out Vehicle goes. And I fully intended to build mine up into a really great BOV. The one thing that was always poking the lizard part of my brain was all of the freakin' electronic crap on it though.

So...a fellow prepper buddy of mine and I had been discussing "The Ultimate Bug Out Vehicle" ad nauseum lately. As much as he is a Jeep guy too...we both had to write off the Cherokee simply because of the amount of electronic crap that could...uh...crap out of you at the most inopportune time. If you were able to get a non-fuel injected, sensor'ed-to-death, more-electronics than a Radio Shack version of the I-6 4.0L AMC motor, the Cherokee would definitely be in the running for Ultimate BOV. But you can't...therefore, it's out.

Now...before anyone starts crying about how EMP's won't really affect modern vehicles...blah blah blah yada yada yada.... It's not about that. It's simply about how the friggin' thing won't run if a certain sensor, or switch, or electronic doodad breaks. There is simply WAAAAAY too many things that can go wrong with all of that stuff on a vehicle. 'Nuff said.

Anyway...what we came up with was a Late 70's Full-sized Ford Bronco. If you're a Ford person that is. I am, so it worked out perfectly. If you're not...pound salt...I don't care!

As I did a little more research into Ford Bronco's, I realized that the 2nd generation Broncos, the first full-sized, were only made in '78 & '79. And that they were the last Bronco's to have a solid front axle. 1980 and later Broncos had Ford's notorious Twin Traction Beam psudo-IFS nonsense. That, and the lack of electronic ANYTHING on the '78-'79's really pushed me into wanting one of those. Add to that the fact they are the last Bronco's built on the venerable '72-'79 Ford truck frames, and you've got a really tough, simple SUV platform.

They also came with the bulletproof C6 auto transmissions. As well as a good ol' fashioned gear driven NP205 transfer case. Add to that the Ford 9 inch rear axle and a Dana 44 solid front axle. This is the stuff that "Ford Tough" came from. Later Ford models...not so much.

For motors, you get either the Ford 351M or the 400. The 400 being simply a 351M with a stroker crank. All the other internal and external parts are identical. So, parts are widely available.

The other benefit of the 351M and the C6 transmission is that Hot Rodders still use them. A quick scan of a Summit Racing or Jegs catalog will come up with a myriad of aftermarket parts.

So...I bought one. My newest, and hopefully last BOV project is a '79 Ford Bronco. I would have preferred a '78 with the 351 motor. But, I ended up finding a really solid '79 with the 400. It does have the C6 transmission, not the 4-speed manual. That will let the Mrs. PJ drive it if she would need to.

So far, I've only done some minor work to it to make it street legal like replace the missing rear view mirrors, and fix the tail lights. I did re-key the doors as well. Very simple stuff without all the electric stuff to deal with. I have to say though, the sheer simplicity of this truck speaks to me. Crank windows, manual door locks, no air conditioning, vent windows...God I love vent windows!

Future plans for the Bronco BOV include upgrading the fuel tank to a 33 gallon one, dual batteries, and on-board air. I'd also like to ditch the column shifter in favor of a floor shifter to maximize reliability. Then maybe swap out the transfer case case shifter with a dual stick shifter.

Huge Mass Casualty Drill this weekend....

2010-09-13T06:12:00.000-07:00

I got to take part in a HUGE MCI drill this weekend for my County.

I would just like to take this opportunity to encourage everyone to be prepared to take care of themselves if something really, really bad happens in their area. 'Nuff said.

As the Song Goes...

2010-09-02T12:27:00.000-07:00

"You got to know when to hold 'em...

Know when to fold 'em."

This...

...is a VERY bad place to be these days.

I don't care how well "prepped" you are. You have to know when to GOOD...Get Out Of Dodge.

I know that I am guilty of it myself. Saying, "I'm not leaving my home for nothin'!" But the truth is, I know there may be a case where leaving is the smarter option. I live "in the country". I'm not neck-deep in humanity like those who live in major metropolitan areas are. Or...on a tiny strip of land waaaaaaaaay out in the ocean with only one road in or out. So...the odds of me HAVING to bug out are somewhat less than those who do. It could happen though. Something as simple as a Haz Mat situation could force me to leave my home.

It truly sucks to think about if you're completely honest with yourself as to what it could be like. The knock on the door, by the police, in the middle of the night, telling you there is a chemical cloud headed your direction. I can't think of too many things worse than that.

But...it could suck a whole lot worse if it caught you completely unprepared for it. Having supplies set aside, ready to pack up and go, is going to make this situation a lot better. Having somewhere to go BESIDES a shelter is going to make this even better. Because, even if you have supplies, but end up in a shelter...you're not going to have supplies any more.

I can certainly understand NOT wanting to bug out. You're going to resist the need to evac. Especially if you don't have the plan and supplies in place to do it. Making the decision to bug out though is going to be a lot easier if you have already thought about it and planned for it.

My point is...Have A Plan to Bug Out. Earl is just one more example of why everyone needs to be prepared. And part of those prep's is to have a plan to evac if you need to.

Surplus Gas Cans by Tonto

2010-08-29T05:37:00.000-07:00

A part of preparedness, many believe they can't live without gasoline. And, it is normally the first thing to get sold out in an emergency. So, we put away fuel to either run our generator, fuel our car or Bug Out Vehicle or just have some on hand to run the various lawn mowers, weed wackers or chainsaws around the homestead.
I live in a suburban setting so I can't have exposed fuel storage(although I'd love to have a 300 gallon tank of kerosene and gasoline on farm stands). so I've resorted to using gas cans. Now, I personally HATE the ones from the major brand stores because they aren't as tough as the military ones but the military ones are becoming harder to find every day do to regulations put upon us mere peasants.

Here are couple of pics of the fuel cans I picked up. Each one was $19.99. One is US, the other one has 20 liter on it..both made in Canada. These are the only ones I could find out of the dozen cans that had gaskets and complete fuel caps to them.
I try to take all safety precautions when dealing with fuel. I have it in a well ventilated area, I have two fire extinguishers IN that location and it's away enough from the house that if they would detonate (the reason for plastic containers is that they 'burst' at a far lower pressure, they basically just melt and burn instead of detonate) they won't do serious damage to houses.

Tonto

Water

2010-08-17T08:36:00.000-07:00

It seems, lately, that I have been watching a LOT of "survival TV". Between "Dual Survival", "Man Woman Wild", "The Colony" etc...I have spent(I won't say wasted) a lot of time watching this kind of television programming. And, while I was laying in bed last night, I got to thinking about how much of every one of those shows is spent on water. Whether it's trying to find it or how to purify it...it's probably the biggest part of each of those shows. And rightly so. We can't go very long without water. Three days by all accounts. Probably a lot less if you're in a really arid environment.

So...I was already thinking about water in the context of a survival situation. Then, as I'm watching the news this morning, they started talking about the possibility of a huge second wave of deaths in Pakistan due to disease. Largely Cholera...from the drinking water the flood refugees are using.

A pattern was emerging....

Make sure you have the means to purify water. And make sure you can take this with you. I like to have several different methods available to purify water. I think I have water purification tablets in just about every pack or bag I might every carry. I also like to have some sort of container I can boil water in on my person, or at the very least, near me, at all times. I won't go into the specifics of water purification methods. There are only about 32 million websites that already do that. But there is one change I have made lately that I will discuss.

As big a fan as I am of the Nalgene bottle...I have started switching over to stainless steel water bottles. That way, I always have something at hand I can boil water in.

And these days, stainless water bottles are everywhere. I guess that is something we can thank the Green Weenies for. Plastic is, of late, deadly poison. Probably not. But now, stainless steel water bottles are all over the shelves of Walmart and just about every other store. And more and more people are carrying them around every day. Turns out "Eco Friendly"(the water bottle on my desk has that right there near the bottom...with a little leaf in the middle of the O) is also "Survival Capable". The Dirty Hippies finally got something right!

Water filters are great. I have a Katadyn Exstream in my BOB right now. Water purification tablets work too. I have those as well. But, they're both limited resources. As long as I have my stainless steel water bottle and I can find stuff to light on fire...I can make safe drinking water.

"Eco Friendly" yet, still hates Dirty Hippies PJ...out

Elderberry Madness

2010-08-14T16:35:00.000-07:00

We ended up putting 10 one gallon freezer bags, most of them about half full, of Elderberries in the freezer. I'm thinking I've got enough to make some jam and maybe even try to make some wine. The wine looks like a helluva' lot of work though. I don't know when I might have time to try that.

PJ

Wild Edibles

2010-08-09T13:30:00.000-07:00

Well...sorta' wild. Found out we have a HUGE Elderberry bush in the back part of the property. It is LOADED with berries right now. I'm going to try and freeze the berries until I have some time to try and make jam with them.

PJ

More Survival Tube Discussion

2010-08-04T13:03:00.000-07:00

We kept the conversation on the Survival Tube, as it's starting to become known as. rolling today. Good stuff in here. The only editing I did was that which was required to make me look smarter than I actually am. I do love these little mental exercises. I'm definitely going to have to build one of these soon....

PJ: Oooooh...cash and food...completely forgot those. Maybe a couple Datrex bars.

PJ: Tonto sent me a text to add "a small AM/FM radio". In my case I think I would change that to an HT with wide range receive.

ID: That HT would need a AA battery pack, because you may not have a way to charge it.

PJ: True. maybe if we wrapped the PVC pipe in one of those flexible solar cells.... :-)

ID: That's getting kinda pricey there...

PJ: LOL...Okay...no solar cells. How about wet wipes? Not in place of the solar cells...just to have in there.

ID: Good idea... gotta keep clean, and helps with comfort level.

PJ: Bandana...a hundred uses...packs very small. Can't believe I forgot that one too.

ID: Good idea. Maybe a whistle or other signaling device, other than flashlight or firearm.

PJ: Right...signal mirror and whistle.

This thing is getting huge.

ID: The container is pretty good sized, so the kit can be fairly extensive. as long as other components don't take up much room.

PJ: I'll be interested to see if it all fits.

Now...next step...uses for the tube other than carrying everything. I call carrying water. That's an easy one. What else though?
ID: Boiling water for sterilization... Using the heated stone method.

PJ: Wait a tic! What if you put one of those ceramic filters in the bottom of the cap? As long as you could cap that to make it water-proof...you would have a HUGE water filter.

ID: Theoretically could work.

PJ: Heated stone method...good one! Hadn't thought of that. I was thinking of how to boil water in the thing without destroying it.

PJ: I was thinking of just using one of these...http://www.lowes.com/pd_219-1814-PVC+00116++1400_4294935753+5003258+5003723_4294937087?catalogId=10051&productId=3132571&Ne=4294937087¤tURL=%2Fpl_4%2B-%2B5_4294935753+5003258+5003723_4294937087_&N=4294935753+5003258+5003723&identifier=4+-+5&langId=-1&storeId=10151&ddkey=http%3ACategoryDisplay

For the bottom cap. But now, I might want to be able to unscrew the bottom as well.

PJ: Use one of these at both ends...http://www.lowes.com/ProductDisplay?partNumber=44863-1814-PVC+00101++1600&langId=-1&storeId=10151&productId=3134511&catalogId=10051&cmRelshp=sim&rel=nofollow&cId=PDIO1

FJT: You going to put this setup through a torture test before relying on it and buying final components?

PJ: Well...I have most everything I would want to put into it. The PVC pipe is the only unknown at this point.

FJT: That's what I meant, the actual tube.

PJ: I guess I would be curious as to how it reacts to being left in the vehicle all day. PVC will get soft when heated.

ID: Schedule 40 PVC pipe is going to be the best bet. It has the thickest walls thus will be more sturdy and less susceptible to heat and cold.

FJT: If PVC goes from hot to cold, is it susceptible to cracking/breaking? Just thinking of those October days. 70s during the day, and magnifies through the glass, them at or below freezing overnight.

ID: Well if it's thin enough probably. That's why I suggested schedule 40.

PJ: Probably not cracking from heat stress. It is used for hot and cold water. It's worth testing though. I'm more concerned with it softening up to where it goes out of shape. Of course, that could be used to your advantage. You could shape it however you'd like. You could curve it so it fits better on your back for example.

PJ: http://www.globaltecheng.com/productcart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=88&IDCategory=14

Here's 6" sch 10 aluminum pipe. Very susceptible to being squashed though I'd imagine.

6" Schedule 10 Aluminum Pipe - Aluminum Pipe - Global Technology & Engineering
www.globaltecheng.com
6 Schedule 10 Aluminum Pipe,6Schedule10 Aluminum Pipe 6.625 OD with .134 wall thickness. 6063 Stocked in 20' lengths Small or Large quantities available. One Unit = One Linear Foot Priced per Linear Foot Sh,Aluminum Pipe,Global Technology & Engineering

PJ: Little "r" research says it starts to soften at around 170 deg. F.

PJ: After giving it a little thought. I'm back to simply capping the bottom of the tube. I would put the ceramic water filter in the top plug/cap of the tube. You still need to be able to plug the filter hole though so that the tube remains waterproof.

Tonto: This tube is turning into a 55gal cache barrel! Like I said before (maybe not) I had a schedule 40 PVC pipe in the ground - one for 5 years another for 2 years and hell, even used a ice cream bucket wrapped in a trash bag that lasted 3 years. For water filtration, I might just go with a Sawyer filter, katadyn Hiker or tablets (have you guys read some of the directions of the tablets? A quart of water may take up to 4 HOURS to be rendered safe? Hell, even one of those sport bottle filters is sounding good at this time. We also have the PVC40's on top of vehicles to hold copper/PVC tubing and mine just broke for being up in the sun constantly after 6 years when we removed the ladder rack. Two other guys still have theirs on their trucks and it's been about 6 years also. Stuff is tougher then you think.

PJ

A short conversation on Survival Gear

2010-08-03T16:53:00.001-07:00

This is a message thread that I bounced around today while I should have been working.

It's pretty much myself and a couple of buddies discussing a different way to carry survival gear.

PJ: Sooooo...after watching the last episode of Dual Survival where Dave has a break down bow in a PVC tube...I got to thinking...you know...instead of working...what would make a good survival kit to go inside a 6" dia. PVC pipe capped at both ends. Max. length would be about 24" or so.

So far I have come up with:
- Break down recurve bow and spare strings
- Arrows with field and broadhead points(might need to make the tube a little longer to fit these)
- Ferro rod
- Fixed Blade Knife
- Multitool
- Paracord
- Steel Cup
- Platypus Water Pouch
- Nysil Tarp 8' X 10'
- Snare Wire
- Fishing Kit

FJT: Is this something that would be carried with you, buried and cached on your property (or potential BOL), etc? Depending on the amount of room left, I would want:

Some sort of water purification (tabs)
A .22 pistol and a brick of ammo
Light source ( chemlights, flare?)
Map of area
Whatever you might need to skin animals, tan hide

PJ: I was thinking of it as something you could sling over your shoulder and go. Watertight...crush resistant...might actually float. Probably not after I get done loading it up though.

I hadn't even thought about a .22. I wonder if my Rough Rider would fit inside a 6" PVC pipe. Probably would.

GPS...definitely would fit. A good topo map too.
Flashlight...how could I possibly forget one of those
Water purification tablets...definitely

Tanning hide is pretty difficult under the best of conditions. I certainly hope I don't have to live out of this tube so long that I need to start making my own clothes.

A sewing kit would be a good addition though.

And first aid kit....

PJ: Now that I think about it...it would make a pretty handy cache to hide somewhere.

ID: I'd place my 22/45 a brick of ammo a good fixed blade, sharpener, fishing kit, sewing kit, compass, map, bow string, fire kit.

PJ: So add...a compass, and a knife sharpener to what we have so far.

ID: Almost forgot to add to my list, tarp, wool blanket.

FJT: Someone isn't reading very carefully........

PJ: A thin wool blanket MIGHT fit in there. I kinda' doubt it though.

And yes...I already covered the tarp. Get it...Tarp...covered...I kill me.

ID: If you're referring to me. I'm at work and responding from an iPod. Not getting all the messages.

PJ: Yes, let's ID a break. He is working under primitive conditions. LOL

FJT: Yeah. I'm on an IPhone at work, and keep having to refresh and reload facebook in order to get the messages to load.

PJ: I don't know if you guys saw the episode or not. But, Dave had his PVC pipe covered in camo duct tape. Which he cleverly used to fletch some primitive arrows he made since he had a bow but no arrows. He took a turkey with basically a cane arrow with a glass bottle arrowhead he knapped. That's what got me to thinking about this type of survival kit.

ID: I know I could get my one fleece blanket down to about 5"-6" and about 10" long.... so that might be a possibility... or forgo that and get one of those heatsheet bivy bags.

PJ: Heatsheet bivy is a really good idea.

FJT: PJ,
Is this you trying to cheap out on a replacement BOB by just buying a PVC tube and caps?

PJ: Nope. Just another avenue of survival type gear. I like the waterproof, crush resistant, cache nature of this container. It might hide better in a vehicle than a backpack though. If you didn't have it all camo'ed up, it would just look like a length of PVC laying in the back of the Jeep. Who would ever look twice at that?

PJ: Geber Saw...not sure how I forgot this.

It was a nice little mental exercise. Hopefully I can find time to try and put one of the Survival Tubes together.

PJ

Trying something new....

2010-07-28T06:33:00.000-07:00

I've been approached by a buddy of mine, who sucks way less than I do at this who preparedness thing, about posting some stuff on my blog. Frankly, I like the idea of making this a collaborative effort a lot. To that end, I am asking some of my fellow Prep Junkies to send me material they would like me to post here. Hopefully I can compile some more gear reviews and how-to information. Maybe that would mitigate the amount of ranting I do here and make the whole blog less about who is pissing me off at the moment and more informative for everyone.

Maybe I can work it out so that I can post some of the discussions I have had with my buddies about prep related topics. I have been discussing Bug Out Vehicles at length with one friend. I'd like to get more like-minded people chiming in on that topic.

However it all works out, I'd like to make this blog less about my opinions and more of an collaborative effort.

Stay tuned for what I hope will be changes for the good. Awwwwww crap!! I used Hope and Change in the same sentence! Liberals ruin everything!!!!

Kershaw Blur...I freakin' love this knife

2010-07-27T09:01:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, not often, but just sometimes, I get into a "I HAVE to have a new knife...NOW" mood. Which kinda' sucks since I don't really have a decent knife shop near me. So, I'm left with the big box stores if I need to get my instant knife gratification fix. Dick's Sporting Goods stores are no help since they don't carry any decent knives at all lately. Evil Walmart, on the other hand, does.

I was well into getting the shakes after not having bought a new knife for at least a couple of weeks when I happened to be at Walmart and spotted the Kershaw Blur. They carry the Black Serrated Tanto version. http://www.walmart.com/ip/Kershaw-Knives-Tanto-Blur/5127449?sourceid=1500000000000003260410&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=5127449

I had the girl behind the counter get one out for me to fondle. The minute I pushed ever so slightly on the thumb stub and the blade snapped open, I knew I was going to buy it. Oh sure...I played it real coy by looking at a couple of different Kershaws they had as well, but I knew this one was going home with me.

I knew a little about the Blurs from watching Nutnfancy's review of them.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqQuD5ACpkg And, once I saw the blade steel was NOT 440, I knew I had to have it. Honestly, I got the same feeling I got the first time I played with a Kershaw Blackout. The Blackout was the first assisted-open knife I had ever seen(and later owned). And when that blade on the Blackout snapped out, I think I actually "Muwhahahahahahaha'ed" out loud. I still have that same Blackout. matter of fact, it's in the pack sitting on the desk right next to me. It's my backup folder at the moment.

Back to the Blur though....

The Blur just feels great to me. The molded-in rubber Trac-Tec in the grip feels awesome. The shape is great as well. It's a large-ish yet not an overly thick knife so it fit's great in your pocket too.

The thumb stud on the blade is absolute perfection. It's got nice traction while not so large as to be obtrusive. The angled cut on it works brilliantly. A short, little straight push on the thumb stud deploys the bade right-freaking-now. It snaps open with some real authority.

The tanto blade shape...I love. I know a lot of people don't rally care for it, but I do. It's just dead sexy and works functionally for me. Plus, I feel, that you were to ever have to use a knife for self-defense, that knife should have a certain amount of "scary" to it. While I LOVE my Kershaw Leek...it possesses absolutely zero scariness.

The 14C28N blade steel is awesome. Edge retention is...well...awesome. I USE this knife...a lot. A simple swipe through a pull-through carbide brings it back to, literally, shaving sharp. This is all I have ever done to this blade. It...just...works. 'Nuff said.

For all of my admiration for this knife however...(here comes the bad), this knife has completely put me off of serrated blades. I was leaning away from them when I bought this knife, but now I am really done with them.

I give you exhibit "A"....

I have, somehow, managed to snap off all of the fine points on the serration. Now mind you, I USE my knives, but I do NOT abuse them. I don't go around prying crap with my knives, or deburring metal parts with them. I use a knife for what it was intended. I don't know when or how this happened. I just happened to look at the blade one day and saw they were gone.

Kershaw changed their serrations. I'm not sure when, but they did. Compared to my trusty Blackout, the points on the serrations are a lot longer. They may cut better, but they, apparently, are more inclined to divorce themselves from the blade. I like the serrations Nutnfancy shows on his Kershaws. I don't own any like that though.

Therefore...no more serrated blades for me...period.

Another not-so-awesome thing about my Blur is the rattle in the handle when the blade is open. I don't know if they all do this. But, it's danged annoying. If I thought for a minute that I could put the thing back together again, I'd take it apart and see if I could figure out what is rattling in there. For now...I'll live with it.

Ooorrrrrrrr...I could buy a plain edged S30V Blur. You know...just to compare....

Quick Video Link

2010-07-26T11:34:00.000-07:00

Found this short video today at lunch. It is relevant since I'm always carrying a clip knife in my pocket. And...it passed my "plain ol' good common sense" test, so I'm passing it on.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tA_sTMXzazM&feature=player_embedded

A Confession...truly

2010-07-25T11:29:00.001-07:00

Went to fire up the grill last night to cook some burgers, and the tank was empty. No problem, I grabbed one of the spare tanks...empty...crap. Grabbed the THIRD tank...you guessed it...freakin' empty! Apparently...I suck at this preparedness thing. Today...I get all three tanks refilled.

I gotta' get my house in order.

Localized EMP Strike

2010-06-07T16:30:00.000-07:00

Now that I have your attention...

EMP (Erratic Motorist Person)...came home to no power this evening. It had been off since around 11am due to a truck taking out the transformer on the corner. The last thing we had heard was that they were thinking they would get it fixed by 7pm. So...eight hours without electricity...not a really big deal. Especially since we had frozen water bottle in both freezers.

I cooked dinner on the grill. Bratz and quick rice. I'm SO glad I bought a gas grill with the side burner. Once again, your "survival food" does not have to suck.

After dinner I fired up the genny to power the fridge and the freezer and watch the evening news on TV. I'm still running extension cords from the genny to inside the house. We picked up one of these a little while ago...http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/cb.aspx?a=554348. It worked great. It let me run a central extension cord through the middle of the house and plug in the couple of things I wanted to power.

The power came on about three minutes before 7pm. I shut down the genny, wound up the extensions cords and reset all of the clocks in the house. It was very much a non-event.

It is nice to have these little events every once in a while just to keep us on our toes. It just goes to show, that even during perfectly normal times, you can still have things that will happen.

Even more work on the BOV today....

2010-06-06T12:16:00.000-07:00

Went back to my buddy's place to do some of the work we didn't get to yesterday after we installed the lift kit. We took the rear wheels off so I could cut off the extra length on the U-bolts since they were hitting the rear sway bar. I took the first wheel off and the brake drum just about fell off with the wheel. I'm no expert on drum brakes, but I do know that every time I have messed with them in the past it was a huge pain in the butt to get the drums off. They have never just fallen off like that. Turns out, the adjusters on the rear brakes weren't working at all. So...the rear brakes were basically NOT working at all either. New brake shoes and cleaning up all of the parts in the drums turned out to be a project we hadn't planned on tackling. It's done now though, and the brakes do feel a lot better.

We replaced the front wheel bearings and then looked at the A/C system to see if we could get it to take a charge. The condenser has a rather sizable leak. I'd rather replace the condenser than have to tear apart the entire interior of the vehicle to get at the exchanger buried deep within the bowels of the dash. So...I have yet another project ahead of me. Or maybe I'll just convert the compressor to On Board Air....

My buddy also looked at trying to clean up the PCV valve inside the valve cover without removing it. He sprayed some carb cleaner in through the hole to see if that would free up the flapper valve. We would have pulled the valve cover and done it right except that I forgot to pick up another gasket when we went to get the new brakes for the back.

Then we welded up one of the tailpipe hangers that had broken loose.

I still have some drive train vibration whenever I step on the brakes hard. I'm going to go ahead and order the kit to drop the transfer case and try to fix that one myself.

So...for the weekend...I now have new shocks, new springs with a minimum of 2" lift, new rear brake shoes, new front wheel bearings, and I now know what is wrong with my A/C. Not bad for 10 hours of work.

We have lift off!

2010-06-05T17:26:00.001-07:00

It's done. And...it rides so much nicer now too.

It was a big project, but not impossible to pull off in a day. I think we ended up taking about six hours to do it. We could have done it in four if it hadn't been for the shock bolts that either broke off or refused to break free and had to be cut off. I would have been screwed if I had tried to do it by myself. Even if all of the hardware had cooperated, it was just good to have an extra set of hands at certain points. Of course, my buddy that helped me might say that I slowed him down at times too.

I ended up with 3 3/4" lift in the rear and 2 1/2" in the front. That was just after doing the lift. I'll give it a couple of days to settle in and see where it ends up. There were a whole bunch of strange noises as I drove away from my buddy's place. Everything ended up quieting down after the first mile or so though. The lift was only supposed to be 2". You can probably tell from the "before" picture...my old rear springs were sagging something wicked. It probably does work out to 2" over the factory height.

I'm going back tomorrow morning to do the other work we had planned on like checking the A/C compressor and trying to clean out the valve cover PVC valve. We might end up having to drop the transfer case a little as well. The rear drive shaft is at a pretty steep angle as it stands after the lift kit was installed. And I do have a strange rubbing noise that happens when I brake.

I was told that I would have to get the front end aligned since it would throw off the steering wheel orientation. It doesn't seem to have done that to any noticeable degree.

All-in-all...I'd call it a success.

I'll posts pic's once I get some "after" shots taken.

T-minus 2 Hours 'til Lift off....

2010-06-05T03:20:00.000-07:00

Today is FINALLY the day. I head over to my buddy's place and we put the lift kit on the Jeep in a couple of hours.

While I'm there, we're going to look at the A/C and see if we can't get it to take a recharge. I've been fighting with this for a couple of months now. I just can't seem to make it work. I'm fairly certain that if the compressor is okay but there's a leak somewhere buried behind the dash...I'm just going to say "screw it" and convert the compressor to an On-Board Air unit. http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f11/c-oba-conversion-write-up-pics-471962/

Also while I'm there, I'm going to get pricing for the steel I need to start fabbing up my rear bumper. I've spent a lot of time measuring, doing research (aka surfing Cherokee forums looking at pictures), and contemplating what I want my rear bumper to be. My buddy has a fab shop, so he can get me whatever steel I might need. I want to make my own bumper for two reasons. First...the prices on off-the-shelf bumpers is insane. I did find a place in Michigan that has some pretty reasonable prices. But, they're still pretty expensive. Secondly...I REALLY do need to get back into doing my own metal work. It only took me seven years of nagging, groveling, begging, and pleading to get the Mrs. PJ to let me buy a welder. And, it's been at least three years since I fired the thing up.

I have been digging out all of my welding gear this past week. This is yet another thing the Jeep is forcing me to do. And that's a good thing.

Stand by for lift off....

Just a quick post....

2010-06-01T03:57:00.000-07:00

It has been freakin' nuts around here lately. Work is going bonkers trying to get parts shipped out to the job site as the project starts to wrap up. I've been trying to get some work done on the Jeep, and the Mrs. PJ and I have been working out in the yard trying to get things cleaned up and ready for planting.

We did split ONE strawberry Sunday morning off of the plants that volunteered this year. I had strawberry plants in pots last year. One of the pots I set on the ground late last Summer. And, voila! I had new strawberry plants this year around where the pot was. So, we cleaned up that area and built a stone wall around it hoping the plants will completely fill in there.

Other than all of this...we've been trying to eat out of our stored foods more to prevent stuff from expiring before we get to it. For dinner last night I took one of the large can of chicken meat and dumped it in a skillet with some barbecue sauce and made pulled chicken sandwiches. It was quick to make, infinitely simple, and danged tasty too. Which just goes to show...your "survival" foods don't have to suck.

More Jeep Work This Weekend

2010-05-17T16:43:00.000-07:00

I FINALLY got around to pulling out the factory air filter and air box after talking to Les about how much he improved the mileage on his Jeep by doing that. I had bought a handful of parts at my local AutoZone to do this. But, nothing really seemed to fit. After consulting with Les, I simply got a two foot length of 3" schedule 40 PVC pipe. Then, I bought the biggest cone filter AutoZone had.

Turns out I only needed about 6" of the PVC pipe. It was pretty snug getting it into the stock air intake hose. I managed though. Then it was a simple matter of tightening the cone filter on the other end. I had to drill a hole for a miscellaneous air line that was originally mounted in the side of the old air box. And, I stuck one of those cute little cone filter on the valve cover breather. Bickety Bam...cone filter integration achieved. I do need to make some sort of bracket to hold it in place. Right now, I have zip ties holding it there. I'd take some pictures, but it's just way too embarassing the way I have it rigged right now. Once I get everything just the way I want it, I'll take a couple of pictures.

While I was at AutoZone, I talked to the guys about my slow-to-start problem that is beginning to return. We figured it might be the fuel pressure regulator. Expensive little booger. Really easy to install though. I can't tell if this has fixed the problem yet or not. The Jeep SEEMS to be starting easier. Time will tell.

Also got around the changing the transmission fluid and the rear diff fluid...along with yet another oil change. The transfer case is the only thing I have to change fluids out on now.

The old girl really is feeling a bit peppier with all of this work done. Most of that is probably from the cone filter. I do have a PVC valve that is gunked up and forcing oil back into the air filter. My old filter was filled with oil. Looks like I need to pop the valve cover off and clean up the valve.http://jeep.off-road.com/jeep/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=257836 I'm hoping I see a respectable increase in mileage too.

The Mrs. PJ FINALLY gave in and let me order the lift kit I have been lusting after since I got the Jeep. My rear springs really are shot, and the shocks are starting to go as well. Might as well put a lift kit on if I'm going to replace these. A 3" Old Man Emu kit is on order, and will hopefully be here soon. I already spoke to my buddy that normally helps me out with the really major work on the Jeep. He said he was looking forward to putting the lift on it.

While I was doing my monthly wirebrush-the-rust-off-and-hit-it-with-spray-paint thing, I was feeling saucy and ended up flat blacking my entire hood. I kinda' like the way it looks. Not that I did all that great a job painting it. Turns out, flat black paint on big flat surfaces is really tricky to do without showing the spray paint strokes. Maybe it will all even out with time. Or, I'll just keep doing it until it ends up more uniform. It did take way more paint than I thought it would just to get it to this point.

Surprisingly enough, Mrs. PJ said she liked it. I was certain she would start filling out the paperwork to have me committed when she saw it.

That's it for now.

Dead On Tools Annihilator

2010-05-08T17:37:00.000-07:00

I've been using this tool a lot at work lately. Part of my job these days is to crate up parts for shipment. I've been using the tool mostly to take apart crates and remove blocking inside of crates so I can reuse them. I use it to pull nails and hammer nails down that the nail gun doesn't quite drive all the way down. Granted, I'm not taking down concrete walls with the thing, but...it's working out quite well for what I have been using it for.

I can certainly see it coming in handy in an urban survival situation.

I'm really happy with the tool. It's always in the Jeep. You know...just in case....

CAMPING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-05-02T14:22:00.000-07:00

Finally got to spend a little time outdoors last weekend. Myself and a couple buddies(Les and ID) went camping for the weekend. Nothing too rugged...just a couple of nights in a local state park. There was no real agenda for the trip other than to just relax for a bit. All three of us were feeling the stress of our jobs and were looking to get away from it all if even for just a couple of nights.

We all arrived at the park at just about the same time. This time it was my turn to forget to turn on my 2M radio so ID could get in touch with me when he got close. We didn't really have a Comm's Protocol in place for this trip. It wasn't to be a Mock Bug Out or anything. Just a simple car-camping trip.

The first thing we all did was to set up a tarp to cover our dining area.

Then we all got to setting up our sleeping quarters. All three of us were sleeping in hammocks under tarps. Lesson No. 1 for the weekend...do NOT all tie up your tarps and hammocks to the same tree. had some trouble trying to get all of the tarps set up orrectly since we were right on top of each other. We got it done. But, it could been a lot easier.

ID took it upon himself to push down some standing dead wood. You know...for safety. You don't want dead trees falling down on you in the middle of the night. Well...anytime actually.

We got the campfire going and relaxed around it the rest of the evening.

Saturday morning Les and ID got up early while I stayed in my hammock. We all complained about not being comfortable all night. Which is really surprising since I have always slept very well in my hammock. We decided we chose our trees poorly. You need to make sure the trees you hang your hammock between are far apart enough that you can take most of the droop out of it.

Breakfast was thick sliced bacon and eggs cooked over an open fire.! 'Nuff said. I did have to borrow Les' mess kit because I really hadn't planned on such big meals while camping. ID fashioned a plate out of aluminum foil which was pretty clever. I have some in my BOB, I should have done that myself.

After breakfast, we marinated the steaks we were going to cook for dinner that night.

There were some pretty strong storms that were moving into the area...so, I kept checking the weather radar on my Droid to keep track of them. We were all looking forward to them because all three of us are weird like that. We figured we had enough time before they got to us so we battened down the camp as best we could and headed to a local sporting goods store. I told you we weren't really roughing it.

Once we got back into camp I got the camp fire going again. I had to use a little of the Vaseline soaked cotton balls I had in my pack since all of the wood was wet from getting soaked during the rain we got at the campsite while we were away. No storms, just rain. Very disappointing.

This was the first time I had actually used this to get a fire started. They work great. Fire starting was a bit of a challenge all weekend. It took real patience to get them started. I had to start very small and work up to larger and larger pieces of wood.

Dinner Saturday night was steak and veggies in foil packs over the fire, I warmed up some canned vegetables and Les made stuffing and gravy. We do tend to eat pretty well in camp.

I fired up my Esbit stove to heat up the canned green beans and corn. This was another first. I've always had Esbit stoves in my packs and my workplace stash. I've never tried them before though. The fuel tablets I was using burned so fast it took three of them to heat up the food. I could see using the Esbit on the ground where I could add small pieces of wood to keep it going. I wouldn't want to rely on just the fuel tablets though. I'll have to try that soon.

After all of that food, we just sat around the campfire and fought off the food comas and the raccoons. We turned in around 11:00pm, which is pretty late for us camping.

It was another night of discomfort sleeping in the hammock. It rained on us off and on most of the night. We all stayed dry under our tarps. I FINALLY got really comfortable just about the time I had to get up to go to the bathroom and the rain really started coming down. A quick trip to the nearest tree and I climbed back into my hammock. Now that I had finally figured out that if I rotated my body off the axis of the hammock, I could get truly comfortable...I fell fast asleep again.

Once I finally drug myself out of the hammock, I thought we were going to have a cold camp since it had rained all night. But...a little more Vaseline/cotton balls and the fire was going again. Not that we used it to cook on. We all pretty much just snacked on stuff while we tore the camp down. It's always nice to have food with you that doesn't require any prep at all. Stuff like granola bars or Pop Tarts.

ID took off for home and Les and I headed over to a trail head to do a little Geocaching. Well...we would have if I hadn't forgotten the info I printed out at home. Since I did though, we just headed out for home.

It was a nice, relaxing weekend. I did manage to learn a couple of things. So...it was good in that way as well.

Short Power Outage Last Night

2010-04-25T06:17:00.000-07:00

The Mrs. PJ and I were woken up around midnight last night when the power went off. The power flicked on and off a couple of times which, for some unknown reason, turns on the overhead light in the bedroom. This woke us both up just in time to see the power go out for good.

I laid in bed for a couple of minutes until it became apparent the power wasn't going to come right back on. Then I got up and started roaming around the house on the lookout for looters in the off chance I get to shoot one.

Kidding. Actually, once I'm woken up in the middle of the night, I have a very hard time going back to sleep.

I did fire up my Droid to check the radar to see if maybe it was weather related. We were getting a light rain but that was it.

Next I looked up the Power Outage Reporting Number for my local power company and called it in just to make sure they were aware of the problem. They were, and already had a crew dispatched to look into the problem.

LOVE my Droid! I can still access the internet if my power goes out and I lose my wireless router. I have to be honest here. I did turn on several electronic devices just to make sure it wasn't an EMP strike. I just had to check.... Yes, I will seek professional help...to help me protect against EMP strikes!!!

Then I turned on my HT to scan the local public services frequencies so I could try and figure out just how widespread the outage was. I didn't hear anything but the usual police dispatches for domestic violence and assorted other Saturday Night drunken stupidity.

Without any looters to defend the homestead against, I pretty much just goofed around with candle lanterns and oil lamps while the power was off. I thought about firing up my multi-fuel camp stove to heat up some water to make some Ramen noodles...just to get into the TEOTWAWKI mindset.

The wife and I did talk briefly about whether we would need to fire up the generator or not to keep the fridge and freezer cold. I wouldn't really have even considered do that unless the power was going to be off for at least eight hours or more. We do keep 1/2 gallon milk jugs and two liter bottles filled with water in both freezers to keep them cold in just this kind of situation.

Right around 1:30am the power came back on. Overall, it really was a non-event. It reminded me of a story I had read just yesterday..."I Can Sleep When the Wind Blows" http://beprepared.com/article.asp?ai=43&bhcd2=1272204879

When stuff like this happens though it always gets me thinking about how we would deal with an extended power outage. I really do need to do a weekend where we turn the power off and practice living without it.

Just a couple quick thoughts....

2010-04-15T16:28:00.000-07:00

Just came in from taking the dog for a walk around the property...which is code for strapping on my .22 Mag revolver, Weterlings ax, new Mora Miki knife, and goofing off in the backyard.

As I stepped off the back porch I got to thinking about what it would be like to spend the night outdoors with only what I had on my person at the moment. (In case you haven't figured it out yet...I am one with the "What If" game.) Besides the aforementioned items I also had my Ronson butane lighter, a Kershaw Blur, a County Comm 9290-AA flashlight, a ziplock bag of .22 Mag rounds, a Chapstick and a 20 oz bottle of Diet Pepsi. (I'm ashamed to admit it, but I am also one with the Diet Pepsi.) This time however, I intentionally grabbed a bottle on my way out the door into the vast backyard wilderness so I would have a "canteen" of sorts.

The first thought I had was that I could certainly carry water in the Diet Pepsi bottle, but I had no way of purifying it. That made me wish I had my steel cup with me so I could boil water in it. At the very least, I would have liked to have a bottle of purification tablets. I can get water from the pond or one of the wells on the property. But, I wouldn't want to drink any of it without at least some very basic purification.

A little later, as I sat by my tiny, but not quite-so-smokeless-as-I-would-have-liked-to-have-it fire, which I started in the fire pit, I got to thinking about what I would do for shelter. I could certainly build a debris shelter and stay reasonably comfortable(I think) over night. I would have liked to have at least a large garbage bag thought to keep dry since the ground is still pretty damp. Or maybe a poncho...they are calling for rain overnight.

Maybe I'll throw together a little "backyard survival" kit. That will give me some basic stuff to play around with during these so-called "dog walks".

P.S. I'm going to have a huge Frog Gigging party once the huge numbers of tadpoles I saw in the pond mature.

Tops Knives Scalpel

2010-04-05T14:25:00.000-07:00

I started this entry earlier in the week but held off until now just to see how Tops would respond to my concerns....I never received a callback from them at all so...here goes.

Finally got together with the UPS guy to arrange the delivery of my Tops Scalpel http://www.topsknives.com/product_info.php?cPath=1&products_id=114 Friday. You'd think I was trying to buy a Class III firearm. UPS HAD to have MY signature for delivery. I couldn't just sign the back of the form they leave when they try and deliver and you're not home....

Anyway...so...I got my new knife on Friday afternoon and have been carrying it ever since.

A few observations....

The knife feels really good in the hand. It has decent heft to make it feel like a good-sized chunk of carbon steel. The shape of the blade is perfect for what I intend to use the knife for...a nice, utility, fixed blade for EDC. The overall size of the knife is really good for that as well. Decent sized handle and blade, but not so large as to be really, really scary.

The jimping on the top and bottom of the blade feel really good. They feel like they add a certain amount of traction when you grab the handle far up enough to engage them.

The kydex sheath fits snugly on the knife. But, still allows for quick deployment. The clip on the sheath swivels so you can carry it in various positions.

That's the good...now for the bad.

The grind on the blade is COMPLETELY wrong. Now, I'm certainly no expert on knife making but, the blade had the approximate sharpness of your typical butter knife when I received it. The cutting edge is simply way too steep to ever get truly sharp. I put it in one of my pull-through sharpeners just to check the grind angle...the only thing that touched the carbides was a whole bunch of the coating. I laid the blade on a stone to see just how steep the edge grind angle was. Freakin' WAY too shallow. I don't think my Lasky system even has a setting for such a sshallow angle. Ridiculous!!

The blade is a perfect example of way too shallow edge grind that Nutnfancy talks about in this video. http://www.youtube.com/user/nutnfancy#p/u/504/_gWbM0psAtA It's pretty good...I learned some stuff from it.

Speaking of the blade coating...it looks really cool. But...it does absolutely nothing to aid in the cutting ability of the knife. It is so rough, it certainly adds a whole bunch of friction when slicing through materials. I have to assume it does since the blade was so freakin' dull I couldn't cut through a stupid piece of cardboard with the thing. Seriously..the knife would not cut corrugated cardboard right out of the box. I kid you not.

The whole "wrong grind angle" issue probably has something to do with the blade thickness being what it is. It's a full 1/4" thick at the spine. I totally missed this when reading the description on Tops' website. Yes, this makes the blade a lot harder to break if you're prying with it. But guess what...it's a freakin' knife! You don't pry crap with a freakin' knife. That is what...wait for it...PRYBARS are for. Now...if the knife just happens to have a pry ground into the end of the handle...Oops...almost gave away another point I was going to make.

1/4" thickness for such a small blade is positively silly. The EXTREME blade thickness gives the blade the profile of your average wood splitting wedge. It would probably be awesome for batoning wood...if it weren't a hair under 2 1/2" long and so FREAKING DULL!

The wrong edge grind combined with a total lack of response from Tops pretty much insures I will never buy from them again. I understand that mistakes happen. And maybe this knife simply slipped through the cracks somehow. I can live with that. But, to NOT respond when I customer calls is simply unforgivable.

Okay...enough ranting.

Another detracting feature is the clip on the sheath. It's HUGE. I was never really able to wear the thing comfortably. The clip was always digging into my side. Granted, I never wore it with my shirt tucked in. I rarely tuck my shirts in any more since I got my CHL. Funny...I used to be really anal about never leaving the house without my shirt tucked in....

Anyway..

The Scalpel does have a lanyard hole on the end of the handle. This would be a really great place to tie on a really nice black, square knotted, paracord lanyard instead of simply tying on an Olive Drab piece of paracord like it came with. Come on!!! The knife is black and shades of grey. Olive drab? Really? That just offends my delicate sense of style.

Sorry...ranting again.

And...speaking of the lanyard hole...the knife does has a rather sizeable chunk of steel hanging out the end of the handle. Why not shape that into some sort of prying tool? I mean...it's already just hanging out there. Just freakin' thin it out into a pry for cryin' out loud!

Dang it! Sorry!

I did call John Fitzen at Razor's Edge http://www.razorsedge.us/company/fitzen.php and talked to him about regrinding the blade into something that resembles a knife. Super nice guy. We talked quite a bit about the knife and what could be done to fix it. I ended up sending him the Scalpel and one of my Frost Mora's to touch up. I'm hopeful he can fix the Scalpel to make it a serviceable knife. He makes knives with very thick blades and manages to get them razor sharp. So...I know it can be done. Sorry...starting to rant again.

I'll let you know what I get back from him.

If Hell had a Pry Bar....

2010-03-31T13:55:00.000-07:00

If the Stanley Fat Max Xtreme Fubar isn't bad ass enough for you....

Dead On Tools Annihilator...It's like the Fubar...'cept...pissed off.

I need to be a little more "Grey Man" with my preps....

2010-03-15T18:07:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been catching a lot of crap for all of the "stuff" I carry in the back of the Jeep all of the time. Granted...it IS a lot of stuff. I normally carry my BOB, a sleeping bag, my CERT pack, my work stuff which consists of gloves, tape measures, squares etc, and a box of automotive "stuff" like washer fluid, oil, coolant, etc. It does take up most of the back of the Cherokee...it's a lot of stuff. I've been getting comments like, "Are you going camping after work?"...and, "What are you doing with all of that stuff?". My old job never really let a lot of people see what I had in my vehicle. The new job though, has me loading and unloading parts and tools from the back of the Jeep all of the time. People are forever eyeballing all of the stuff I carry in it every day.

One of the comments a guy I work with made was something along the lines of, "You're not in the middle of the woods...why do you need all of that stuff?" Granted, this particular individual is extremely...oh...how do I put this politely? "Inner City Sheeple". His most extension use of planning for anything is to figure out how to get tickets to tomorrow night's basketball game. So, I simply mumbled something about having to make a quick escape into the wilderness after having to beat the crap out of a coworker for asking me stupid questions.

But, as unenlightened as the question was, it got me thinking. My BOB has always been geared toward hoofing it home from work through the countryside. These days I spend the majority of my time within the confines of a major metropolitan area and it's surrounding suburbs. Wilderness survival simply won't come into play until I can GOOD(Get Out Of Dodge). And...that could take a while in a lot of circumstances.

I have planned evac routes as best I can to get me away from the city as quickly as possible. But, as much as I am loathe to admit it, I spend more time than I care to admit in *cue the dramatic music* The City. And, God...I HATE the City! This is the new paradigm of this job though. It sucks. It really does. But, I have to deal with it.

Odds are...if something REALLY bad happened while I am at work, I am going to be in the City. I need to re-gear my BOB towards Urban Survival. I don't even know what the heck that means!

So...I need to start re-thinking my BOB.

After watching Nutnfacy's three part video on his concept for an Urban Survival Kit http://www.youtube.com/user/nutnfancy#p/search/1/OVkntkChnnM I think I can scale my BOB down to fit into a decent day pack. My BOB currently is a very large, military-style. MOLLE covered pack. This is the first step to becoming a little less obvious about what I carry in the back of my Jeep.

While I don't think I'm going to need rapelling gear, I do like his idea of including more tools into his USK. If I was stuck in the city, I would want the ability to break into abandoned buildings for shelter, or help help extricate people from damaged buildings. With my current job, this is the much more likely scenario than needing to build a debris shelter in the middle of the woods. I've already started collecting some of the tools he talks about in his videos. I plan on swapping out some of the more "wilderness survival" gear for more appropriate "urban survival" gear.

What it all comes down to is...odds are, I'm more likely to be stuck in an urban environment than trekking through the woods towards home. And, as much as I did not want to admit it...that is my reality currently. I just need to suck it up and deal with it.

Just a quick observation....

2010-03-10T16:40:00.000-08:00

I've been working on my Bushcraft Loadout the last week or so. It's small conciliation for not actually getting out into the woods to play as ANYTHING to do with outdoors would require scuba gear now that we're deep into the Spring thaw.

I did take the dog for a quick walk/slog around the property this evening simply as an excuse to strap on my Wetterlings. http://www.bensbackwoods.com/servlet/Detail?no=52 While I was out mucking about in the mud, I decided to cut down a small sapling...is that redundant..."small sapling"...is there such a thing as an "enormous sapling"? Sorry...I cut down A sapling to make a new hiking stick. Besides the Wetterling, I stuck my Gerber Sliding Saw http://www.knifecenter.com/kc_new/store_detail.html?s=GB6048 in my back pocket. I used the Gerber saw to cut the sapling down, and the Wetterlings to trim off any offending branches. I'm always amazed at just how efficient the Gerber saw is for cutting. Don't get me wrong...I LOVE my Wetterlings. I mean LLLLOOOOOVVVVVVEEEEE my Wetterlings. But, a saw is just better for doing some things. Like...cutting down a small...sorry...A sapling.

I've probably said it before...I repeat myself a lot when I'm excited about something...but, I can't say enough good things about the Gerber Sliding Saw. I have no less than four of them at the moment. One in my BOB, one in my CERT pack, one in my Bushcraft pack, and one that resides permanently on the mower. The one on the mower gets used constantly...in the Summer...not the Winter...that would be silly...to trim low hanging branches while I mow the grass. They're inexpensive, they work amazingly well, and they're durable. I have yet to break one, let alone have one get dull.

What it all comes down to is this.... A saw is far superior to an ax when cutting across the grain of the wood. The ax wins hands down when doing just about any other kind of cutting.

The Jeep Cherokee saga continues...

2010-03-01T16:52:00.000-08:00

...but in a good way.

Put a new fuel pump in the Jeep on Saturday. This fixed my little "slow to start" problem.

The Jeep has just about always taken two tries to get it started if it hasn't run for any time at all. Lately though, it was taking three tries sometimes. I figured I had better get on checking the fuel pressure pretty quickly before it up and left me stranded somewhere.

On my way home Wednesday, I stopped at my local AutoZone and talked to the guys at the counter about my "fuel pump losing prime" suspicions. They were good enough to hook up the fuel pressure gauge to the fuel rail in the Jeep right there in the parking lot. I know a lot of people bash the Big Box Stores...but, I have to say, the guys at my local AutoZone are awesome. They are always quick to help me and have been known to spend the better part of an hour looking things up and making phone calls to try and track down a fix for a problem I might be having.

But, I digress....

The fuel pump would pump up to 39 PSI the second time you turned the key. But, it would leak back down incredibly fast. I picked up the new fuel pump assembly which they had right there in stock. I could have gotten away with just replacing the pump itself. I wanted to make sure EVERYTHING was right though. So, I splurged for the whole new assembly.

Saturday morning...EARLY...I headed over to a buddy's place for a little help to swap in the new fuel pump. Gotta' love that you do NOT have to drop the tank to get to it. Bickety Bam! The old pump was out and the new fuel pump was in place. The Chilton was useful in that there was a picture of just how the pump assembly had to fit back into the tank.

I wanted to wait a couple of days to make sure that this had indeed fixed the problem before I got too awfully excited about it and posted about it here. The Jeep sat the rest of the day Saturday then started immediately when I went to put it into the garage that night. I didn't run it at all on Sunday. And this morning, again, it started right up without any hesitation. Same thing today after sitting for about four hours this afternoon.

Yay!!!!! Just...Yay!!!

So...that's one more problem with the Jeep that has been fixed. Hopefully I can get past fixing broken stuff on the Jeep and start upgrading some stuff soon. I'm dying to put a small lift on it because I'm convinced the rear leaf springs are completely shot. Any lift kit I buy will have new springs for the front and the rear.

PJ on Tires....

I've said it before, but I'm going to say it again...BFG All-Terrain T/A KO's are the freakin' bomb! We've had some SERIOUS snow are around here lately. The BFG's have pulled the Jeep through as much snow as I could ever imagine getting into. I've had a lot of fun purposely running through the deepest snow I could find. Two feet or better in some cases. And not the fluffy stuff either. The stuff that's piled up from where they plowed. The Jeep will normally get through that much in 2WD without too much trouble if you can keep some forward momentum up. If you get stopped though, pulling the lever and switching to "Holy-Jesus-This-Thing-Will-Go-Through-Anything" 4WD, is truly an amazing event. I like to shout..."Wonder Twin powers...Activate!"...every time I do it.

And this is with an open diff in the rear. Once I get a locker back there...I'm going to try and climb trees with it!

BFG's and true 4WD...it's a freakin' awesome thing!

Repeat after me..."I will NEVER own a puny AWD vehicle again."

A Quick Little Experiment...

2010-02-08T02:17:00.000-08:00

Last night, as I was repacking my BOB...again...I discovered that I didn't have as much toilet paper in it as I would like to have. Truth be known, I don't think there really is such a thing as too much toilet paper in your BOB. I mean...if I'm using my BOB for what it is designed for...the LAST thing I want to worry about is whether or not I have enough toilet paper. Somethings just take priority....

Anyway...I got to wondering just how much a full roll of toilet paper would compress if I used the vacuum sealer to do just that. Ladies and gentlemen...I give your the vacuum sealer compressed toilet paper roll.

It compressed quite a bit. It was difficult to get the sealer to draw it down. I had to give it a couple of tries before it would pull enough vacuum to make it seal automatically. I think it had to do with positioning the bag properly.

But, it finally worked and sealed up. It's in the BOB now. I'll give it a little time and check it to make sure it stays sealed up and compressed down. I'm also curious as to what the toilet paper will be like after being compressed down for a while.

I'll let you know.

Even MORE BOV updates....

2010-01-31T05:22:00.001-08:00

This week's BOV work was to replace the battery with an Optima Red Top, run the power cord for the 2M radio straight to the battery, and switch out the spark plug wires.

We've got a real cold snap going on around here these days. And I have noticed that my radio was telling me I was getting less than 12 Volts from the battery before I started the engine. I figured it was time for a new battery. I had hoped to wait a little while before I sunk the money into a new one, but I don't know that the old one would have survived the cold weather. So...I broke down(no pun intended) and dropped the money for a new Optima Red Top. From everything I have heard, this should be the last battery I ever put into the Jeep. Let's hope so.

I was hoping this would cure my little slow to start issue I am having with the Jeep too. It doesn't seem to have. When the Jeep has been parked outside for any length of time...it's cranks a little longer than I would care for it to before the engines catches and starts. It never has failed to start. It just takes a little longer than I would like. Weird thing is, it ALWAYS starts the second time I crank it over. No matter how long I crank it the first time. Maybe I have a fuel pump problem...I don't know.

I also FINALLY got the power for the 2M radio run through the firewall and straight to the battery. I've been running the radio from the cigarette lighter longer than I care to admit to. Doing this cleaned up the wires in the passenger's compartment as well as provides cleaner power to the radio. I should have done it a very long time ago. I'm glad it's finally done.

The other thing I did yesterday was to swap out the new spark plug wires with a different set to try and cure my ignition noise problem I was having with the 2M radio since I changed them out a little while ago. It didn't seem to help. Maybe a little, but definitely not completely. I'll know for sure after I drive around the city for a little while. Right now, in the driveway, the repeater I normally talk on was at full quieting. The noise is much worse when I'm not getting quite as good a signal from the repeater.

I had hoped to permanently mount my 1/2 wave antenna in the roof of the Jeep yesterday as well. It was just too blasted cold to do any more work on it outside though.

That's all I have for now.

Had another "It's not always about the TEOTWAWKI" moment yesterday....

2010-01-30T03:48:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, for work, I had to crate up two rather highly polished, welded stainless steel posts to ship to our customer in California. I had to line the crates with 2" thick polyethylene foam to protect the posts during shipment. I had 4' X 9' sheets of the foam to work with, but I wasn't sure how I was going to cut it up to fit into the crates. To make this even more interesting, I had to do this at one of our vendors and didn't have any of the tools we keep on hand around the office. A particularly grumpy vendor, who I always dread having to ask for ANYTHING.

Then it hit me...Gerber Saw. I have a Gerber Sliding Saw in my BOB, and my BOB is always in the Jeep. *In my best Monty Python Black Knight* I'm invincible!!!!

I used the Gerber saw to make the long cuts in the foam. This worked great as the Gerber saw cut the foam like butter. I can't say enough good things about the Gerber Sliding Saw. I love these things.

I ALWAYS have a folding knife clipped to my pocket as well. So...I used my Kershaw Leek to make the small notches in the foam to fit around the crate's corner posts.

Once I got the crates all buttoned up, I had to label them and make sure they were marked with "This End Up". You know, just so the trucking company can be assured they stack them upside down. I thought I was going to have to run to the hardware store to get some thing to mark the crates. Then I remembered I had a HUGE Sharpie in my CERT pack. You know, for marking houses we have searched, doing triage, and making Adolf Hitler and Snidely Whiplash mustaches on dead people. My CERT pack is also always in the Jeep.

Potential disaster averted again. Okay...so maybe not disastrous if I had to run to Lowes. But, it sure was a lot easier just to use the stuff I had on hand already than to make a special trip to the store for it.

Perhaps it wasn't a Life or Death situation, but I always get a kick out of using the stuff I carry with me at all times.

Another Quick BOV Update...

2010-01-23T10:16:00.000-08:00

Spent the morning at a buddy's place wrenching on the Jeep. This time I actually got my hands dirty. We replaced the brake pads to fix the pull to the left when I applied the brakes. I had my local shop fix the left front brake caliper when it locked up on me. This was the same shop that told me I might want to consider scrapping the Jeep since it apparently had a rear main seal leak. The mechanic did me "a favor" and only replaced the left front brake pads when he fixed the sticking caliper. He did this to save me money rather than charge me for replacing both of the front sets of brake pads. Ever since he did this, the Jeep had a wicked pull to the left whenever I hit the brakes. New pads on BOTH side of the vehicle fixed that nicely.

We replaced the serpentine belt. We had a Hell of a time getting the tensioner bolt loosened up. Now that we got it broken loose and cleaned up...I should be able to change to belt pretty easily.

We changed the fluid in the front differential and replaced the fuel filter as well. Now, I just need to change the fluid in the tranny, transfer case, and rear diff and I should have a good baseline for preventative maintenance.

I thought I was going to have to replace one of the front wheel bearings because I was getting a noise from somewhere in the front end whenever I took corners. Another buddy of mine suggested I check the power steering fluid first. Bingo! It was almost completely empty. I topped it off and now...no more noise. Thanks Buddy...you know who you are.

It felt good to get in there and get my hands dirty wrenching on a vehicle again. The last five vehicles the Mrs. PJ and I have owned have all been brand new. And, I didn't do so much as change the oil on any of them. I felt like an idiot trying to figure out how to get the brake calipers back on the Jeep. I used to change my brake pads all of the time. It's definitely a skill I let slide.

I used to do all of my own routine maintenance on my vehicles. Somewhere down the line, I stopped doing it myself. I need to get back into the habit of doing it again. And maybe try and tackle some of the bigger repairs myself too.

I'd love to rebuild an engine for the Jeep and have it ready to drop in if I ever needed to do that. Same with the transmission and transfer case. Maybe once I get past all of the routine maintenance stuff on the Jeep and 12" lift and monstrous tires...I'll look into starting that.

PJ...now with actual grease under his nails and some new knowledge in his noggin.

Quick BOV Update

2010-01-21T03:25:00.000-08:00

Last night I swapped out my sealed beam headlights for conversions that allow for the use of standard H4 bulbs. http://www.quadratec.com/products/97009_501.htm

This was as simple as replacing a sealed beam head lamp. Yes, it would have been nice to have at least a diagram to figure out where the rubber seal went on the back of the conversion head lamp. But...I'm really smart. So, I figured it out all on my own.

I took a very quick test drive up the street to check out the new headlights once it got dark. All I can say is... "HOLY CRAP!!!!" What an improvement over the old sealed beams. I mean...just...HOLY CRAP!!!!!

And, now I can carry the little H4 bulbs in my toolkit instead of the massive sealed beam bulbs.

I'll see if I can't take a couple of pictures showing the difference between the old lights and the new ones. Don't hold your breath though. I'll have to re-install the old head lights. And, I'm not all that excited about ever having sealed beams back in the Jeep.

On a more negative note....

Apparently the new plug wires I installed last weekend are causing all kinds of interference with my 2M radio in the Jeep. No one seems to be giving me bad signal reports. So, it appears to be only on my side. According to people I have talked to about this, I should have made sure to intall resistive plug wires. I'll have to do a little more research on the problem. I hate to shell out the money for a whole new set of plug wires. I might just have to do it though if the interference really starts to bother me.

The Jeep BOV Project continues....

2010-01-17T10:22:00.000-08:00

I'm pretty sure I'm going to have a brand new '92 Jeep Cherokee before it's all said and done. Which is fine by me. I really do love the old girl.

This weekend my buddy is welding in rectangular tubing to replace the rusted out rocker panels. When he took off the rear fender flares he discovered the passenger's side quarter panel was completely rusted out under the fender flair. It was no problem for him to patch it back in. I told him to just cut out the rust and patch it as best he could. I'm going to cover the whole the rear quarter panels with these....http://www.jcroffroad.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=XJRUPGRD96&Category_Code=XJArmor

These will cover any less than perfect body work and let me upgrade the taillights to LED's.

Other than the body work, we tracked my blower motor problem down to a bad blower motor. He's going to try and adjust the steering box to take a little of the slop out of it. And...the transmission cooler lines are getting replaced because they were pretty suspect looking.

I also ordered headlight conversions to get rid of the sealed beam headlights. It's been a while since I've owned a vehicle that still used sealed beam headlights. I had forgotten just how much they suck.

The biggest expense so far, by far, has been upgrading the tires to BFG All Terrain T/A KO's. I can't even begin to describe how much this helped driving in the snow. The Toyo A/T's that were on the Jeep "looked" okay. They still had decent tread left on them. But, the first snow we got proved just how bad they really were. Even if weren't for getting around in the snow, I'm glad to have a lot heavier duty tire on the Jeep. The roads in the city really suck. I could see getting a flat or ruining a tire just from hitting a pothole.

I've got a whole bunch of stuff I'd like to do the the Jeep. But, right now, I'm trying to focus on reliability and drive-ability.

Besides all of the repairs and upgrades to the Jeep, I've been compiling a lot of information such as evac routes and area maps to keep in the Jeep at all times. The new job has been spending time in places that are less than ideal when it comes to any sort of TSHTF kind of scenario. I spend my days driving between the office, which is pretty much on the edge of what I would consider an Inner City area, and different vendors which are very much Inner City locations.

My biggest concern right now is getting the heck out of the city and away from the masses. I'm making up a notebook with evac routes printed out. I still need to try most of them out. It's a work in progress.

The other thing I'm doing at the moment is coming up with a tool kit that will let me deal with minor mechanical problems and hopefully continue to make my way out of the city if I should break down. I'm focusing on things like belts, hoses, fuses, and spare parts that will let me fix the Jeep enough to keep moving. This will stay in the Jeep at all times since it will be out primary BOV from home as well. I've always had a tool kit that was part of our Bug Out gear. But, other than some spare fuses and headlight bulbs, it was primarily bailing wire, duct tape, and a few hand tools. Driving an older vehicle makes me want to beef it up considerably.

I'm also carrying my Jump Start pack in the Jeep these days. The battery hasn't given me any problems yet. But, I just want to be covered in case it does.

That's all I have for now.

A New Job, A New Paradigm

2009-12-22T16:17:00.000-08:00

I started a new job last week. And, it's something completely different from what I have been doing most of my adult life. Just about every job I have had in the past has been an office job where I sit in front of a computer day-in and day-out. For the most part, all of my past jobs entailed driving into the office, sitting at my desk, working on a computer all day, then driving home at the end of the day. This had made planning for eventualities pretty straight forward. I knew where I would be all day, almost every day.

My new job is one where I spend a great deal of time in my vehicle driving between the office, home, and all of the vendors we are using to fabricate parts. I don't even really have my own space in the office, and I don't think I will ever have a computer there. So...there won't be a workplace cache, I don't have access to the internet all day to check up on what's going on in the world...I don't even have access to my home email. I need to completely re-think the plans I have had in place. I will need to become even more self-sufficient and self-reliant throughout my work day

Things like rendezvous points, communications plans, evacuation routes, intell gathering, OPSEC, and gear will all need to be revisited and revised. Something as basic as my vehicle will need to be re-evaluated with respect to my new situation.

My plan is to use this blog as a sounding board as I work through the changes I need to make in my prep's and my plans. If nothing else, this will let me type things out as I think them through. Hopefully I can get some feedback on the changes I'm making.

Quick Prep's

2009-12-08T18:23:00.000-08:00

Call it a "Prepared Lifestyle Choice"...but, I never leave the house without dressing, or at least having the clothing with me, as if I might have to spend the night outside.

Tonight, as I drove home from a CERT meeting in a really crappy, cold, freezing rain/wet snow mix, I was glad I had grabbed the outer layer of my winter coat to throw on over the fleece I was wearing. A fleece hat and some gloves were in the pockets of that coat as well. I would have been pretty miserable in very short order if I had to spend any time at all outside in this weather with just a fleece pullover. Fleece is a great layering material, when it's dry and still out. Throw in some precipitation and a little wind and it is pretty much useless all by itself.

The nylon shell of my winter coat adds a certain amount of water-resistance and a hood to the equation. Over a fleece top, I could have stayed comfortable in some seriously cold, wet weather.

It's just something I think about as I head out the door no matter how short the trip might be.

Bedtime Preparedness

2009-12-02T02:32:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post while I'm thinking about it....

Lately, especially with it being cold at night, I have taken to leaving the clothes I wore that day on the chest we have at the foot of our bed. My thinking behind this is that if we had to get out of the house in a hurry in the middle of the night, my clothes would be right there to either throw on if I had the time. Or, at the very least, carry out with me to be put on later.

The other thing I do is make sure the laces on my boots are loosened up to where I can pull them on quickly. Normally, my boots are fairly tight and it takes a while to put them on. If we have to get out of the house in a hurry, in the middle of the night, in Winter...I'm going to want to have my boots to do it.

I've mentioned this before in a previous post, but I'll repeat it here since it's part of my bedtime ritual now. All the stuff I carry in my pockets goes into a small pouch that I can grab quickly if needed. This is my wallet, pocketknife, lighter, USB thumbdrives, anything I normally have on my person throughout the day.

My EDC County Comm Satt Comm bag is usually on the floor right next to my night stand. It has my bigger EDC stuff like spare Glock mag's, HT, small first aid kit, spare batteries, and whatever else I like to have on me throughout my day.

My G23 is always in the nightstand at night wearing it's Streamlight TLR-1. And there are always at least two flashlights on the nightstand as well. If not more...I have a problem with flashlights. I want to own them all!

The cell phone is on it's charger at night on the nightstand as well. Along with several books I have been trying to finish. Yes, my nightstand is a very crowded place.

That's all I've got for right now.

Be prepared and sleep well. Or...just sleep well prepared.

God bless you Internet

2009-12-01T04:35:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I got an education in Jeep.

I had to get a new exhaust put on the Jeep yesterday. Other than shelling out the money to do that, it went well. Actually ran into a member of my CERT team at the shop and shot the breeze with him for a while.

Next I took the Jeep through E-check. Because, I live in a county that has that nonsense. Don't even get me started...

Another pleasant surprise...the Jeep actually passed the E-check with flying colors. Yay Jeep!

Then, as I was driving around looking for the building to transfer the Jeep title into my name, a not-so-pleasant surpise. A brake caliper locked up. Soooooo...I managed to get it to my local mechanic. I was going to have him do a thorough inspection on the thing anyway. Once he gets it up on the rack, he looks at me and says "You've got a major oil leak here." To which I reply, "Of course I do...it's a Jeep." However, I could have simply answered, "No I don't. It's just marking it's territory."

Anyway...the oil leak spurred a discussion about rear main seals and how you have to drop the transmission to get to them and how that would cost more than the Jeep was worth and how I might not want to fix the brakes if I was going to have to junk the Jeep anyway since it is apparently impossible to fix a leaky rear main seal on a Jeep without pulling the motor and transmission and transfer case, and headlights , and taillights, and spare tire, and right front passenger's seat and...."

Sooooo, now I'm thinking it's going to cost me many thousands of dollars to repair a '92 Jeep which I did NOT spend many thousands of dollars on to buy. "Bummed" does not begin to describe my mood at this point.

The FIL drove me over to a mechanic he used for many a year at his work. We explained the situation. He quickly replied with, "We won't even touch those things. It's just too difficult a job. Because you have to start with pulling the motor and transmission and transfer case, and headlights , and taillights, and spare tire, and right front passenger's seat and...."

Monumentally bummed now, flirting with suicidal depression.

Once I'm home, and properly medicated, I turn to trusted advisor, The Internet. A quick Google search of "Jeep + Oil Leak" turns up aproximately Avogadro's Number in hits. Turns out, changing a rear main seal on a Jeep motor is merely a case of dropping the oil pan and replacing the two-piece rear main seal. Messy, but far from impossible http://www.jeepin.com/features/rearmain/ Also apparent is...Jeeps Leak Oil. It's just their way. To the the extent of, if a Jeep is NOT leaking oil, it must be OUT of oil.

Now, I'm a mix of elation and deep-seeded hatred for those who told me it was virtually impossible to replace a leaky rear main seal on a Jeep. Fuckers!!!

Apperently, Jeep owners replace these things in their driveways on a regular basis.

Now, maybe it's just me, but if I was to make my living as a mechanic...seems to me, with all of the millions of Jeeps on the roads, with all of their leaky rear main seals, and money to be made by fixing them...I might want to actually KNOW what it takes to fix them. Especially since it's apparently not that difficult a job. Dirty Fuckers!!

The other thing I learned from my beloved Internet is that if the valve cover on a 4.0 I6 Jeep motor is leaking around the rear of the motor, and apparently they do this A LOT, it mimics a leaky rear main seal by leaking oil down the backside of the engine right where a leaky rear main seal will. Now, I'm not the most mechanically inclined individual in the world. But, I'm fairly certain even I can put a new valve cover gasket on. If I can't, should have my Man Card revoked. Well...at least suspended for a little while.

I will add this, my mechanic, the one I trust, did tell me I would have to steam clean the engine block to even see where the oil was leaking from before I took drastic measures. I'll give him props for that. He gets dinged for making me believe the Jeep was ready for the junkyard though.

Later yesterday, I talked to a guy I used to work with, who does all kinds of work on all kinds of vehicles. When I explained to him what it took to replace the rear main seal on a Jeep 4.0 I6 engine, he said, "Sound just like the rear main seal on a small block Chevy." Bastard Fuckers!!! Even more proof that my local mechanics should friggin' know how to do it.

Yes, I'm not exactly excited about spending money on fixing oil leaks and brakes and mufflers on this Jeep. I'd rather be spending the money on a 12" lift, monstrous tires and some serious bumpers. Kidding Tonto! I have no such plans. But, I do have some rust on it I would like to get fixed.

It's a Jeep thing, I just don't understand it.

Things have been interesting the last couple of weeks.

2009-11-27T13:56:00.000-08:00

It all started off when I got laid off on Friday Nov. 13. Now, I am officially a victim of our crappy economy. I have no idea how long it will before they will call me back, if ever. I'm making plans toward NOT having a job any time soon. The job ad's have been pretty skinny in my particular profession. Things were crappy before we hit fourth quarter. And things are historically pretty slow in the fourth quarter. So, I don't see getting my job back until after the first of the year at best. Frankly, I would be surprised if I was back to work until after the first quarter of next year.

Anyway...the Mrs. PJ has spent a lot of time looking over the budget, trying to figure out where we can save some money. We're cutting back on all of our extraneous expanses like eating out and entertainment for starters.

The next thing we did was to take a look at our vehicles and see where we might be able to save some money there. As luck would have it, I actually had enough equity in my vehicle to sell it and buy a cheap beater to get me around for a while. I ended up picking up a '92 Cherokee that a guy around the corner from me has for sale. That eliminates my car payment right off the bat. Hopefully I won't have to spend too much fixing things on it. If that's the case, we've saved my car payment every month. Not that I was driving a $52,000 Non-electronic, Diesel Suburban or anything, but my car payment was still a fairly decent chink of change every month. I'm glad to be done with them.

Next, we'll look at replacing the wife's vehicle and try and lower her payment. We still want to have at least one vehicle under warranty. But, if we find something nice enough in a used vehicle, we may go that way. She wants something that is a true 4WD vehicle. I'm glad to have replaced my AWD vehicle with a true 4X4. It would be nice if she had one too.

In case anyone is wondering...AWD isn't actually ALL wheel drive at all. It's ONE wheel in the front and ONE wheel in the back. At least on our vehicles(we both were driving Mitubishi Outlanders). Plus, being compact, car-based, SUV's, they had tire sizes that were virtually impossible to get in a fairly rugged tread pattern.

I'm glad to be back in an actual 4WD, solid axle, honest-to-God, off-road worthy vehicle. Yay Jeep!!

That's about all I have been up to for the last couple of weeks. I have started a couple of projects around the house getting things organized. Straightening up our supplies, cleaning our closets, and stuff like that is good for keeping busy while I'm out of work. It's stuff I've needed to do for a while now anyway. So, for that, I'm glad to have the time to do it.

I did spend about a half a day getting the 8N running again. My father-in-law and I pulled the alternator and the battery and ran them in town to have them both tested. It ended up just being a bad battery and some really crappy gas. The old girl is running fine these days again just in time for Winter. Sometimes she gets pressed into snow removal service at the in-law's place.

We'll keep trying to get the budget pared down even more. We've been able to cut a little here, and a little there by looking at our cell phone service and scaling back the cable a little bit. Each of these is not a very big reduction. But, at this point, every little bit counts.

The biggest thing for us is to simply keep track of where the money is actually going. Mrs. PJ spent a whole lot of time getting our Quickbooks info back up to date. And, now that we are really watching the little, miscellaneous expenses, it will be a lot easier to keep up to date and track where we're spending money and where we can maybe cut back a little bit more.

Primarily though, it's more of a change in our mind set. We just need to be more careful about where we spend our money. We have been living pretty high on the hog up 'til now. Now we just need to NOT do the things we had been doing like eat out as much as we have and buy the stuff we WANT to buy. We had no idea just how much we were spending on that until we sat down and looked at it.

That's it for now.

Took the BOB's for a walk today....

2009-11-07T15:42:00.000-08:00

My buddy Jason and I have been talking about trying to get out once a month to take our BOB'sfor a hike. Partly to see just how far we could actually carry them and partly just for the exercise. We set up our first hike for Saturday.

The plan was to meet up using only 2 Meter radio comm's and GPS coordinates. The radio comm's worked well at first. But, once we got into the park, the terrain worked against us and we both lost contact with the repeater we were using. We should have had a plan to switch to simplex if we couldn't make the repeater. That was lesson number one. Have a backup comm's plan.

We met up with no problems despite the lack of radio comm's. We weren't positive we were in the right place because the coordinates I located using Google Earth were about a quarter mile away from where we met up. That was lesson number two. Google Earth will get you close, but not necessarily exactly where you want to be. We saved the exact location of the vehicles in our GPS's before we headed out. This will be important later.

We geared up at the vehicles and headed for where we thought the trailhead would be. Turned out we were right. Unfortunately, the first part of the trail was a fairly steep climb. That was lesson number three. I'm not in good shape by any stretch of the imagination. Strapping on a 50lb pack only makes things worse. I HAVE to get in better shape. I was sucking wind big time before we even made the top.

The top part of the trail cut through some truly awesome cliff faces. I'm definitely going to have to go back there and do some exploring. It would be a fanastic place to hike into and camp for a couple of days. There were a bunch of ledges and caves that would make excellent campsites. But...there's no camping allowed in this area.

Halfway through the loop we ended up at picnic area. We took the packs off and rested a bit. We found a partial pack of cigarettes and a functional lighter on one of the picnic tables. PAW barter materials!

We reshouldered our packs and headed off down the trail again. The back half of the loop wasn't marked nearly as well as the first part and it wasn't long before we lost the trail. We explored the area a bit and found some really cool rock features. But, we never did find the trail again. So, we just headed out overland using the GPS's to direct us back to the vehicles.

Lesson number four...always know where you left your vehicle. God knows I've lost my way back to the vehicle when hunting before. GPS makes it almost too easy to wander around and not pay attention to where you are. We should have had a better idea of where we were and how to get back to the vehicles.

It was rough going having to cross some deep ravines and climb some serious hills. It would have been bad enough doing it without packs. The packs made it even worse. I was starting to feel a little stronger though. I didn't get as winded while we were slogging through the woods back to the vehicles though.

Jason went down once in some mud. Lesson number what? Five? With all of the leaves on the ground, trip hazards, slippery spots and all kinds of other nasty surprises were hidden from sight. I know I stepped into a hole and ended up to my thigh in leaves. The potential for twisting an ankle was pretty high. Luckily, we both made it out of the woods relatively unscathed.

And that brings us to lesson number six...always make sure your gear is securely attached to you. While Jason and I and MOST of our gear made it out of the woods, one of my HT's did not. I gave Jason my VX-150 HT to use in case we got separated. And, somewhere, way back in the woods, it became separated from him. Even if we could backtrack our path out of the woods, it would be impossible to find with all of the leaves on the ground. Luckily, it wasn't an expensive radio or we'd still be there looking for it. I picked it up used and cheap. It wasjust a backup to my primary HT. On the bright side though, I have gotten a whole lot of mileage out of it for ribbing Jason.

All of our gear seemed to work well. My pack, while probably too heavy, was comfortable. This was the first time I had carried for more than a lap around my own property. I do need to repack it so I can get my goretex bivvy sack in it. I was pretty confident I could have spent the nights in the woods there. Between the rock overhangs and all of the deadfall and leaves, I could have built one helluva' shelter if I had to. Or, simply crawled into my bivvy(if I had it with me) and cover myself up with leaves.

All-in-all, it was a good start to what we hope to make a monthly thing. Once the snow starts flying though, we'll have to find someplace a lot safer to hike around. And I'm goin to try and add new elements to each hike. Stuff like trying out new gear and ways of doing things.

PJ

Nuts to you!

2009-11-01T03:58:00.000-08:00

I have Hickory trees on my property!! Hickory trees!! That means...Hickory nuts!

The Mrs. PJ and I bought this property for the trees. Not so much the house, but the property itself. A large part of the property is wooded. We have a lot of Conifers on the property, but we also have a variety of hardwoods. Maples, Oaks, Hickory, and a lone Crab Apple tree.

We've been living here for almost four years now, and I have never seen the first Hickory nut under any of the hickory trees that are on my property. Not until this year that is. Maybe I wasn't looking for them. Or, maybe the squirrels got to them before I did. But, up until now...nothing.

This year, however, I gathered about a 1 gallon Ziplock bag full of Hickory nuts. This was nuts without the hulls. So...being new to gathering Hickory nuts, I thought I would have enough hickory nuts to last the Winter. As luck would have it though, there is surprisingly little meat in a Hickory nut. What's there is really good. But, I'm fairly certain that a person could starve to death eating Hickory nuts.

I'll probably save the majority of them to plant and try and get MORE Hickory trees on the property. I'm thinking that the real benefit of Hickory trees is providing food by attracting squirrels to my property. Then, there's always having the trees around for firewood. And, quite possibly the most awesome reason of all, growing my own bows on the property.

This is the first year I have noticed acorns on the ground under my oak trees as well. I gathered a bunch of them to plant.

The buckeye tree produced a bumper crop too. I gathered a crapload of buckeyes and ended up giving most of them to the neighbor across the street to give to his grand kids. I kept a dozen or so. Again, to try and plant.

Gathering nuts and buckeyes this Fall has me fired up for getting some permaculture going on the property. I should have been planting Apple or Cherry trees all along. I'm going to start for certain in the Spring. I've also been collecting Maple seeds and planting them to try and get my woodlot started. I don't know if I'll ever get to the point where I can grow all of the firewood I need each year. But, I'm going to give it a heck of a try. Maple trees nomally pop up all over the property. Usually in the areas where I mow. I've stopped mowing a couple of large areas and am letting them go back to whatever they want to be. I've been spreading the Maple seeds I gather in these areas to encourage the start of my woodlots. Hopefully I can figure out how to coppice these trees and produce enough firewood to heat the house over the Winter once things get going.

Know your trees...Love your trees...Use your trees...Love your trees your trees even more.

PJ

Pandemic Prep's

2009-10-17T06:45:00.000-07:00

Over last couple of months or so, the Mrs. PJ and I have geared our prep's toward what the media if constantly telling us is a certainty to occur...a full-on H1N1, no one is going to be spared, we're all going to die, pandemic. Not that we have "drunk the koolaid" as it were, we've just started thinking about and planning around the worst case and the not so worst case scenarios of an actual pandemic.

Don't get me wrong. I am not certain that H1N1 is going to wipe out 90% of the human population. I'm not nearly that lucky. More than likely, H1N1 is simply going to come and go much like any other strain of flu. It will kill some people, certainly. But, the flu kills people every year. Really! It does. Look it up. This is not a new concept. The media is just treating it like it has never happened before in history.

The more likely worst case scenario is that we would be placed under a quarantine that would prevent us from travelling freely. Or, maybe we just decide to NOT make the usual trips into town for our normal grocery runs. And this is what the Mrs. PJ and I are gearing our Swine Flu We're-All-Going-To-Die Pandemic preps toward. We have been stocking up on stuff that we might not be able to simply run out to the store and pick up if we run out of it.

This really isn't any different than any other kind of general preparedeness except that we are stocking up more on what I call Medium Term Storage foods. Since we got the freezer, we have been stocking it up with frozen foods such as meats, frozen vegetables, and stuff we can make quickly and easily like frozen pizza's and other comfort foods like ice cream.

I don't really want to have to dip into my Long Term Storage stocks just because we can't get to the grocery for a couple of weeks. I do tend to store "normal" shelf-stable kinds of foods. I do NOT have a pallet of MRE's in the corner of my basement. So, things tend to get rotated fairly regularly anyway. But, the idea of Pandemic Preps is to make it as invisible as possible.

And to that end, we are also stocking up a little more than usual on the stuff we use around the house. Things like cleaning products, person hygiene stuff, pet supplies, snack foods, anything we can think of. Again, we normally have a significant amount of these kinds of things on hand already. But, I'm trying to think of things that would be nice to have in a short-term kind of situation instead of having to resort to a beans-and-rice kind of subsistence just because I can't get to the grocery as often as I would like to.

We're also stocking up a little more with things like hand sanitizer, and bleach for sanitizing purposes. They're probably something I should have already had on hand before, but we picked up some spray bottles to use if we need to start disinfecting the house.

Mrs. PJ is lucky enough to be able to work from home for extended periods if that should become necessary. I don't have that luxury though. Maybe if things start getting bad, my company will wise up and start making preparations to allow people to work from home. I'm hoping that is the case. Otherwise, I will be out of the income for any time that we are quarantined either by force or by choice.

We're also making sure the fuel oil tank stays topped off as much as possible and we have a decent supply of firewood on hand. This is just to make sure we will have these things if we are not able to get any delivered due to a quarantine. Again, this really isn't any different than our normal level of preparedness. It just gives us a little more focus to make sure we keep these items at maximum levels.

I don't honestly see a pandemic getting to the point where we lose all of our utilities. I am, however, storing an additional 10 gallons of gasoline in case I should have to run the generator for an extended period. I can see the flu keeping large numbers of repair personnel at home making power line repairs take longer than normal.

I am also considering picking up one of those digital TV converter boxes and an antenna just to have in case we lose cable service for an extended period. Apparently, there are a lot of TV channels you can pull out of the air for free if you have one of these boxes. This is something I probably should already have on hand.

We already have a cellular card for the laptops. If we were to lose are DSL internet connection, I should be able to reactivate the card to allow us to still have internet access. But, I don't even want to think about being stuck at home for two weeks in a row without internet access. That would just be cruel!

Well...that's all I can think of at the moment. If there is something I have overlooked, please feel free to let me know.

The New Bow

2009-10-15T12:22:00.000-07:00

I have wanted a recurve bow for just about as long as I can remember. They're just sexy. Don't get me wrong. I lust after really nice longbows as well. But, there has always been something about the curved limbs of a recurve bow that always touched that primal part of my being.

So...I bought one. But first, let me give you a little insight as to my descision making process of this particular purchase. I wanted to buy an inexpensive, modern recurve bow. As much as I am given to traditional, even primitive archery, I wanted a traditional bow in modern materials. I wanted a bow I could take out in any sort of weather and not worry about ruining. I wanted a bow that could be taken down and fit into a small pack. I wanted to be able to run down to my local Walmart and buy accessories and arrows for this bow. In short, I wanted to see just how simple, just how "off-the-shelf" I could keep things.

For the longest time, I have had to buy all of my traditional archery supplies online. Dick's Sporting Goods, Gander Mountain, and any of the other places where you can just walk in off the street and find archery supplies simply don't carry Port Orford shafts, glue-on points or broadheads or nocks or...well...anything glue-on. Forget about finding feather fletching. And, don't even think about finding a Flemish Twist string to fit a long bow off-the-shelf. It isn't going to happen. If you're fortunate enough to live near an archery shop that carries traditional supplies, consider yourself incredibly lucky. I used to...I miss it like crazy.

If you are in need of these kinds of supplies..I can whole-heartily recommend 3 Rivers Archery, or Raptor Archery. I've done a lot of business with both of these places and have always been extremely pleased with their customer service as well as extensive inventory of traditional archery gear. But...I digress.

The whole point of this new bow was to be as off-the-shelf as I possibly could be. Yes, yes. I know you can make a lot of your own traditional archery equipment. And, I've done that in the past. That wasn't the point of this little on-going experiment.

I went with a 50 lb Martin Jaguar Take-down Recurve bow. http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/martin-jaguar-take-down-recurve-bow.aspx?a=548939. At $115 from Sportsmansguide.com(I always seem to have a $10 off coupon from them), I figured it was worth the risk to buy a bow sight-unseen. I had done quite a bit of reading up online if this bow. The vast majority of the reviews were very positive about it. And...regardless of what the compound boys tell you...you do NOT need a bow with a 325lb draw weight. 50lb's is plenty!

PSE also makes some very affordable recurves. But, I know nothing about them. And, I will admit a certain amount of bias towards Martin since I LOVE my Stick bow.

I would have LOVED to just walk into a store and buy one of these bows. But none of the stores around me carry ANY traditional bows...period...for any price. And, the few traditional bows I have seen at sporting goods stores within a day's drive of my place are of the high end variety. I would love to have a handcrafted, custom bow of any sort. But that was not the intent of this project. Plus, the Mrs. PJ is not about to let me spend that kind of money on a bow after spending so much money on radio equipment this Summer.

So...I ordered my bow.

My bow was delivered Monday. That very same day, I walked out of the Walmart near my office with three aluminum arrows and screw-in field points to fit them. Five minutes after I opened the UPS box, I had the bow put together. Not strung mind you. That's another thing altogether with a recurve bow as I was to quickly find out.

The limbs fit into the pockets on the riser perfectly unlike some of the early reports on this bow. And, the holes for the bolts were sized correctly as well. Also, some of the negatives reports about this bow.

The overall fit and finish of the bow was excellent I thought. Especially considering the extremely low price for it. There are some spots on the riser where the camo finsh is a little thin. But, nothing that I would consider a real flaw. I have to admit, I'm not a huge fan of camo bows. I would prefered to get it in black. I do plan on using it for hunting though, so...it's probably just as well that it has a camo riser. The limbs are finished in a very nice flat-black.

Once I finally got the bow strung...and let me tell you...this is a real chore without a bow stringer...I bolted in the incredibly cheap plastic arrow rest that came with the bow. This would be my only complaint, if I had one, about the bow. Out of the box, it has a REALLY cheap plastic arrow rest. It's more than functional. For someone who is used to shooting off of a shelf, it's pretty cool to have an arrow rest that holds your arrow in place. I don't think the durability of the thing is going to be very good though.

I can certainly see why Martin included this particular rest though. It's gets you shooting as soon as you get the bow without adding a lot of cost to the bow. With all of the different arrow rests that are available today, buyers of the bow would probably end up switching out whatever one they sent with it anyway.

So, after figuring out that I had installed the arrow rest the wrong way and attaching a new nocking point to the string a couple of days after I got the bow, I finally got to shoot it. Now, here's the disclaimer...I am NOT an archery expert. I've been shooting my Martin Stick bow off and on for around ten years now. And, I have done a whole lot of reading on primitive and traditional archery. But that's where any expertise I may happen to have ends.

It is a very sweet shooting bow. There is absolutely zero handshock. And even without making any attempt at all to match the arrows to the bow, I can already tell it's going to be far more accurately than I will be able to ever shoot it.

It is a very fast bow when compared to my Stick longbow. And it thumps my target with some real authority.

I ended up buying screw-in broadheads, and Judo points today. Which is exactly what I had hoped to be able to do with this bow. I also found the flipper rest I had been eyeing online as well. I will still need to order the post to mount it to from Martin. But, it's so inexpensive, it's almost a crime.

I could mount sights to this bow if I chose to. For now, I'm going to resist the urge to bolt a whole bunch of stuff to it. I am still a tradtional archery kind of guy after all. But, it's nice to know I can if I want to be able to hunt with it without the need to keep up my instinctive shooting skills. Which are, to this day, still suspect and not nearly good enough to hunt with.

I'm also going to resist the urge to put a quiver on this bow. Being sans-wheels, it's a pretty lightweight bow. Not as airy light as my Stick, but not even close to being as heavy as a compound bow by any stretch of the imagination. It feels good in my hand and I'd like to keep it that way.

So far my off-the-shelf archery experiment has been going pretty well. I haven't been able to locate a stringer in any of the stores around me. So, I ordered one on line as well as a spare string. Again...3 Rivers Archery always seems to have what I need.

I could have gone with a Whisker Biscuit arrow rest to keep this little project completely in the realm of off-the-shelf. That is about all any of the stores around me carry these days. But, I utterly refuse to bolt one of those hideous things to any bow I own. I'm sure they shoot great, but they're freakin' ugly. You'd never notice one on a compound bow what with all of the cables, and cams, and slides, and such though.

And while we're on the topic of cables, and cams, and slides, and such...in the spirit of being prepared, if a compound is your bow of choice, I would stock up on cables, and cams, and slides, and such as well as a press and all of the tools you might need to be able to work on all of that stuff. All of those parts that may need to be replaced is exactly what keeps me from ever buying a compound. There is simply way too much that can go wrong with one of those contraptions.

Keep it simple.

First of the Month Prep Madness

2009-10-01T15:05:00.000-07:00

Today, being the first of the month, as well as my day off, I got a lot of things done that I try to do every first of the month.

The one thing I did today that I only do every six months was to rotate out my stored water. I dumped all of the water I had in six gallon containers and refilled them. I added 1/2 teaspoon of chlorine bleach toeach of the containers.

I also topped off the charge on all of my 12 Volt deep-cycle batteries. I have three batteries that I rotate through to power the battery back-up on my sump pump. The other two are used to power radios when I'm in the field. I also plan on using them to power other items through an inverter if it comes to a power outage. I need to get on coming up with some 12VDC lighting to use in that instance too.

One of the things I try to do every month is to start up and let run for a couple of minutes everything that has a gasoline engine on it. Today, I fired up the generator, my snowblower, my leaf blower, and I tried to start my leaf vac. The pull cord on the leaf vac refused to retract, so...I'll have to get that fixed pretty soon.

I didn't get a chance to try and start the 8N. I'll have to make sure I do that this weekend. It normally starts pretty easily since we swapped out the 6 Volt positive ground system out with a 12 Volt system.

Although it's not really on the schedule, I figured it would be a good time to rotate the fuel oil I keep in reserve. I have been caught short in the past. One time, I ran completely out waiting for a delivery. Since then, I always keep 15 gallons in five gallon gas cans. If we're not using fuel oil to heat the house, we can go for quite a while on that amount. The water heater doesn't use much fuel oil at all. And, now that we have the woodstove...we don't normally have to turn the heat on.

I dumped the old fuel oil into the tank and refilled my gas cans. I just need to add a little stabilizer to the gas cans.

The last thing on my list today was to go through my CERT pack and make sure everything I might need is in there. And, to make sure nothing has gone out of date, batteries are still good, and the Sharpies haven't dried up. I haven't really added this to my Prep Schedule. But, we have a Mass Casulty Incident drill coiming up. So...I figured this would be a good time to go through it.

All day, in between all of these tasks, I have been trying to catch up on laundry. Stuff like comforters, blankets, and slip covers. These have been building up into a sizeable pile. I made a pretty good dent in that pile today.

It's been one of my more productive days off.

PJ

Of Atlatl's and Selfbows....

2009-09-23T05:25:00.000-07:00

I've been slacking on my posts. I know that. For those of you who actually care...I'm sorry.

Of late, besides playing with radios and preparing for the impending Swine Flu Massacre...I've been gearing up a bit with a more primitive bent in mind. IllicitDreams and I have be emailing back and forth madly about long bows, atlatl's, and slings. So...we decided to put on a Weapons of Bash Destruction(came up with that all by myself) Campout for our buddies in a couple of weeks.

So far, the list of weaponry includes:

Long bows, both modern and primitive

Slings and Slingshots

Atlatl's

Spears

Blowguns

and

Throwing Hawks

In preparation for this event, I'm working on finishing up a couple of selfbows that I started a long time ago. I put rawhide backing on the bow I had almost complete this weekend. It didn't turn out as nice as I would have liked. But, I think I can fix it up. It's still shootable the way it is. My keen sense of aesthetics will make me at least try and purty it up a bit.

I have another bow that I started a little while ago to finish up as well. This one is only to the point where the profile is cut out. I have a lot of thinning to do on the limbs before it will even think about starting to bend. I may cheat and use the bandsaw to remove most of the wood just to speed things up.

I might rawhide back this bow as well. I haven't decided yet. It's kind of an experiment. I want to make this one wider and flatter than is typical just to see how it will shoot. It's also quite long. I might end up having to cut it way down. But, it's a board bow. It's not like I'll be out a lot of money for an actual stave.

I laid out an atlatl last night on the remainder of the hickory board the bow was cut from. I had done a little research on atlatl's recently, but, honestly, I just let the form follow function in my design. I wasn't trying to reproduce any paleolithic design, I drew out what looks right to me. I gave it some mass at the far end, and want to thin it down in the middle to let it flex a bit. I'm hoping my design will add a little energy to the launch. I should have the time to cut it out tomorrow.

I still need to make some atlatl darts. I have some craft store bamboo shafts I am going to add solid foreshafts to. I'm going to use standard archery field points on the foreshafts. Fletching will be craft store feathers.

The whole atlatl thing is an experiment for me. I've only ever played around with one once, last year. I'll take some pictures and let you know how it all goes. Right now though, it's all in my head...along with the voices.

Slings are totally new to me as well. I can't say that I have ever really tried to use one. I'm sure I did it as a kid. I'm looking forward to trying it now though. ID says he's bringing leather pieces so everyone can make their own sling. That's assuming we can find enough paracord to do it. Buwhahahahahahahahahaha!!!

I picked up a cheap blowgun last week. A blowgun is just plain fun to play with. If you do pick one up for yourself...don't get a two-piece one. Stick to the one-piece blowguns. Mine is pretty tight at the splice now. But, I can see it loosening up over time.

ID picked me up a Cold Steel Assegai just yesterday. I can't wait to play with it. Again, this goes back to childhood days when you would cut down a sapling and strip it off to make a spear. I'm really looking forward to throwing a real spear.

Throwing hawks I have done quite a bit of. Back in my re-enacting days, it was the way to pass the time. Granted, it has been probably ten years since I've done it. I'm curious to see if I remember how. Hopefully we'll come up with some throwing knives to add to the mix. I have some shurikens somewhere around the house. Don't ask...it was a Ninja Phase I was going through.

Anyway...that's what I've been up to lately.

Paleolithic PJ...out

What I Did On My Summer Vacation....

2009-09-02T07:49:00.000-07:00

Remember way back when you were a kid, and the first day back in school after your Summer vacation you had to write and essay on what you did over the Summer? Maybe it's the unseasonable cool snap we're having these days, or the fact that the local kids are headed back to school, but...it feels like Summer is over. I know we're in for some more hot weather, or at least, should be. But, I've been thinking about what I did over the Summer this year.

Gardening: I never did get the BIG garden put in this year. I was hoping to plow up a decent sized patch of ground and plan a really big garden this Spring. Well...it didn't happen...again. I did branch out a little this year and grew, or at least tried to grow some new things. The brocholli was a miserable failure. It went straight to seed without making the first head. I have no idea what went wrong there, but I saved the seeds to try it again next year.

I did do all right with the Banana Peppers and Jalopeno Peppers though. And my cantaloupes are ripening nicely on the vine. The tomatoes all did well this year as usual. I did plant a Blueberry bush, though I don't expect to see fruit off of it for a couple of years. All-in-all, I'd call it a success. I learned some things and am looking forward to the next growing season already.

Amateur Radio: I did a LOT with Amateur Radio over the Summer. Once I got my Yaesu FT-2800 and was actually able to make some contacts, things started moving along nicely. I've fallen in with a great group of guys on one of the local repeaters who have helped me immensely towards learning the hobby. And with the addition of the FT-857, I'm starting to get into the HF side of things. Now...if only my slacker Prep Buddies would get off their butts and buy radios...well....

I did volunteer to operate radio for a local event last month. That was another learning experience. I hope to do more of these kinds of events in the near future.

Other Amateur Radio stuff includes buying a bunch of related gear. Antennas, I am beginning to believe, are to Amateur Radio what holsters are to Concealed Carry. You end up buying a bunch of them for different situations.

Bushcraft: I started the Summer all fired up about doing a bunch of Bushcraft stuff. I did some. And, I learned a bit. I will admit that I got distracted by the Amateur Radio stuff and sorta' let the Bushcraft stuff slide. Now that the weather is changing, granted prematurely, I'm starting to get the itch to do some camping again. I think I have all of the gear I need, I just need to find the time to get out there and do it. I'm still hoping to mix the two and do a Bushcraft Campout with Radios soon.

CERT: I did a crapload of CERT stuff this Summer. Between training sessions and meetings and volunteer activities...I spent a big chunk of time on CERT. And, we have a whole bunch of stuff scheduled through September. Matter of fact...the really fun stuff is yet to come. We have are big yearly Mass Casualty Incident drill yet to do. That's always a lot of fun.

Firearms: Sadly, this is the one thing I didn't do ANY of this Summer. Ammo prices being what they are and that's if you can even find the stuff, curtailed me doing much shooting at all. Other than the couple of range days with buddies early in the year, I haven't done much shooting at all.

General Prep Stuff: I'm still slogging away at this one. I did manage to get all of my dry goods vacuum sealed this year. I've slowed down a bit with the whole "buying 50lb bags of rice" routine. But, I am still adding to our stored stuff a bit at a time. Lately, the Mrs. PJ and I have been looking at chest freezers. I certainly would like to have a whole bunch of frozen meat socked away. Mainly, because I'm just sick and tired of going to the grocery store all of the time. God I hate going to the grocery!!! I'd love to be one of those couples that only goes to the grocery once every couple of months. You know the ones I'm talking about. The ones who are checking out four carts full of groceries. Did I mention how much I hate going to the grocery?

We're also still adding to our Pandemic Pandemonium supplies. Buying N-95 and N-100 masks while we still can. Stocking up on the basic med's and such. And crossing our fingers for a nice two week quarantine. That would be friggin' AWESOME!!! Is it wrong that I get excited about the thought of being forced to stay home?

Summer's not quite over yet...I know that. The leaves haven't even started changing colors yet, but, I'm already making plans for the Winter. Stuff like getting stocked up on firewood and making sure the fuel oil tank is topped off. Firing up the snowblower to make sure it runs when I need it to. And making sure the generator is generatin'.

Amateur Radio Wilderness Protocol

2009-08-10T07:37:00.002-07:00

I stumbled across the Wilderness Protocol while thumbing through an A.R.E.S. Field Guide I was given a while back by GearWhore. I think it was on the very last page, but there was a paragraph or two talking about the "Wilderness Protocol". What that amounts to is Amateur Radio operators monitoring the National Simplex Frequencies for five minutes at the top of each hour, listening for distress calls. This idea intrigued me. And, also started me thinking about my own Comm's Protocol.

Some "small R" research this morning turned up several really interesting articles online.

http://k4jwm.wikidot.com/wilderness-protocol

http://n5fdl.com/davids-blog/2009/6/1/wilderness-protocol-for-outdoor-adventure.html

http://www.mcminnarc.com/wilderness.html

And...if you are a member of ARRL, you can search the QST archives for the orginal proposal of the Wilderness Protocol.

I like the concept of the Wilderness Protocol a lot. Maybe it is simply this apparent weakness I have for community service. Or, perhaps I am merely looking for yet another excuse to play with my radios. But, either way, the concept seems very solid to me.

Amateur Radio seems to relegated to the status of a hobby for old retired guys these days with instant communications being made possible by nearly everyone on the planet carrying a cell phone, and cell phone coverage being greater than it ever has been. But...being able to make a cell phone call anywhere at all times is most certainly not guaranteed. At least, not to the point where I would be willing to bet my life on it.

While the Wilderness Protocol makes perfect sense for those actually in "the wilderness", I would have to agree with the authors of the articles that point out its usefulness on a daily basis, even for those of us in suburbia or it's outer limits. It certainly wouldn't take much of an incident to knock out all telephone and cell phone communications. And, as recently as a couple of weeks ago I was traveling through part of my state that did not have very good cell coverage. So, even in the best of times, a cell phone call for help is not always possible.

I could go on and on about how much sense this all makes. But, you'll either understand immediately, or you won't ever get it. So...I leave it to you.

PJ...clear and listening

Adventures in HF Land

2009-07-28T12:33:00.000-07:00

I was recently loaned an ICOM 706 outfit to be able to access HF nets put on by Army MARS. And, after taking some time to get it set up correctly, thanks to the advice of the Amateur Radio guys in my area, I finally started to play with the HF bands allowed by my Technician License. Right out of the gate I made a 600 mile 10 Meter contact. That's not that far away a contact for HF, I know. But, I was pretty happy with it considering I have absolutely no idea what I am doing in the HF realm. I was basically just spinning the dial from 28.3000.000 to 28.500.000 and when I heard a conversation wrapping up, I called to the one callsign I heard more clearly. And, bada-bing! My first HF contact.

I'm hooked! Yes, it's really super-groovy cool to be able to talk to someone halfway across the country on a radio. But, more than that, I see HF as a means to maintain contact with the people I might need to without depending on any infrastructure at all.

And the little light between my ears started to glow ever so slightly when I realized I had stupidly forgotten about the different bands I am premitted to use with only my Technician License. I knew I could 2 Meters, 70 CM, and 1.25 Meters. But, I was overlooking the portion of 10 Meters, 23 CM, 33 CM, and 6 Meters I have at my disposal. To me, this is just one more reason for people to get at least their Technician License. With this alone, I can reach all of the people I know scattered around my State without relying on Repeaters.

Don't get me wrong...I'm really enjoying working 2 Meter Repeaters. As a matter of fact, I spoke with a guy over a repeater for almost an hour last night. We bounced ideas off each other as to radios, and antennas, and being able to operate in remote areas. These are all things I tend to plan my Amateur Radio work around. We also talked about ARRL Field Day, ARES, RACES, MARS, and CERT. It was one of the most enjoyable conversations I have had on 2Meters. And a whole lot more informative than the "great weather we're having" conversations I sometimes find myself in.

But, as I've stated before...I don't want to base my comm's plan around the belief that the 2 Meter Repeater network will always be there. And HF will allow me to do that.

The other thing we talked about was using frequencies other than 2 Meters. I know there is a network of 440 and 6 Meter repeaters around me. However, I've never once tried to use any of them. I had completely overlooked them as alternatives to the 2 Meter Repeaters I use almost daily. In retrospect...it wasn't very "Preparedness Junky" like of me to overlook an entirely different set of frequencies I could be using. And it's something I intend to rectify in the very near future.

And, along the same vein, I had overlooked the HF frequencies I could have been using since I got my Tech License. I've almost entirely overlooked using Simplex for 2 Meters and other frequencies as well. The Repeaters always being there has made me lazy in this regard. This is something else I need to work on.

So...the moral of the story is...make sure you know what your options are. And practice using them.

Colony on Discovery Channel

2009-07-26T07:14:00.000-07:00

The Mrs. PJ and I watched Colony again yesterday. This time we did it together so we could discuss it. She was out of town Tuesday when it premiered.

I've heard a lot of conflicting opinions on the show since it first aired on Tuesday. Some people think it's crap because it is such an unrealistic group of people. Granted, it is a pretty idealistic mix of skills. If I was to hand pick a group of people to survive the PAW with, it would probably be pretty close to this group. So yes, it is pretty unlikely that without years of prep work and networking, you probably wouldn't have such a good crosssection of skills represented.

Another big gripe the "survivalist types" have with the show is the lack of guns. Yes, if it were me, I'd have some firepower with me to deal with the raiders they will throw at the group. That wouldn't be very practical to do in a reality show though would it? I read one guy's comments that stated it would be an incredibly short show if they allowed the use of simulated weapons such as airsoft or paintball guns. The group would probably be wiped out in the first two days of the show if some serious marauders were thrown at the survivors. I have to agree completely with this observation.

Especially since several members of the survivors are so absolutely quick to just open the doors to the compound to the first group that knocks on them. And Morgan running her mouth about how many supplies they have is just plain stupid. The others survivers weren't inside the building for thirty seconds when she starts rattling off everything they have. That's suicidal within the context of the show.

I think that is interesting how all of the "higher educated" members of the group are bleeding heart liberals to the point where they would get everyone killed if it were an actual PAW scenario. Yes, it would be great to have a doctor and an ER nurse in the group. But, if they are going to try and "save" everyone, they're going to continue to put the rest of the group in danger.

On the other hand...Mike doesn't take time to think about his response to danger. His wanting to run out and attack the two bikers was just about as reckless as letting the four other survivors into the building without checking them out more closely. If I were a group trying to takeover the compound, I would send a couple of people to draw the group out of the building and then wipe out the group once they came outside to attack the seemingly inferior group of attackers.

John, I had high hopes for at first. Obviously a very intelligent guy, but unfortunately, merely an old hippie. And I'm not just talking about his running around in the rain naked either. Seriously, I could have done without that. His attitude is just as bad as the other intellectuals in the group. They're so quick to try and save everyone, they don't give a second thought as to what danger they may be placing the rest of the group in. I don't know what it is about the big grey beard and wild hair look he's sporting, but everyone I have ever met with it, is an old, usually pretty intelligent, hippie. I'll be anxious to see if his woodgas generator will work next episode.

Lest you think my plan in this same situation would be to just hole up and turn away each and every survivor that wandered by, you're wrong. The more people you have working together, the better your odds of surviving. BUT...before you get in the door, you have to prove you bring something to the group. Some sort of practical skills or knowledge. Something....

I'm anxious to see how the group handles their first real run-in with bad guys. I'm anxious to see how the personality differences will play out over the course of the show. I'm anxious to see if anyone breaks down and quits or if they will toughen up and stick it out. I'm anxious to see how the whole things plays out.

I, frankly, like the show despite my obvious differences with how it is set up. Is it completely realistic? No, not at all. Is it "Survivor" and the worthless piece of "dumbed down the most ridiculous menial crap that is our society today"? No...not at all. It's somewhere in between. Luckily, leaning more towards the realistic side...I hope. A wake up call to the people who are on the fence about getting themselves a little more prepared to deal with adversity.

I don't expect the show will change the minds of the people who simply deny that TEOTWAWKI could ever happen. Hopefully it will be a catalyst for those who have been thinking they need to be more prepared than they are now though.

If I get nothing more out of the show than a few "Holy crap that was stupid" moments, then the show is worth watching to me. The fact that I can sit down and watch it with my wife and we can discuss how we would handle things differently, or the same...the show has value to me.

I could go on and on about the show. But, I'll let everyone come to their own conclusions. These are just a few of mine.

PJ

Road Trip Yesterday

2009-07-20T10:32:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had to drive just over 100 miles from my house to meet up with a guy to pick up some radio gear and software. I took the opportunity to treat this trip as a much longer one in the way that I would prepare for it. I geared up for this trip as if it were, perhaps, a five hour trip each way.

The first thing I did was to print up directions from Google Maps. I like using Google Maps to plan for trips because it lets you "drag" your route around on the map and will "snap" to the closest road when you do that. This lets me avoid things such as populated areas or geographic obstacles when planning critical routes while Evac or Bug Out planning. I didn't really worry about these things when planning my route for yesterday's trip. I did take notice of a couple of alternative routes I could take if I needed to though.

Once I had my route planned, I located the exact coordinates for the address I was looking for. I like to do this in Google Earth. A map is really nice. But, I like having a visual check on where I am headed. It's nice to pull up an aerial view of the place I'm headed, just to give it a quick reality check. If I'm headed for a residential area, it certainly should be a house I'm looking at when I plug the address into Google Earth.

I didn't enter these coordinates into my handheld GPS before I started on my little adventure. But, I made sure I had them written down and handy in case I did end up needing them.

Since the BOB, sleeping bag, and some sturdy boots are pretty much always in my vehicle, I didn't feel the need to add a lot more gear for this trip. I did throw my goretex bivvy sack in the vehicle just to have some sort of ready-made shelter should the need arise. My CERT pack is always in the vehicle as well. I catch a lot of crap from my CERT buddies about how much stuff I have in my CERT pack. So...I was covered for gear.

The biggest part of my prep's for this trip were radio related. I took the printout of my route and compared it to a 2Meter repeater listing. I programmed several of the repeaters I would be passing by into the Yaesu FT-2800 just so they would be easy to contact. I made sure the frequencies and PL codes were already in the radio before I left. I hate trying to set the radio up while I'm driving.

I made sure I had a copy of the Ohio Repeater Guide with me too. I didn't feel like programming ALL of the repeaters I might in range of on my trip. So, I had a reference for every 2Meter repeater in Ohio.

Also radio related, I threw my Arrow 440/2M j-pole in the vehicle. I included a 25 foot coax cable and the correct connectors so that I could hook up the FT-2800 Mobile radio as well as the VX-6R HT I always carry. I figure, as a last resort, I could disconnect one of the ends of the Yakima rack cross bar, mount the j-pole to it, and rotate it vertically to give me at least a little elevation on my antenna if I should need to use it.

My buddy Tonto(aka Les Stroud-Wanna-Be) once told me about his 100 mile rule. If he is taking a trip that is more than 100 miles from his house, he packs a long gun. I took this to heart and packed the XZibit Special Edition "Pimp My Tacticool Shotty" 870 and about 100 rounds of assorted 12ga ammo. I also bumped up the spare mag count for my G23 as well. I didn't expect any trouble. But, I was going to be ready for it if it made an appearance.

I also took an IWB(Inside the Waist Band) holster in additon to the OWB(Outside the Waistband) holster that I normally use...just in case I was somewhere I needed to be a little more low-profile about carrying. I normally don't worry about it too much. I'm convinced that unless you're open carrying an AR-15, the general public doesn't pay enough attention to anyone else to notice I'm carrying a handgun. But, I was headed for unchartered waters....

Other than these prep's...I filled a couple of Nalgene bottles with water and made sure I had plenty of cash on me. I also threw my netbook and a thumbdrive full of info in my EDC bag before I headed out.

The trip itself was nearly completely uneventful. Navigation became a little tricky once I got close to my destination, which was waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay out in the sticks. Google got me in the general vicinity. But, I ended up plugging the coordinates into the GPS to get me the final couple of miles. Score one for being overly-prepared!

I did end up talking to a couple of different people on repeaters along my route. One guy hung in there with me for the better part of 30 minutes just to see how far away I could get from the repeater before we lost contact. That was an interesting little experiment. My 1/4 Wave mag-mount antenna did pretty well for itself.

I navigated the entire trip, except for the last couple of miles, by paper maps and Google directions. I did miss having the Garmin in the car if for no other reason than it lets you pay more attention to your surroundings while you're driving. I was so nervous about missing a turn somewhere, I really didn't get to enjoy the scenery.

PJ...out

Cleanliness is next to....

2009-07-01T05:13:00.000-07:00

You know the rest.

Just a really quick post to let everyone in on a little lesson I learned over the weekend. Keep your danged hands clean and away from your eyes! During our little weekend Field Day backyard campout, I ended up, somehow, with a rather wicked case of conjunctivitis in my left eye. That's Pink Eye to the uninitiated. I'm not sure exactly what I put my hands in that I shouldn't have gotten in my eye. Sometime during the day Saturday, however, that is apparently exactly what I did.

This has served as sort of a reminder that in a TSHTF or PAW situation, it could very well be the little things that take you out. Most of us are prepared to defend our homes against raiders or rogue government factions. But, the need to be prepared to deal with hygene and sanitation issues is just as important. No amount of bullets will ward off an infection.

It was easy enough for me to make an appointment with a doctor and get a prescription for some eye drops that should clear this right up. I'd hate to think about having an infection anywhere, especially in my eye, if that wasn't the case though.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Be vigilant, wash your hands, and stay away from crazy people.

ARRL Field Day AAR

2009-06-29T05:42:00.000-07:00

My participation in this weekend's ARRL Field Day ended up being a campout in my backyard. Illicit Dreams http://illicit-dreams.blogspot.com/ or ID showed up shortly after I got home from work Friday evening. We ate Plank's pizza he had brought up with him and then set about getting the camp up and running. I hung my 12' X 12' Silnylon tarp between two pine trees and hung my hammock under that. These were my accomodations for the weekend. We set up camp in the same place we did back in April. Right next to the pond, under the pine trees we cleared out for the last backyard campout.

GearWhore http://gear-junky.blogspot.com/ or GW(not to be confused with the former POTUS), showed up just in time to help us finish off the pizza. He has impeccable timing like that. He helped lug gear back to the campsite. Although...I don't remember anyone offering to carry that huge deep cycle battery back there for me...bastards!!!

I made sure to set up the tarp so that we could all fit under it if the weather turned nasty like they were calling for a chance of Saturday night.

For radio gear, I set my Yaesu FT-2800 up on a table along with my Yaesu VX-6R HT. I used a marine deep cycle 12Volt battery to power the 2800. The HT was used almost exclusively for scanning, so it ran off of it's internal battery all weekend with no problems. Please note, my radio table wasn't quite this messy all weekend. I think this picture was taken Saturday morning when GW was making a Mountain House Scrambled Eggs and Bacon for us to all try. GW was also showing off his nifty Stearno Stove and titanium mess kit.

Friday night we just goofed off around the campfire. I did manage to talk to a couple of guys on the radio. Most of them were pretty close to where we were at. It seems like every HAM in the area was gearing up for Field Day.

ID turned in early. Whining about having been up for 173 hours straight or something like that. Actually, it was more like 26 hours. But, 173 hours sounds much more dramatic. And...it's MY blog so, I'll tell it like I want to.

You'd have thought it was 173 hours without sleep seeing how he totally slept through GW twisting his ankle in a chipmunk hole. I honestly thought I was going to get to attempt a field amputation this campout...the way GW was rolling around on the ground bellowing like an angry bear. I had my Wetterlings and some bandaids with me...I could have done it!!

After GW got back on his feet, both of them...dammit, he and I spent the next couple of hours tormenting frogs around the pond. Note to any PETA people: The frogs exacted their revenge on me by making so much freakin' noise I didn't get any sleep at all Friday night. Bastards!!!!

Saturday morning was clear and cool. The temp had dropped down into the high 50's/Low 60's overnight. I had only a fleece blanket in my hammock. I was glad it hadn't gotten any colder than it did overnight. By the time I finally drug myself out of my hammock, ID had the fire stoked back up. I was just prepping the necessary tools in case his ankle had swelled up to the point where it had to come off when GW climbed out of his bivvy. As he was fine and didn't require any field expedient surgery, GW made his Mountainhouse Scrambled Eggs and Bacon for us all to try. It wasn't too bad. I could see eating these in a pinch.

After a taste of freeze-dried breakfast, and since we weren't really trying to "rough it" in the backyard, I cooked up a batch of Sausage Gravy and biscuits in the house. Just about the time we got done eating, the fourth member of our party, Tonto, showed up. GW packed up his bivvy and Tonto threw down his bedroll while ID and I played around with the radios a bit.

We mostly just lounged around camp, digesting, most of the morning.

We finally did all pack into Tonto's vehicle and head into town for lunch. Then we stopped by one of the local Amateur Radio Club's Field Day site. We looked around a bit, but we didn't really talk to anyone. Most of their guys had their gear in place, but there were a couple of stations still being set up.

GW had to head for home early in the afternoon. Something about leaving while he still needed to buy shoes in pairs...or something like that. So, the rest of us just lounged around camp, again, and got to playing with the radios and antennas trying to make some Field Day contacts. ID and I had four radios scanning the entire 2Meter band. I had my brand new Arrow J-pole set up on the same pole supporting my Centerfire Yagi. ID had a wire dipole strung up in the trees above camp and had hooked his HT up to Tonto's Copper Cactus J-pole.

But, the only traffic we heard were the normal Traffic Nets and some Field Day related chatter between club sites and guys headed to and from them.

Dinner was yet another Plank's All Meat Pizza. Two All Meat Pizza's AND sausage gravy in the same weekend. Dear God! The humanity of it all! After the food coma wore off, I offered to let Tonto drive the 8N around the property.

He's been pestering me incessantly to do it since he found out I had one. Seems he's trying to live out his "Deep Winter" and Shatter" fantasies. We fired the old girl up and took turns running her around the property. I'm pretty sure if I hook up a mower deck to the 8N, I can get Tonto to mow the fields for me. For free!!

It wasn't until later in the evening when we talked to a local HAM about Field Day and about how to go about trying to make some contacts. Seems we should have been calling CQ on the frequencies around the national simplex frequency of 146.520. We should have been focusing our search to the area of 146.480 - 146.510. And, we should have been calling Field Day QC instead of just listening for someone calling. Someone really should have told us!!!! Bastards!!!

Even with this knowledge, we still were striking out on making any contacts. We decided to shut everything down and turned in for the night.

Sunday morning was another gorgeous day. We didn't get any of the rain they were predicting during the night. And, it didn't get quite as cool overnight as it did the previous night. This is probably because I was wrapped up in a sleeping bag all night. I just can't seem to get it right sometimes.

We fired up the equipment and were rewarded with making a Field Day contact shortly after. It was one of the local clubs who happened to be set up right around the corner from my house. But...a contact is a contact. We answered their QC and chatted a bit. If nothing else, we gave them a contact for their scorecard on 2Meters. We messed around with the equipment ID had to bug out after that and head for home. Again, whining about sleep and how he just HAD to get some before he headed to work that night. Whatever!!

Not long after ID left the weather turned rather crappy. Tonto and I waited out the rain under my tarp.

After the rain let up, Tonto and I took our time tearing down camp. Field Day was officially over by this time. There was no point in trying to make any more contacts on the radio. So, once he got his bedroll packed up, Tonto switched attention to killing zombies on the Wii. While I made many, many back-breaking trips, by myself...to get all of my gear back into the house.

After getting killed for the 22nd time in a half an hour, Tonto gave up on Resident Evil and bugged out for home. I took a much needed shower and started making plans for next year's Field Day.

All-in-all, I'd call it a success. Even though we were limited to using 2 Meters, all of our equipment worked fine. It was all portable and we ran without using commercial power, or even a generator all weekend. Which is the entire purpose for Field Day.

Just wait 'til next year though. It's gonna' be huge I tell you!! HUGE!!!

73's...I'm clear.

ARRL Field Day

2009-06-14T12:37:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been working on getting things ready for the upcoming ARRL Field Day. http://www.arrl.org/contests/announcements/fd/

Illicit Dreams and a couple of other friends of ours are planning on camping out in the backyard again for the weekend. We'll set up some very basic portable rigs and mess around with antennas just to test out our equipment. We're not really doing this for the points associated with the Field Day Contest. It's just an opportunity for us to do a little gear testing.

The draw, for me, towards Amateur Radio is the ability to maintain communications without being dependent upon infrastructure. This is exactly what Field Day was designed to promote. By requiring that participating stations set up in remote locations and NOT use commercial power, it gets people to test their equipment as they might have to use it during an emergency situation. Which, again, is exactly what attracted me to Amateur Radio in the first place.

I got permission from the CFO to buy a new radio. I bought a Yaesu FF-2800. It's a pretty basic 2M only mobile. But, it will give me 65 Watts of power instead of being limited to 5 Watts with the HT.

I've already used the 2800 a bit. I hooked it up to a battery and my 1/4 Wave Mag Mount antenna. I stuck the antenna to a cookie sheet to act as a ground plane and set the whole contraption up on my back deck. It seems to work pretty well even with such a small antenna. I was able to hit several repeaters in the surrounding Counties I haven't been able to reach before.

I will say this...If you're just getting into Amateur Radio and you're deciding on your first radio...do NOT buy an HT first. It will only frustrate you The range you will have with only 5 Watts is EXTREMELY limited. Buy a mobile radio first. It will give you some decent Wattage and you can use it in the vehicle or set it up as a base. I love my Yaesu VX-6R. I use it a lot for scanning. But, other than that, I just couldn't make it work for TX'ing.

I also ordered a Yagi from Centerline Antennas. It appears to be a pretty nice little Yagi for the money. However, it doesn't come with any kind of connector. So, I've been waiting for some parts to come in so I can hook it up to the radio and test it out. They should be delivered on Monday. I mounted the antenna to the base from a set of work lights I had hanging around the garage. It gets the Yagi about 6 foot or so above the ground. It's not the greatest set-up. But, it's portable and will work for Field Day.

One of the local Amateur Radio clubs will be setting up right around the corner from my place. I already plan to drop by their site and check out their set-up. I was chatting with a couple of the members during a Net the other night. They sound like a decent group of guys. And, God knows I need the help learning all of this radio stuff.

ID and I have been talking about mapping out some of the repeaters between us and others in the group. I'm hoping we can squeeze in some discussion as to how to set up out comm's network some time during the weekend. I know that using repeaters is being dependent on infrastructure. But, until we get our General tickets and can start working so HF freq's, we have to do it.

That's all I have for now. Get your Freq' on!!

PJ

Funniest joke I've heard...period

2009-06-08T10:00:00.000-07:00

A Buddhist walks up to a hot dog vendor and says..."Make me one with everything."