A Week in Preps, Free Downloads, Kits and Other Stuff
This week I finished up the kit/ bag that I have been working on. That meant buying the last few things like plastic bags and granola bars, digging around closets and storage to find things and just taking the time to get it all put together. We will revisit this later. Also we put some more money into our emergency fund. In the last couple months we have increased it by about 40%. Mostly this was needed for the fund to keep up with our family and life situation.
Today I noticed that John Galt’s The Day The Dollar Died blovel is being offered as a free PDF download. I really enjoyed reading it the first time. Being able to read it at my own pace, not all broken up, will be nice. I strongly recommend it. Now onto kits.
So like I said I got done building the kit I have been working on. It started out to be a get home bag. I am not exactly sure what it turned into. Maybe there was a sort of mission creep but it definitely got bigger, heavier and more comprehensive than I planned. While it fit into my Tactical Tailor assault bag it was too heavy for such a bag and carried badly. I put the contents into one of the smallish packs I got from REI awhhile back. What I have is sort of straddling the fence between what I would consider a pretty comprehensive and relatively heavy get home bag and a slightly minimalist bug out bag. It has stuff to purify water, change clothes, sleep in reasonable (spring/summer, winter would need a different module) comfort, treat a variety of injuries and all of that good stuff.
I am not sure if I am thrilled with it or unhappy. In any case it definitely did not fit the intended purpose. If I commuted 50 miles one way to work every day it would probably live in my vehicle. However I do not do that. I do like the setup but am not entirely sure what I will do with it. Maybe it will stay the same or change or get parted out. For the time being it will be my bugout bag. Down the road I think it might get slightly tweeked and become Wifey’s bag.
After putting that bag together and realizing the problem we just talked about I immediately set out to making the sort of get home bag that I actually need. So I put together a pretty light get home bag. One that fits my life. I was determined not to let it suffer from any sort of creep. Basically I took my TT assault pack, tossed in a pair of boots, socks, some water and a bunch of various bars to munch on. Of course the usual suspects like a knife, compass, fire making stuff, etc are present. Much more geared toward a 25 mile walk than a multi day treck.
Thoughts or ideas would be appreciated.
I may get around to doing posts on these. However I want to mull recent developments and maybe fill some gaps first. It might be awhile as I am lazy when it comes to that sort of posts.
Gas prices are down some here. About 30 cents from the high if memory serves me correctly. I noticed that gold shot up a bit recently but silver is still well under $30 which is a pretty good deal. It may stay there and may not, I can’t say.
Anyway that is about all I have for now. Hope Monday wasn’t too painful for anybody.
Random Thoughts: Inflation, Scotch and my Field Survival Load
Today I realized that commenting has been a bit light which lead me to look at the main page and realizing I haven’t written in a couple days, whoopsy. I have been working through the errands and logistical needs required for us to settle back in here and spending a lot of time with Walker. Really just trying to get settled here so I haven’t tried particularly ambitious stuff on any front. Here is some random stuff that has been going on or I have observed.
I filled up our fairly large Earth hating SUV today. It cost about $10 more than I remember. Not a huge deal as we do not drive much but it was interesting.
A bottle of J and B Scotch Whiskey has gone up two bucks in price. This is my house scotch. It is solidly enjoyable but reasonably priced so I don’t hesitate to pour a glass on Tuesday if the mood strikes me. I love me some single malts but they start out expensive and go up in a hurry.
Along those lines I picked up a Glenmorangie 10 year and it is quite enjoyable. It is goes down mildly and has a pleasant, slightly spicy aftertaste. I may have to finish the glass and have another to confirm this.
I started putting together my level one survival load. My plan is a small pouch that I can slip into my cargo pocket. Depending on my level of motivation to dig around our stuff to find the right pieces it should be finished in the next few days or so. More to follow on this later. The only piece I am kind of up in the air about is the fire starter. I will go with a Zippo in the short term because I have one lying around (somewhere). However I would like to purchase a Butane lighter, like the kind you can use to weld thin metal or smoke crack underwater. Thoughts or input are appreciated on a specific windproof and or waterproof lighter you have had positive experiences with.
So that is what’s going on right now.
This Interested Me
According to the London Evening Standard, a leading energy analyst found strong evidence that the run-up in oil prices in recent weeks stemmed from stockpiling, or hoarding, by the Chinese. Neil McMahon of Bernstein Research concluded that the rise “‘reflects not strengthening demand, but rather China’s efforts to boost its strategic petroleum reserve.”
–Michael J. Pazner
Gas Prices
Anybody notice that fuel prices have been rising? Seems like every time I drive by a gas station it costs a dime more a gallon. I have been trying to be a bit better about filling up more regularly (also not a bad thing for other reasons) because every time I do it costs more per gallon.
No Top 10 Lists Today It Seems
Today at work we had a pretty boring afternoon. I wrote two top 10 lists. The one that is totally finished is in my notebook in the car. The other I just want to sleep on.
The bail out seems to be turning into an uglier and more disappointing thing as time goes on. On the bright side the price of gas is way down. I bought for $2.07 yesterday and that was pretty cool. Also though it is up today gold is generally down in price. That is good because tomorrow is Gold buying day. Also going to pick up some more ammo this weekend, not sure for what yet. Probably pistol and shotgun. It looks like the rifle shoot is getting postponed. I kind of want to hang out with Wifey for more then an hour or two while I scarf down dinner and watch a bit of TV before bed time. Getting to the range might be part of our Thanksgiving weekend plans. By then the en block clips and bandoleers will be here and I will have picked up some more ammo.
On the bright side I found a conservative talk radio station in town. Being able to listen to something semi educational on the way to and from work will be nice. Also we have lots of random breaks during the day in which I sometimes drive around post aimlessly or just sit in the car and listen to the radio. It looks like weekend posts will tend to be longer and more thoughtful for the foreseeable future. I do have a hum dinger for Sunday.
Anyway I am going to go to bed now. I promise a more on target post for tomorrow.
Gas prices
Does anyone else find it amusing that oil prices are down by half and gas prices are down by maybe 1/3rd? Methinks we be getting screwed. The moving out of the RV phase is complete. It is siting in a consignment lot and the stuff that didn’t get shipped is sitting in our cars.
I am glad that gas prices are down some for the long drive though.
Tommarow I am going to clean the guns that have been shot recently and lube everything up to put it away. I’m not that worried about the storage because it is easy enough to walk out to the bunker and see how they are when at moms place.
Will write as often as possible over the next week. If our motel/ hotel/ holiday inn has internet there will be a post. If not then probably not so much postage.
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