Some kids are just plain out and out lucky. They get to have all the fun, have great toys and lots of them, get great allowances, have great homes with a wonderful life and even are lucky enough to stumble across things that other kids would just love to find. Take for example the little boy over in England who found a really cool Easter Egg.
Had I ever been so lucky as that kid, at least I would have known how to have a blast with it!
All the best,
Glenn B
Monday, April 9, 2012
More Applications But No Jobs
I guess it is going to be fairly difficult finding a job being that I am in my late fifties, just got over cancer and the economy and job prospects both stink. I just got turned down for a job that I was very well qualified to perform. That after having been told by the interviewer that she was very impressed by my qualifications and, in no uncertain terms, that she was sure her manager would hire me. Oh well, the search goes on.
My wife has just bought a new car. She has saved her money from her salaries (funny how my money from my job was our money all these years but what she earns is hers) to pay for her car (also funny how any cars I bought and paid for were our cars all these years) which only she will be allowed to drive (again funny as she has driven our current car more than have I). I overheard her tell my son that she may take delivery as soon as today. Lest you think I have gotten off track of writing about my job search, this new car deal has given me an idea. Maybe it is time for a road trip; one during which I can apply for, and hopefully work, some temporary jobs as part of my travels. Stop here and there, work here and there a bit, then move on to another location and do likewise all over again. If I find some employment that way, it would be great. If not, well, at least I can enjoy the trip. My guess is that now that it is spring, there must be some ranch or farm work available in rural areas. Maybe some laborer work in construction too. I could pack a tent, my sleeping bag, some other essentials and hit the road the day or two after she gets the car. It does sound tempting.
Then again, if I do take a road trip, I would want to be legally armed with at least a handgun. That means I would have to wait until after April 18th when I am scheduled to qualify under the terms of LEOSA. Of course, I already qualified well within the last year at my last job. That may cover it and if the certification that they supplied me with is good to go under LEOSA then maybe I will be able to leave sooner. The bug has bitten me, let's see how bad the itch becomes.
All the best,
Glenn B
My wife has just bought a new car. She has saved her money from her salaries (funny how my money from my job was our money all these years but what she earns is hers) to pay for her car (also funny how any cars I bought and paid for were our cars all these years) which only she will be allowed to drive (again funny as she has driven our current car more than have I). I overheard her tell my son that she may take delivery as soon as today. Lest you think I have gotten off track of writing about my job search, this new car deal has given me an idea. Maybe it is time for a road trip; one during which I can apply for, and hopefully work, some temporary jobs as part of my travels. Stop here and there, work here and there a bit, then move on to another location and do likewise all over again. If I find some employment that way, it would be great. If not, well, at least I can enjoy the trip. My guess is that now that it is spring, there must be some ranch or farm work available in rural areas. Maybe some laborer work in construction too. I could pack a tent, my sleeping bag, some other essentials and hit the road the day or two after she gets the car. It does sound tempting.
Then again, if I do take a road trip, I would want to be legally armed with at least a handgun. That means I would have to wait until after April 18th when I am scheduled to qualify under the terms of LEOSA. Of course, I already qualified well within the last year at my last job. That may cover it and if the certification that they supplied me with is good to go under LEOSA then maybe I will be able to leave sooner. The bug has bitten me, let's see how bad the itch becomes.
All the best,
Glenn B
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Happy Easter
Here is wishing my friends and my readers, and all their families, a blessed, happy, safe and healthy Easter.
All the best,
GB
All the best,
GB
Saturday, April 7, 2012
The Take It With You 24/7/365 Survival Shelter
I have been reading up a good deal about survival lately and even watching some stuff about it on the tube (the television, not YouTube for you kids who do not know that TV's once had tubes as viewing elements). There is an awful lot written and said about: Guns and Ammo, Survival Shelters (as in fallout shelters or hideaway cabins or cargo trailers converted into living spaces or even about spider holes), emergency food rations, canning, gardening, water supplies, portable generators, whether to bug-out or stand fast, first aid, medical supplies, camo clothing, tactical clothing, tacticalcool gear and the like. In all that talk, even when clothing and shelters are mentioned, I rarely if ever have seen or heard anything about the importance of always carrying suitable primary shelter with you or having it at least very close by you (like in the trunk of your car in the parking lot at work) 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
The primary shelter that I am writing about is proper clothing. Think about it. Clothing, in essence is exactly that - a shelter. It performs the most basic function of any other shelter, it protects us from the elements. If we use the proper clothing for the weather, then it protects us from all sorts of nasty things that nature throws at us. A simple thing like a boonie hat can keep the sun off of our heads, keep us fairly dry up top in the rain and snow, keep the glare of the sun and rainwater and snow out of our eyes helping us to maintain our vision, keep us cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. Heck, it even keeps shell casing from hitting you in the face at the range or in a firefight. Yet how many of us wear or carry a boonie hat or something similar to it every day of the year? I have carried one with me at least 95% of the time over the past 10 to 15 years and it has been a great item to have on hand at all times of the year in all kind of weather just as described above. Now that I am retired, I am sad to report I have slacked off on carrying one with me that often as I keep it in a day pack with some other essentials I always had with me while working. The furthest away from me was usually in the trunk of my car although I must say I virtually always had the pack slung over one shoulder or on the front seat of the car next to me or on my desk in the office or in my house when at home.
That hat, or one like it, is not the only thing in the portable shelter line, aka clothing, that we should have with us to protect us from the elements. Another item that was and remains in my day pack is a poncho. Here is a piece of clothing that can help protect us from the rain, the snow, heat and cold. If need be (and I do not mean a piece of junk 79 cents poncho but at least a real military surplus or military style poncho) a poncho can be used as a temporary ground shelter. In other words you can make a lean to or a tent out of it to protect you from the rain or the sun. Furthermore, a poncho can probably help prevent rapid evaporation of perspiration thus helping you to stay hydrated longer even if you run out of drinking water. You can also use a poncho to get water, even in some very dry conditions, although in that regard, the 79 cent version may actually be up to the task.
Thinking along the same lines, I have to ask, how many of us have gone for a drive in the country - maybe to a hiking trail or a fishing spot, or just for a ride down a long seldom used road in the middle of nowhere or maybe even trail riding in an SUV without giving a thought to how we were dressed. I mean without a thought to our clothes relative to a SHTF situation that might arise and require us to go into survival mode. Now I am not talking an end of the world as we know it situation, just an every day kind of an "oh no, the SHTF" type of a deal. Let me give you an example.
A guy I knew, way back when I was a young Border Patrol Agent, decided to take his 'new to him' but used SUV for a ride out in the desert. I am not talking the Sonoran Desert that is surrounded by mountains many of which have year round water on them. I am talking going for a ride in the Mojave Desert in southern California and it was in the middle of July. It was hot out, probably well into the low one hundreds. He took his joyride in the middle of the afternoon. Not only did he forget to bring a water can in case his vehicle overheated, he did not bring more than a small bottle or two of water or soda for himself. Lest you think I am getting off track, let me also mention what clothing he brought or did not bring along on the ride. A muscle man tee-shirt, a pair of shorts, and pair of flip flops and maybe underpants. That was it, all he wore, all he had. He did not have one other survival item as far as shelter/clothing went and not any other gear except maybe a pistol and pocket knife. I am pretty certain he only had a pistol as far as those two items went.
Are you getting the picture? He was ill prepared at best for any SHTF event that might arise. If you are wondering how I know about such a boring issue as him going on such a trip dressed like that, the reason is because he told us all about it after his recovery. Yep, he told us all about how his SUV broke down out in the middle of the desert, virtually in the middle of nowhere, miles from civilization. He told us with great vigor too, that is once he was able to talk again after trudging about 20 to 25 miles through the desert with the sun beating down on him, the great part of the walk after he had run out of water. Even if not as an extreme place as the Mojave Desert in July, you might be starting to see that when you go out someplace you should not only dress appropriately for what you are doing but you should also have some clothing on hand that will protect you from the elements in the event the SHTF as it did for this character. Want to know what happened to him? He walked 15 or so miles to the nearest road, then about 5 to 10 miles before someone stopped to check on him and give him a ride. His feet and legs were raw from making contact with cactus spines and thorns and rocks and pebble and grit and sand. he had a few blisters on his feet too. He was sunburned from the top of his balding head all the way down to the tops of his toes and badly burned at that. He was badly dehydrated, very hungry and partially delirious when found (but was an arsehat the whole time I knew him so not much had changed). The ride that had taken him maybe 45 minutes had turned into an hours and hours long grueling and exhausting walk. It was a walk for life that he almost lost. Had he had the foresight to have brought a few things along in his SUV, he could have been in a whole lot better shape when he arrived back in civilization.
The most important thing for anyone to have first, in order to survive, is shelter. Sure water is a necessity but you can find water or should I say even collect it with a poncho. If you don't know what I mean, read up on how to collection evaporative ground water in a survival book. You can also help preserve the water already in your body while wearing things like a poncho and a cap like a boonie hat. Add to that the protection each can give you from the sun's burning rays and you can see the importance of having the right clothing along on any trip you make. Sure, a poncho and a boonie cap do each have their limitations. They are both best used in warm to somewhat cool weather but each can be used, in an emergency in the cold of winter or the heat of summer.
Thinking of those limitations, the best portable shelter or clothing to have on hand would be something that fits the season in which you are out and about and to have seasonal layers of clothing in the event of rapid temperature changes. So while it is a good idea to always have a winter coat handy in winter and a heavy sweater for under it, think about that a moment too. When you drive to the supermarket in the winter time, what do you wear. Here, back in the northeast, people all to often go out without enough clothing to keep them barely warm should they find themselves suddenly stranded outside of their vehicles. After all, even though it may be in the mid twenties outside and snowing, who needs to bundle up in layers or a really thick goose down or polyester filled coat just to go to the supermarket. Heck, once you get there, it is heated and would be way too hot for that heavy winter gear - right! Your car is heated too and if like me you may go outside and start it up 10 minutes before leaving, then go back inside to wait until the engine and the heater are warmed up. So what do I wear, a sweater and a short jacket. Not too bad where I live but not great because old habits sometimes die hard.
I often dressed like that for trips of about 200 miles up to my uncle's old farm. If I had a crash, or slid off the road due to ice or snow and my car got stuck, what was I to do. Since cell phone reception is iffy at best on that road, it is always possible I might have to get out and walk for miles to get help. I would sure be happy to be wearing a good heavy winter coat, a thick sweater, long johns, a good hat, a good pair of hiking boots, warm mittens or gloves and so on - instead of a medium weight jacket, a light sweater, a pair of sneakers, my boonie hat and a pair of thin gloves. Yet, I ask again, how many of us really give things like that a thought before we go out for a routine thing like a trip to the supermarket or to a relative's place?
My habit has been pretty much, over the past 33 to 35 years or so, to go out sort of prepared. Yet, it took quite some time for me to realize that being prepared did not just mean going out with a gun on my side, a knife in my pocket and a jug of water in my car or bottle or two of water in my bag of tricks. It took me years before I realized that going out prepared meant always going out with a 24/7/365 portable shelter along with me - that portable shelter being made up of suitable seasonal and or emergency clothing. I suffered way too many sunburns, minor frostbite three or four or maybe even half a dozen times, sore and tired eyes, swollen or blistered feet and an awful lot of discomfort getting soaked because I did not learn that soon enough. Luckily for me, I never was seriously injured because I was lax in that regard.
Today, it is pretty much a different story. I may go out locally not necessarily dressed for the weather but that does not matter all that much because I am in a well populated area and close to home. Shelter abounds. When I am on a road trip, or on a hike, or gone hunting or fishing, or even out of the general area of my home even in a populated area, I try to take along at least my day pack with my boonie cap and my poncho among other survival items. Regardless of the time of year, I always have extra seasonal clothing with me in my car when on a trip. You may think, why bother, I have my car for shelter but that is not always true. Take for example that guy who drove his SUV out into the Mojave Desert. It gets hotter inside the vehicle, even with he windows open than it does outside and bear in mind, his SUV broke down so he had no AC.
One more example before I finish up. This one is hypothetical to some degree but also based on a real life event. You probably have seen the type, the real macho guy or arsehat, who decides that even though it is in the 30s or even the 20s, he has to go out wearing a pair of Bermuda or other summer shorts. He may have a hip length winter coat on and a hat and gloves, maybe even a pair of hiking boot but he is wearing shorts too. What makes these guys tick is beyond my comprehension but it is their lives not mine. Now think, what would happen to that guy if he was out driving and wrecked his car in a one car accident, maybe went off the road and hit a tree, out in the boonies and was injured when it happened. Maybe he gets out of the car, is disorientated and heads out into the woods instead of back to the highway. Think - what happens to him when the temperatures drop from the 30s to 20s to teens and he is out in the woods at night in his Bermuda shorts. Maybe they made him look oh so cool at Walmart or Cabelas or wherever but now have him appearing oh so very cold. Fact is, he does not just appear cold, he is cold, he is probably freezing his behind off.
Remember, I said that last was hypothetical but also based on real life. Well it is not just based on the fact that some guys wear Bermuda shorts in the cold of winter but also on the fact that not all that long ago, a U.S. Marine was reportedly involved in a minor traffic accident on a highway in the middle of winter. Instead of doing what most people would have done, like pull off to the shoulder of the road to exchange insurance info with the driver of the other vehicle, this guys fled out into the woods and was out there for two days. Yep, you guessed it, he was wearing shorts. He was also wearing sandals and no socks and what looked like a light fleece. Lucky for him, authorities found him out in the forest under some pine boughs he was using to try to stay warm. Check out the pic in the article, at the link, showing the lost Marine and one of the officers who found him. Whom would you want to be dressed like, in the woods, in the snow, in the winter? Had it been a few hours more, the Marine may have died. He reportedly had some issues with panic attacks after minor stress situations (like the accident?)and suffered from PTSD and those may have had to do with why he ran from the accident.
Why he wore shorts and sandals, in the middle of winter - who knows. I guess it was that his car's heater worked well or maybe those shorts looked oh so cool or maybe he felt macho or maybe it was just comfortable but as I said those are just my guesses. What is not a guess is that he was ill prepared for his ordeal. Me, I am not going to guess on what I will wear. I will stick to wearing at least a warm jacket and warm sweater and a hat and gloves and at least jeans in cold weather near home or on the road, and maybe even wool/polypropylene long johns too if cold enough. Maybe not as warm as could be but better than Bermuda shorts in the dead of winter. I will also have some more suitable clothes in my trunk when on he road out of town. Over packing for a trip has never been a concern to me, I just do it. It is almost a given, I'll have my boonie cap and poncho with me too.
Speaking of being away from home naturally brings home to mind. So, come to think of it, it is not a bad idea to check your wardrobe at home too. Is it stocked with what you would need to survive a whole year or more in the event of a TEOTWAWKI situation? While I was mostly talking about every day SHTF situations above, the thing is we could face a devastating set of circumstances during which we might be unable to obtain the necessities of life. What if there was a nationwide calamity? An earthquake of major proportions could cut off most of our national supply of natural gas, thus fuel for heat may be shut off. Food stuffs may be in short supply or completely off the shelves if there is a depression or agricultural/natural disaster like drought. If we are invaded, ammunition and guns may be banned for sale or just bought out in a panic. Gasoline for transportation and oil for heat may be in very short supply or not obtainable if oil producing nations boycott us or if terrorists blow up pipelines. You hear preppers talking about stocking up on many items every day and about them being ready with generators and fuel supplies and food and water and seeds for gardens and guns and ammo, and bug-out shelters. Now tell me, how many do you hear about who have stocked up on seasonal and emergency clothing? Let's face it, if the natural gas lines are blown up by terrorists and the electrical grid likewise, well it could get mighty cold in many parts of the USA in January - like inside our homes. Even those with generators to power up electrical heaters may be cold pretty soon; after all how much fuel for the generators can they have on hand!
So, yes the clothes on your back (or on your legs and over your butt) or the spare clothes (or that military surplus wool blanket) in your car's trunk, or that you have in your closets, can be the key to your survival because clothing is indeed our primary shelter, the first line of shelter that we have against the elements. The proper clothing is easily portable (could not be any easier than wearing it) 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days per year. By the way, that day pack I mentioned above a few times, I almost consider it clothing too, I have had it with me, wearing it over a shoulder or both, just about as often as I have worn clothes over the few years I have owned it. Well that pack is a Camelback Pack (thankfully mine is a camo pack I can use when I hike or hunt and is not like most the styles, appearing on their current website, that I think would be appealing to metro-sexuals) and has an integral 1.5 liter or 2 litter water bladder. Really now, all kidding aside, such a pack, regardless of the look of it, is not a bad piece of gear to have along to carry things like your boonie hat, gloves or mittens, a poncho, a fleece pullover, and some other life saving essentials like a compass, a fire starter, a flashlight, extra batteries, some food and a first aid kit. Remember though, the having or not having the right portable shelter, as in the right clothes for survival, can make or break the man or the woman - your life may depend on what you are wearing. So dress for the occasion and for the weather. If you don't, then at least bring along the right clothes and or have some bare bones survival clothing/shelter, like a boonie cap and a poncho, with you at all times.
All the best,
Glenn B
The primary shelter that I am writing about is proper clothing. Think about it. Clothing, in essence is exactly that - a shelter. It performs the most basic function of any other shelter, it protects us from the elements. If we use the proper clothing for the weather, then it protects us from all sorts of nasty things that nature throws at us. A simple thing like a boonie hat can keep the sun off of our heads, keep us fairly dry up top in the rain and snow, keep the glare of the sun and rainwater and snow out of our eyes helping us to maintain our vision, keep us cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. Heck, it even keeps shell casing from hitting you in the face at the range or in a firefight. Yet how many of us wear or carry a boonie hat or something similar to it every day of the year? I have carried one with me at least 95% of the time over the past 10 to 15 years and it has been a great item to have on hand at all times of the year in all kind of weather just as described above. Now that I am retired, I am sad to report I have slacked off on carrying one with me that often as I keep it in a day pack with some other essentials I always had with me while working. The furthest away from me was usually in the trunk of my car although I must say I virtually always had the pack slung over one shoulder or on the front seat of the car next to me or on my desk in the office or in my house when at home.
That hat, or one like it, is not the only thing in the portable shelter line, aka clothing, that we should have with us to protect us from the elements. Another item that was and remains in my day pack is a poncho. Here is a piece of clothing that can help protect us from the rain, the snow, heat and cold. If need be (and I do not mean a piece of junk 79 cents poncho but at least a real military surplus or military style poncho) a poncho can be used as a temporary ground shelter. In other words you can make a lean to or a tent out of it to protect you from the rain or the sun. Furthermore, a poncho can probably help prevent rapid evaporation of perspiration thus helping you to stay hydrated longer even if you run out of drinking water. You can also use a poncho to get water, even in some very dry conditions, although in that regard, the 79 cent version may actually be up to the task.
Thinking along the same lines, I have to ask, how many of us have gone for a drive in the country - maybe to a hiking trail or a fishing spot, or just for a ride down a long seldom used road in the middle of nowhere or maybe even trail riding in an SUV without giving a thought to how we were dressed. I mean without a thought to our clothes relative to a SHTF situation that might arise and require us to go into survival mode. Now I am not talking an end of the world as we know it situation, just an every day kind of an "oh no, the SHTF" type of a deal. Let me give you an example.
A guy I knew, way back when I was a young Border Patrol Agent, decided to take his 'new to him' but used SUV for a ride out in the desert. I am not talking the Sonoran Desert that is surrounded by mountains many of which have year round water on them. I am talking going for a ride in the Mojave Desert in southern California and it was in the middle of July. It was hot out, probably well into the low one hundreds. He took his joyride in the middle of the afternoon. Not only did he forget to bring a water can in case his vehicle overheated, he did not bring more than a small bottle or two of water or soda for himself. Lest you think I am getting off track, let me also mention what clothing he brought or did not bring along on the ride. A muscle man tee-shirt, a pair of shorts, and pair of flip flops and maybe underpants. That was it, all he wore, all he had. He did not have one other survival item as far as shelter/clothing went and not any other gear except maybe a pistol and pocket knife. I am pretty certain he only had a pistol as far as those two items went.
Are you getting the picture? He was ill prepared at best for any SHTF event that might arise. If you are wondering how I know about such a boring issue as him going on such a trip dressed like that, the reason is because he told us all about it after his recovery. Yep, he told us all about how his SUV broke down out in the middle of the desert, virtually in the middle of nowhere, miles from civilization. He told us with great vigor too, that is once he was able to talk again after trudging about 20 to 25 miles through the desert with the sun beating down on him, the great part of the walk after he had run out of water. Even if not as an extreme place as the Mojave Desert in July, you might be starting to see that when you go out someplace you should not only dress appropriately for what you are doing but you should also have some clothing on hand that will protect you from the elements in the event the SHTF as it did for this character. Want to know what happened to him? He walked 15 or so miles to the nearest road, then about 5 to 10 miles before someone stopped to check on him and give him a ride. His feet and legs were raw from making contact with cactus spines and thorns and rocks and pebble and grit and sand. he had a few blisters on his feet too. He was sunburned from the top of his balding head all the way down to the tops of his toes and badly burned at that. He was badly dehydrated, very hungry and partially delirious when found (but was an arsehat the whole time I knew him so not much had changed). The ride that had taken him maybe 45 minutes had turned into an hours and hours long grueling and exhausting walk. It was a walk for life that he almost lost. Had he had the foresight to have brought a few things along in his SUV, he could have been in a whole lot better shape when he arrived back in civilization.
The most important thing for anyone to have first, in order to survive, is shelter. Sure water is a necessity but you can find water or should I say even collect it with a poncho. If you don't know what I mean, read up on how to collection evaporative ground water in a survival book. You can also help preserve the water already in your body while wearing things like a poncho and a cap like a boonie hat. Add to that the protection each can give you from the sun's burning rays and you can see the importance of having the right clothing along on any trip you make. Sure, a poncho and a boonie cap do each have their limitations. They are both best used in warm to somewhat cool weather but each can be used, in an emergency in the cold of winter or the heat of summer.
Thinking of those limitations, the best portable shelter or clothing to have on hand would be something that fits the season in which you are out and about and to have seasonal layers of clothing in the event of rapid temperature changes. So while it is a good idea to always have a winter coat handy in winter and a heavy sweater for under it, think about that a moment too. When you drive to the supermarket in the winter time, what do you wear. Here, back in the northeast, people all to often go out without enough clothing to keep them barely warm should they find themselves suddenly stranded outside of their vehicles. After all, even though it may be in the mid twenties outside and snowing, who needs to bundle up in layers or a really thick goose down or polyester filled coat just to go to the supermarket. Heck, once you get there, it is heated and would be way too hot for that heavy winter gear - right! Your car is heated too and if like me you may go outside and start it up 10 minutes before leaving, then go back inside to wait until the engine and the heater are warmed up. So what do I wear, a sweater and a short jacket. Not too bad where I live but not great because old habits sometimes die hard.
I often dressed like that for trips of about 200 miles up to my uncle's old farm. If I had a crash, or slid off the road due to ice or snow and my car got stuck, what was I to do. Since cell phone reception is iffy at best on that road, it is always possible I might have to get out and walk for miles to get help. I would sure be happy to be wearing a good heavy winter coat, a thick sweater, long johns, a good hat, a good pair of hiking boots, warm mittens or gloves and so on - instead of a medium weight jacket, a light sweater, a pair of sneakers, my boonie hat and a pair of thin gloves. Yet, I ask again, how many of us really give things like that a thought before we go out for a routine thing like a trip to the supermarket or to a relative's place?
My habit has been pretty much, over the past 33 to 35 years or so, to go out sort of prepared. Yet, it took quite some time for me to realize that being prepared did not just mean going out with a gun on my side, a knife in my pocket and a jug of water in my car or bottle or two of water in my bag of tricks. It took me years before I realized that going out prepared meant always going out with a 24/7/365 portable shelter along with me - that portable shelter being made up of suitable seasonal and or emergency clothing. I suffered way too many sunburns, minor frostbite three or four or maybe even half a dozen times, sore and tired eyes, swollen or blistered feet and an awful lot of discomfort getting soaked because I did not learn that soon enough. Luckily for me, I never was seriously injured because I was lax in that regard.
Today, it is pretty much a different story. I may go out locally not necessarily dressed for the weather but that does not matter all that much because I am in a well populated area and close to home. Shelter abounds. When I am on a road trip, or on a hike, or gone hunting or fishing, or even out of the general area of my home even in a populated area, I try to take along at least my day pack with my boonie cap and my poncho among other survival items. Regardless of the time of year, I always have extra seasonal clothing with me in my car when on a trip. You may think, why bother, I have my car for shelter but that is not always true. Take for example that guy who drove his SUV out into the Mojave Desert. It gets hotter inside the vehicle, even with he windows open than it does outside and bear in mind, his SUV broke down so he had no AC.
One more example before I finish up. This one is hypothetical to some degree but also based on a real life event. You probably have seen the type, the real macho guy or arsehat, who decides that even though it is in the 30s or even the 20s, he has to go out wearing a pair of Bermuda or other summer shorts. He may have a hip length winter coat on and a hat and gloves, maybe even a pair of hiking boot but he is wearing shorts too. What makes these guys tick is beyond my comprehension but it is their lives not mine. Now think, what would happen to that guy if he was out driving and wrecked his car in a one car accident, maybe went off the road and hit a tree, out in the boonies and was injured when it happened. Maybe he gets out of the car, is disorientated and heads out into the woods instead of back to the highway. Think - what happens to him when the temperatures drop from the 30s to 20s to teens and he is out in the woods at night in his Bermuda shorts. Maybe they made him look oh so cool at Walmart or Cabelas or wherever but now have him appearing oh so very cold. Fact is, he does not just appear cold, he is cold, he is probably freezing his behind off.
Remember, I said that last was hypothetical but also based on real life. Well it is not just based on the fact that some guys wear Bermuda shorts in the cold of winter but also on the fact that not all that long ago, a U.S. Marine was reportedly involved in a minor traffic accident on a highway in the middle of winter. Instead of doing what most people would have done, like pull off to the shoulder of the road to exchange insurance info with the driver of the other vehicle, this guys fled out into the woods and was out there for two days. Yep, you guessed it, he was wearing shorts. He was also wearing sandals and no socks and what looked like a light fleece. Lucky for him, authorities found him out in the forest under some pine boughs he was using to try to stay warm. Check out the pic in the article, at the link, showing the lost Marine and one of the officers who found him. Whom would you want to be dressed like, in the woods, in the snow, in the winter? Had it been a few hours more, the Marine may have died. He reportedly had some issues with panic attacks after minor stress situations (like the accident?)and suffered from PTSD and those may have had to do with why he ran from the accident.
Why he wore shorts and sandals, in the middle of winter - who knows. I guess it was that his car's heater worked well or maybe those shorts looked oh so cool or maybe he felt macho or maybe it was just comfortable but as I said those are just my guesses. What is not a guess is that he was ill prepared for his ordeal. Me, I am not going to guess on what I will wear. I will stick to wearing at least a warm jacket and warm sweater and a hat and gloves and at least jeans in cold weather near home or on the road, and maybe even wool/polypropylene long johns too if cold enough. Maybe not as warm as could be but better than Bermuda shorts in the dead of winter. I will also have some more suitable clothes in my trunk when on he road out of town. Over packing for a trip has never been a concern to me, I just do it. It is almost a given, I'll have my boonie cap and poncho with me too.
Speaking of being away from home naturally brings home to mind. So, come to think of it, it is not a bad idea to check your wardrobe at home too. Is it stocked with what you would need to survive a whole year or more in the event of a TEOTWAWKI situation? While I was mostly talking about every day SHTF situations above, the thing is we could face a devastating set of circumstances during which we might be unable to obtain the necessities of life. What if there was a nationwide calamity? An earthquake of major proportions could cut off most of our national supply of natural gas, thus fuel for heat may be shut off. Food stuffs may be in short supply or completely off the shelves if there is a depression or agricultural/natural disaster like drought. If we are invaded, ammunition and guns may be banned for sale or just bought out in a panic. Gasoline for transportation and oil for heat may be in very short supply or not obtainable if oil producing nations boycott us or if terrorists blow up pipelines. You hear preppers talking about stocking up on many items every day and about them being ready with generators and fuel supplies and food and water and seeds for gardens and guns and ammo, and bug-out shelters. Now tell me, how many do you hear about who have stocked up on seasonal and emergency clothing? Let's face it, if the natural gas lines are blown up by terrorists and the electrical grid likewise, well it could get mighty cold in many parts of the USA in January - like inside our homes. Even those with generators to power up electrical heaters may be cold pretty soon; after all how much fuel for the generators can they have on hand!
So, yes the clothes on your back (or on your legs and over your butt) or the spare clothes (or that military surplus wool blanket) in your car's trunk, or that you have in your closets, can be the key to your survival because clothing is indeed our primary shelter, the first line of shelter that we have against the elements. The proper clothing is easily portable (could not be any easier than wearing it) 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days per year. By the way, that day pack I mentioned above a few times, I almost consider it clothing too, I have had it with me, wearing it over a shoulder or both, just about as often as I have worn clothes over the few years I have owned it. Well that pack is a Camelback Pack (thankfully mine is a camo pack I can use when I hike or hunt and is not like most the styles, appearing on their current website, that I think would be appealing to metro-sexuals) and has an integral 1.5 liter or 2 litter water bladder. Really now, all kidding aside, such a pack, regardless of the look of it, is not a bad piece of gear to have along to carry things like your boonie hat, gloves or mittens, a poncho, a fleece pullover, and some other life saving essentials like a compass, a fire starter, a flashlight, extra batteries, some food and a first aid kit. Remember though, the having or not having the right portable shelter, as in the right clothes for survival, can make or break the man or the woman - your life may depend on what you are wearing. So dress for the occasion and for the weather. If you don't, then at least bring along the right clothes and or have some bare bones survival clothing/shelter, like a boonie cap and a poncho, with you at all times.
All the best,
Glenn B
NAKED Recreation: Just When I Thought I Had Seen It All...
...I find this link. My goodness, how could I have been missing this organization throughout my whole life?
http://www.aanr.com/
I guess it is okay for some folks, but the whole idea of going for walks through the woods in the buff, or fishing on a party fishing boat with all those hooks-a-dangling, or hiking a trail in the very cactus filled Sonoran Desert, or hunting without wearing a stitch in November, or falling asleep in a lounge chair poolside while in the raw just kind of creeps me out. Why is that? Well, I have already been sunburned on parts on which the sun should never shine long enough to require you to wear sunblock down there. I fell asleep on a beach at summer camp and my shorts either were pulled down by a prankster or worked their way down. Maybe it was because, in my sleep, I scratched areas that had poison ivy. What can I say, over the three prior days, before passing out at the beach, we campers were on a hike and had to wee in the woods and fields and I did not pay attention to where I was going. I paid for it. Oh yes, I paid with the pain of being burned like a lobster over my popping and oozing poison ivy blisters on my never again to be seen in public parts. But I learned a lesson that I have never forgotten. So as I said, nude beaches and clubs like these nudie deals are not for me unless I can just be an observer...
All the best,
Glenn B
http://www.aanr.com/
I guess it is okay for some folks, but the whole idea of going for walks through the woods in the buff, or fishing on a party fishing boat with all those hooks-a-dangling, or hiking a trail in the very cactus filled Sonoran Desert, or hunting without wearing a stitch in November, or falling asleep in a lounge chair poolside while in the raw just kind of creeps me out. Why is that? Well, I have already been sunburned on parts on which the sun should never shine long enough to require you to wear sunblock down there. I fell asleep on a beach at summer camp and my shorts either were pulled down by a prankster or worked their way down. Maybe it was because, in my sleep, I scratched areas that had poison ivy. What can I say, over the three prior days, before passing out at the beach, we campers were on a hike and had to wee in the woods and fields and I did not pay attention to where I was going. I paid for it. Oh yes, I paid with the pain of being burned like a lobster over my popping and oozing poison ivy blisters on my never again to be seen in public parts. But I learned a lesson that I have never forgotten. So as I said, nude beaches and clubs like these nudie deals are not for me unless I can just be an observer...
All the best,
Glenn B
Friday, April 6, 2012
Happy Pesach (Passover)
To all my Jewish friends and to my Jewish readers, I wish you a Blessed, Happy, Safe and Healthy Passover. Enjoy the Passover seder and the readings from the Haggadah.
All the best,
Glenn B
All the best,
Glenn B
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Education - You Want It For Free? Wake Up And Get A Job To Work Your Way Through College
"No cuts, no fees, education should be free." and "Let us in, let us in" were among the repeated chants of "angry" protesters who tried to force their way into a trustees meeting in Santa Monica College. They were angry about tuition costs about to be raised. As they tried to storm into the meeting room, campus police, apparently unable to otherwise control the unruly mob, let loose with pepper spray and reportedly doused about 30 of the protesters with it. See:
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/04/04/students-angry-over-raise-in-course-prices-pepper-sprayed-at-california-college/?test=latestnews
I say, good for the officers in this instance but sadly, I believe that school officials will try to turn them into scapegoats. One school official has already said that the incident has given the school a black eye and my guess would be that he meant the officers' use of pepper spray. I think with odds of 30 to 2 (two police officers and at least 30 folks in the crowd or even a higher number of protesters as the overall mob size was never mentioned in the article) the officers has more than a reasonable fear that they might be hurt and the use of pepper spray, which is considered a 'soft technique' not necessarily requiring threat of bodily injury by many LE agencies and departments, was more than justified - it was prudent.
The people at fault here were the protesters in my opinion. Just their attitudes alone reek of ultra-leftist idealism. Watch the video and listen to the arrogance of the one apparent student saying something to the effect of how dare they pepper spray students. Who does that asshole think he is? Does he think he is entitled to the sweat off of other peoples' brows, and the money out of their pockets, just because he and a handful of others want to go to school on the cheap. What did they chant, that 'education should be free'? I have to wonder, just how do they think the building materials for the campus were obtained, did students go out and by the sweat of their own brows mine the gypsum for the sheet rock, did they get aching backs by digging the foundation holes, did they draw up the architectural plans and then implement the actual construction of the buildings - all without pay. I ponder whether or not they wrote and printed the books and other educational materials all at no charge. Did they also produce the paper on which the printed word was written, doing so as a community effort at no cost? Then did they walk into the classroom and teach others receiving no salary for their efforts and will they make that their careers. Or was it that, in the real world and not in their ultra-leftist communistic fantasy world, all the things associated with the education they are demanding cost money or some other form of trade. Why is that? Is it because others, such as architects, construction workers, planners, trustees, publishers, researchers, faculty, administrative workers and on and on have worked hard at it and they want to be able to eat and provide for themselves and their families?
I think these people who want it all for free, who demand it for free, do not gives a rat's arse about you and me and how hard we have worked to earn our keep. They seemingly think themselves special, as being better and more deserving than anyone else. They want it taken from us and given to them so that they can have the benefits of it all without having to earn those benefits themselves. I have two words for them: Fuck Them. If that language offends anyone who reads this, tough noogies. It is the protesters and their 'what's yours is mine' attitude that should offend you!
One thing is kind of nice in this whole thing - seeing that those bastions of liberal dogma, the colleges, have turned into exactly what they have been preaching against for years. That is, they have turned into big business. Hey professors, "Welcome to The Establishment, welcome to the real world" is all the rest that I can say...
All the best,
Glenn B
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/04/04/students-angry-over-raise-in-course-prices-pepper-sprayed-at-california-college/?test=latestnews
I say, good for the officers in this instance but sadly, I believe that school officials will try to turn them into scapegoats. One school official has already said that the incident has given the school a black eye and my guess would be that he meant the officers' use of pepper spray. I think with odds of 30 to 2 (two police officers and at least 30 folks in the crowd or even a higher number of protesters as the overall mob size was never mentioned in the article) the officers has more than a reasonable fear that they might be hurt and the use of pepper spray, which is considered a 'soft technique' not necessarily requiring threat of bodily injury by many LE agencies and departments, was more than justified - it was prudent.
The people at fault here were the protesters in my opinion. Just their attitudes alone reek of ultra-leftist idealism. Watch the video and listen to the arrogance of the one apparent student saying something to the effect of how dare they pepper spray students. Who does that asshole think he is? Does he think he is entitled to the sweat off of other peoples' brows, and the money out of their pockets, just because he and a handful of others want to go to school on the cheap. What did they chant, that 'education should be free'? I have to wonder, just how do they think the building materials for the campus were obtained, did students go out and by the sweat of their own brows mine the gypsum for the sheet rock, did they get aching backs by digging the foundation holes, did they draw up the architectural plans and then implement the actual construction of the buildings - all without pay. I ponder whether or not they wrote and printed the books and other educational materials all at no charge. Did they also produce the paper on which the printed word was written, doing so as a community effort at no cost? Then did they walk into the classroom and teach others receiving no salary for their efforts and will they make that their careers. Or was it that, in the real world and not in their ultra-leftist communistic fantasy world, all the things associated with the education they are demanding cost money or some other form of trade. Why is that? Is it because others, such as architects, construction workers, planners, trustees, publishers, researchers, faculty, administrative workers and on and on have worked hard at it and they want to be able to eat and provide for themselves and their families?
I think these people who want it all for free, who demand it for free, do not gives a rat's arse about you and me and how hard we have worked to earn our keep. They seemingly think themselves special, as being better and more deserving than anyone else. They want it taken from us and given to them so that they can have the benefits of it all without having to earn those benefits themselves. I have two words for them: Fuck Them. If that language offends anyone who reads this, tough noogies. It is the protesters and their 'what's yours is mine' attitude that should offend you!
One thing is kind of nice in this whole thing - seeing that those bastions of liberal dogma, the colleges, have turned into exactly what they have been preaching against for years. That is, they have turned into big business. Hey professors, "Welcome to The Establishment, welcome to the real world" is all the rest that I can say...
All the best,
Glenn B
Monday, April 2, 2012
Job Interview #1
After putting in about 25 applications for jobs, I have finally been contacted by one of the companies and in fact was actually interviewed for the job today. It was a telephone interview for the position of Field Interviewer. It's a part time and temporary position that would require me to work about 20-25 hours per week for 1 to 2 months with the possibility of an extension. It would also require a trip to Washington D.C. for a week or so of training, all expenses paid. I do not think I am at liberty to name the company or the types of interviews I would be conducting but I imagine I can tell you that the pay is $17.00 per hour.
It sounded to me as if the interviewer was impressed, she even said as much. She also said she is forwarding my name for consideration by her manager. She expects I will hear back from them with 72 hours. Sounds great to me, I am keeping my fingers crossed but certainly am not going to discontinue my job search.
All the best,
Glenn B
It sounded to me as if the interviewer was impressed, she even said as much. She also said she is forwarding my name for consideration by her manager. She expects I will hear back from them with 72 hours. Sounds great to me, I am keeping my fingers crossed but certainly am not going to discontinue my job search.
All the best,
Glenn B
Ballseye The Plumber - Far From It...
...but I did manage to change the worn out washers on the faucet for the sink in the basement today; I did it without causing a major leak too. As a matter of fact, the faucet now works pretty good, no more drips and I actually got round to it before ruining the seat.
Last time I tried to change the washers the darned faucet just kept leaking. So, I got new faucet valves and installed them too. I actually picked out the right ones, out of what seemed like hundreds of choices at Home Depot, all without knowing the brand or size I needed. Just did it by sight and good guess work. Thing was, I thought I had screwed up and gotten the wrong ones because after installing them the faucet still leaked. I had to call a plumber for something else and decided to have them take a look see. They took out the old faucet seats and replaced them because that time round, the washers had gotten so worn it was metal on metal and that ruined the seats.
This time though, I got to the washers right when they needed to be changed and the seats and valves were not ruined. Did a pretty good job if must say so myself. Please, don't tell my wife or she may get the idea that I know how to do other things around the house and then she may get the idea that I should be doing them.
All the best,
GB.
Last time I tried to change the washers the darned faucet just kept leaking. So, I got new faucet valves and installed them too. I actually picked out the right ones, out of what seemed like hundreds of choices at Home Depot, all without knowing the brand or size I needed. Just did it by sight and good guess work. Thing was, I thought I had screwed up and gotten the wrong ones because after installing them the faucet still leaked. I had to call a plumber for something else and decided to have them take a look see. They took out the old faucet seats and replaced them because that time round, the washers had gotten so worn it was metal on metal and that ruined the seats.
This time though, I got to the washers right when they needed to be changed and the seats and valves were not ruined. Did a pretty good job if must say so myself. Please, don't tell my wife or she may get the idea that I know how to do other things around the house and then she may get the idea that I should be doing them.
All the best,
GB.
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Welcome To Belgistan - Soon To Be Coming To A Neighborhood Near You - Are You Ready For It
The friend of mine who sent me the below video said this in his email to me:
Make sure that you have enough ammo. Jihad coming to a neighborhood near you!!!
He could not be anymore right that it is coming to a neighborhood near us - maybe sooner than we expect. I assured him, I have enough ammo. Now I just need to make sure I have enough of other supplies like food and medical items. I have already started building up my supplies of food, my most recent order being 36 pounds of flour, 42 pounds of rice and 20 pounds of quick oats. I will try to buy a bit more each month. I have had a few weeks of food on hand for quite the while now, mostly canned goods but I am starting to build up a supply of long term survival foods like the ones I just mentioned. It is coming folks, either a major SHTF situaton or TEOTWAWKI - in one form or the other. If I am still around when it does, I want to be ready for it and I do not mean I will be ready to give up my way of life nor my liberties, rights or freedoms.
A hat tip to Tom K. for that video!
All the best,
Glenn B
Make sure that you have enough ammo. Jihad coming to a neighborhood near you!!!
A hat tip to Tom K. for that video!
All the best,
Glenn B
Death And Taxes
Last year, I wound up beating death by living through a pretty bad bout of neck cancer that had spread extensively in my lymph glands. That has continued into this yea so far - that is me managing to stay among the living and beating out death. When it comes to taxes, I have not been so lucky, seems they are inevitable every tax season.
I just got our annual income tax returns finished. Actually, I had them finished about a month ago but lallygagged, hemmed and hawed and just plain procrastinated until today before triple checking them and submitting them electronically. I found one or two minor things that needed correcting, got myself about a buck more back in our refund due to that. While we are getting a refund, ad do consider that a plus because while it gathered no interest for us and did for the government, it is money I would not have otherwise saved up. Since I am recently retired, I am on a very limited income right now consisting mostly of my annuity which is for now coming to me as partial payments. I figure I am getting around 58% of my actual pension which works out to about 43% of what I had been getting paid in salary. It can take many months for the government to get it right. Funny how that works because when you go to work for them, they know, in the first 2 weeks, how much to deduct for everything but when you retire it can take up to 8 months for them to get your pension right! That is so funny it friggin hurts because it is not easy living on a sudden reduction to about 45% of what my annual pay had been over the past 3 years. I still have to pay all my bills and none of them have been reduced, for example I just paid the 2nd half of my school taxes and that was well over a couple of thousand. Local village tax is coming up soon too and medical and other bills are piling up fast. I will get them paid though but it ain't easy right now. Sooner or later, OPM will figure out my actual finalized pension payments and it will start sending me the correct amount. OPM will also send me a lump sum payment for what it owes me because of the partial pension payments. That should be a help to make things easier but I have to say, these friggin taxes are just about beating us into the ground but we are managing to hang in there.
The job search is continuing. I have put in for about 25 jobs over the past 3 weeks. Probably more than people on unemployment are required to put in for in order to keep benefits. I have thought of applying for unemployment but am hesitant. I never have received it and am pretty proud of that fact but if I do not find a job soon I may do so. It is my understanding that since I retired because I had cancer, I may be eligible for unemployment as opposed to had just retired voluntarily with the cancer factor in there. Hopefully I will not have to find out and I will find a job soon. I have a telephone interview scheduled, for one job, this Tuesday. It is not a great job and is only part time and probably temporary but I figure why not go for it until something better comes along. That is, of course, if they select me after the interview.
All the best,
Glenn B
I just got our annual income tax returns finished. Actually, I had them finished about a month ago but lallygagged, hemmed and hawed and just plain procrastinated until today before triple checking them and submitting them electronically. I found one or two minor things that needed correcting, got myself about a buck more back in our refund due to that. While we are getting a refund, ad do consider that a plus because while it gathered no interest for us and did for the government, it is money I would not have otherwise saved up. Since I am recently retired, I am on a very limited income right now consisting mostly of my annuity which is for now coming to me as partial payments. I figure I am getting around 58% of my actual pension which works out to about 43% of what I had been getting paid in salary. It can take many months for the government to get it right. Funny how that works because when you go to work for them, they know, in the first 2 weeks, how much to deduct for everything but when you retire it can take up to 8 months for them to get your pension right! That is so funny it friggin hurts because it is not easy living on a sudden reduction to about 45% of what my annual pay had been over the past 3 years. I still have to pay all my bills and none of them have been reduced, for example I just paid the 2nd half of my school taxes and that was well over a couple of thousand. Local village tax is coming up soon too and medical and other bills are piling up fast. I will get them paid though but it ain't easy right now. Sooner or later, OPM will figure out my actual finalized pension payments and it will start sending me the correct amount. OPM will also send me a lump sum payment for what it owes me because of the partial pension payments. That should be a help to make things easier but I have to say, these friggin taxes are just about beating us into the ground but we are managing to hang in there.
The job search is continuing. I have put in for about 25 jobs over the past 3 weeks. Probably more than people on unemployment are required to put in for in order to keep benefits. I have thought of applying for unemployment but am hesitant. I never have received it and am pretty proud of that fact but if I do not find a job soon I may do so. It is my understanding that since I retired because I had cancer, I may be eligible for unemployment as opposed to had just retired voluntarily with the cancer factor in there. Hopefully I will not have to find out and I will find a job soon. I have a telephone interview scheduled, for one job, this Tuesday. It is not a great job and is only part time and probably temporary but I figure why not go for it until something better comes along. That is, of course, if they select me after the interview.
All the best,
Glenn B
Saturday, March 31, 2012
My Annual Ammunition Inventory
I decided to get a bit busy today with straightening out the man cave basement. I just got done, after a couple of hours that accomplished only a little of straightening up but a lot of counting. I have a lot of straightening left to do tomorrow. Ah tomorrow.
For today though, that counting stuff I did was my annual ammunition inventory. Let me just say have enough ammunition to shoot for quite awhile. I had a few surprises when doing the inventory. I no longer have any .30 carbine, nor do I have any more .357 Magnum. I guess I gave or traded or sold those calibers right out of stock. I do not make it a habit to sell ammo since I am not a business but sometimes sell a couple of boxes of something for which I have no to very little need. That was pretty much the case with those two calibers. I wish I still had some .30 carbine, that could make for some good future bartering deals but that is just a dream now.
Another surprise I had was the amount of .38 Special ammo that I have in store. I have about 3 to 4 times what I thought I had in the ammo locker. That is a good thing. For some reason I had thought I had reduced my supply much more than that so this really was a nice surprise. Yet another surprise was how much 22 Magnum I have at hand. Let me just say, that even though it is a goodly number of rounds, it will not last long once my son and I hit the range this spring and summer with the Marlin 25MN. There were two other surprises, these not the last. I had more 40S&W than I had thought and I have less .45 Auto than I would like. As for the .45 Auto, I guess I just gave or traded away too much of the little I had in supply. I guess I still have enough for a fun hour or two at the range or for a couple decent trades. I also was surprised by how much .22LR I have around. It is a substantial amount. Finally, I was absolutely joyful at how many rounds of 9mm I have in my supply. It will make for shooting fun for awhile.
I am not going to give the exact amounts of anything, enough said above already. I used to post my inventory totals but decided against continuing that practice a few years back. Let me just say that if my ammo cache is ever raided by LE, it will be reported on by the media as being an ammo depot or an arsenal's worth of ammo. Then again, if I had a couple of bricks of .22LR and a half case of 9mm, with one box of each of everything else - they would report it the same way. I will admit though, I have a bit more than that.
All the best,
Glenn B
For today though, that counting stuff I did was my annual ammunition inventory. Let me just say have enough ammunition to shoot for quite awhile. I had a few surprises when doing the inventory. I no longer have any .30 carbine, nor do I have any more .357 Magnum. I guess I gave or traded or sold those calibers right out of stock. I do not make it a habit to sell ammo since I am not a business but sometimes sell a couple of boxes of something for which I have no to very little need. That was pretty much the case with those two calibers. I wish I still had some .30 carbine, that could make for some good future bartering deals but that is just a dream now.
Another surprise I had was the amount of .38 Special ammo that I have in store. I have about 3 to 4 times what I thought I had in the ammo locker. That is a good thing. For some reason I had thought I had reduced my supply much more than that so this really was a nice surprise. Yet another surprise was how much 22 Magnum I have at hand. Let me just say, that even though it is a goodly number of rounds, it will not last long once my son and I hit the range this spring and summer with the Marlin 25MN. There were two other surprises, these not the last. I had more 40S&W than I had thought and I have less .45 Auto than I would like. As for the .45 Auto, I guess I just gave or traded away too much of the little I had in supply. I guess I still have enough for a fun hour or two at the range or for a couple decent trades. I also was surprised by how much .22LR I have around. It is a substantial amount. Finally, I was absolutely joyful at how many rounds of 9mm I have in my supply. It will make for shooting fun for awhile.
I am not going to give the exact amounts of anything, enough said above already. I used to post my inventory totals but decided against continuing that practice a few years back. Let me just say that if my ammo cache is ever raided by LE, it will be reported on by the media as being an ammo depot or an arsenal's worth of ammo. Then again, if I had a couple of bricks of .22LR and a half case of 9mm, with one box of each of everything else - they would report it the same way. I will admit though, I have a bit more than that.
All the best,
Glenn B
What Caliber Ammo Do You Shoot - What Caliber Ammo Do You Store
I have a fair supply of ammunition. Most of it is in calibers that I shoot regularly, for instance an awful lot of my ammo is in .22LR. Let's face it, it is pretty inexpensive and does not take up all that much space for a lots of rounds. But I also have a decent amount of other ammo on hand and as I said, most of it (by volume) is in calibers that I regularly shoot. The calibers that I shoot on a regular basis are:
.22LR
.223 Remington (grain weight in the 60's)
7.62x39mm
7.62x59R
8mm Mauser
.35 Remington
12 Gauge
.32 Auto
9mm Parabellum (Factoid: Parabellum - from Latin - translates to 'for war')
Then, I also have ammo stored up that I hardly ever, or simply do not, shoot:
.25 ACP
.380 Auto
.38 Special
.357 Magnum
.223 Remington (grain weight in the 50's)
.30 carbine
16 Gauge
I don't have all that much of the stuff that I don't shoot. I used to have a good deal more of it but wound up just giving most of it away, selling it, or trading it. My bad, I kind of wish I had kept it. Same old story, just like with guns - you have one that you decide to sell and you later are filled with regret because you got rid of it. Why on earth though would it be the same story with ammo, why would anyone regret selling, trading or gifting ammo?
For me, the answer to the above question is fairly straightforward, in fact it is simple. I regret selling it because now that I do not have as much I feel less prepared. Less prepared - for what? That last question is not as easy to answer but it is not too hard either. I like to consider myself somewhat prepared for just about anything. A fun day at the range with someone who is going to let me shoot a carbine in .45ACP would be just the thing to perk me up. How do you show your appreciation to a guy who lets you shoot his really neat carbine? You throw him some ammo and use some more during the shoot. The thing is, using my ammo to have a fun day like that is probably one of the lowest priorities on the list of reasons as to why I have the ammo in the first place. There are more important reasons to have ammo on hand, much more important reasons.
I imagine the number one reason I have a good amount of ammunition on hand is for defense of family, self and home. That may sound paranoid to some but when you think about it it is not far fetched at all. Recent events around the world and here on our own soil have shown us the reality of violent protests by radical protesters who simply want to redistribute what you have so they can get it (sound familiar, it should, it was the underlying tenet of communism/socialism and is seemingly the rallying cry of President Obama, Hilary Clinton, Maxine Waters and groups like Occupy and Acorn). It would not surprise me if in the next 2 or 3 years we are faced with an insurgency. There are also radical Islamists who are currently preparing to attack the United States from within and who knows where or when that may happen. Several plots have been discovered and diffused, with the past couple of years, in NY City alone. That is just too close to home for me to be completely unprepared to defend my family and our home. Islamic terrorists and the Islam in general are, in my opinion, one of the worst threats that we face. I think you had better wake up to the fact that the threat is more than real, it is being carried out on a daily basis. Racial tensions are stoked on a regular basis by groups like the Black Panthers and Black Muslims who espouse violence. Some all white militia groups are run by out and out kooks who also espouse racial violence and essentially advocate the use of violence against anyone who disagrees with them. Many Hispanics are calling for the return of California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas to the country of Mexico and are supportive of violent means to accomplish it. Then we have politicians, even the President of these United States making fanning the flames of racism by interfering with local police investigations by making barely veiled racist statements. Then there are the looters and the rogue law enforcement officers that pop up just about every time there is a major natural disaster of large enough scale. Don't know what I mean, then look at the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Police shot down unarmed citizens, removed people from their homes at gunpoint, looted while in uniform - yes there are bad apples among the bunch. Of course, there are just plain citizen and illegal alien looters too. Then we have the threat of war, war that next time around may wind up being fought where most of us least expect to be fighting it. To quote Sir Winston Churchill: "...we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills..." we may wind up fighting within our own borders. It is not all that far fetched - there are many nations around the world that have no love and a lot of hate for the good old U.S. of A. Finally, there is always he threat of guns and ammunition becoming impossible to obtain. We have people in our own government who repeatedly make every effort they can think up to violate our right to keep and bear arms. Those like Charles Senator Schumer, Hillary Clinton, president Obama to name just a few. Schumer wanted to implement something like a 1,000 percent tax on ammunition. Taxes, did I just mention taxes. We have them too and they keep going up along with government imposed fees, fines,mandated expenses (like heath care costs) and that may all fan the flames of an out and out revolution sooner or latter and as each day goes by and axes keep going up, you can probably safely bet it is going to be sooner than later. Do I need go on, I could name at least a few more things.
I guess the above pretty well can explain why I have ammo on hand that I need for the guns I currently own (meaning the ammo I shoot regularly). What about the ammo I have, the stuff I never or rarely shoot because I do not own a gun in the correct caliber to shoot it through. Well if the SHTF big time, if we are actually faced with TEOTWAWKI, that ammo may come in handy. A neighbor may have the gun that shoots it but only a box or so of ammo. I can give him some in return for say a case of water that he may have in store. I won't necessarily have to make a trade like that, heck I may just be happy that he has that gun if it is SHTF time on my block and he heads over to my place looking for bullets. That would me he is in the fight with me. Still though, ammo in various calibers could be a great bartering item. Ammo in calibers that match the calibers of firearms I own is not something that I am about to trade to anyone else except maybe to obtain medical supplies or food and water to alleviate an immediate life threatening emergency. Even then, I would be hesitant to give up my ammo if the overall situation was TEOTWAWKI. It would be much more appealing to me to have ammo on hand that I did not need but that someone else did need because it would be so much easier for me to part with that ammo than with ammo I could use in my guns.
As I think I already mentioned, there are more benign reasons to have ammo on hand that you do not shoot through your own guns, that you keep for other reasons. It is a great gift to give to others. It is a great way to get to shoot your buddies gun in that caliber. It makes for a fun day at the range with your buddy. It also makes for great trade goods to trade to other shooters who may have something you like. Who knows when your buddy, who is a .45 man, winds up wanting to sell that old Savage .22 rifle his uncle left to him in his will. You could maybe trade a few boxes of .45ACP for the rifle. Running out and buying that ammo today to trade for the rifle would be foolish, it would be worse than paying cash for the rifle. You would have to pay for transport o get to the store, pay for the ammo and pay the tax on it at today's rates. But, if you had bought and then properly had stored some .45ACP, say about 5 or 6 years ago, the overall price of it was lower back than than it is now and if properly stored the ammo is as good today as it was when it came out of the factory. Thus, it would have a trade value today at close to the current market price. Heck, maybe you even picked up some ammo for free. Don't tell me you turned it down because you did not own a gun to shoot it through. If you must tell me that, then at least don't tell me that you did not think of me and send the guy my way with the free ammo. I have had offers of free ammo before that I turned down but not in recent years. If it is free, in the box, and in decent condition, I don't care what caliber or gauge or mm size it is, I will take it.
I don't know about you but as for me, I am going to keep on procuring and storing ammo in any caliber I can get when the price is right - such as in free is deeply discounted. If you don't understand why by now, I am afraid you never will understand.
All the best,
Glenn B
.22LR
.223 Remington (grain weight in the 60's)
7.62x39mm
7.62x59R
8mm Mauser
.35 Remington
12 Gauge
.32 Auto
9mm Parabellum (Factoid: Parabellum - from Latin - translates to 'for war')
Then, I also have ammo stored up that I hardly ever, or simply do not, shoot:
.25 ACP
.380 Auto
.38 Special
.357 Magnum
.223 Remington (grain weight in the 50's)
.30 carbine
16 Gauge
I don't have all that much of the stuff that I don't shoot. I used to have a good deal more of it but wound up just giving most of it away, selling it, or trading it. My bad, I kind of wish I had kept it. Same old story, just like with guns - you have one that you decide to sell and you later are filled with regret because you got rid of it. Why on earth though would it be the same story with ammo, why would anyone regret selling, trading or gifting ammo?
For me, the answer to the above question is fairly straightforward, in fact it is simple. I regret selling it because now that I do not have as much I feel less prepared. Less prepared - for what? That last question is not as easy to answer but it is not too hard either. I like to consider myself somewhat prepared for just about anything. A fun day at the range with someone who is going to let me shoot a carbine in .45ACP would be just the thing to perk me up. How do you show your appreciation to a guy who lets you shoot his really neat carbine? You throw him some ammo and use some more during the shoot. The thing is, using my ammo to have a fun day like that is probably one of the lowest priorities on the list of reasons as to why I have the ammo in the first place. There are more important reasons to have ammo on hand, much more important reasons.
I imagine the number one reason I have a good amount of ammunition on hand is for defense of family, self and home. That may sound paranoid to some but when you think about it it is not far fetched at all. Recent events around the world and here on our own soil have shown us the reality of violent protests by radical protesters who simply want to redistribute what you have so they can get it (sound familiar, it should, it was the underlying tenet of communism/socialism and is seemingly the rallying cry of President Obama, Hilary Clinton, Maxine Waters and groups like Occupy and Acorn). It would not surprise me if in the next 2 or 3 years we are faced with an insurgency. There are also radical Islamists who are currently preparing to attack the United States from within and who knows where or when that may happen. Several plots have been discovered and diffused, with the past couple of years, in NY City alone. That is just too close to home for me to be completely unprepared to defend my family and our home. Islamic terrorists and the Islam in general are, in my opinion, one of the worst threats that we face. I think you had better wake up to the fact that the threat is more than real, it is being carried out on a daily basis. Racial tensions are stoked on a regular basis by groups like the Black Panthers and Black Muslims who espouse violence. Some all white militia groups are run by out and out kooks who also espouse racial violence and essentially advocate the use of violence against anyone who disagrees with them. Many Hispanics are calling for the return of California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas to the country of Mexico and are supportive of violent means to accomplish it. Then we have politicians, even the President of these United States making fanning the flames of racism by interfering with local police investigations by making barely veiled racist statements. Then there are the looters and the rogue law enforcement officers that pop up just about every time there is a major natural disaster of large enough scale. Don't know what I mean, then look at the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Police shot down unarmed citizens, removed people from their homes at gunpoint, looted while in uniform - yes there are bad apples among the bunch. Of course, there are just plain citizen and illegal alien looters too. Then we have the threat of war, war that next time around may wind up being fought where most of us least expect to be fighting it. To quote Sir Winston Churchill: "...we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills..." we may wind up fighting within our own borders. It is not all that far fetched - there are many nations around the world that have no love and a lot of hate for the good old U.S. of A. Finally, there is always he threat of guns and ammunition becoming impossible to obtain. We have people in our own government who repeatedly make every effort they can think up to violate our right to keep and bear arms. Those like Charles Senator Schumer, Hillary Clinton, president Obama to name just a few. Schumer wanted to implement something like a 1,000 percent tax on ammunition. Taxes, did I just mention taxes. We have them too and they keep going up along with government imposed fees, fines,mandated expenses (like heath care costs) and that may all fan the flames of an out and out revolution sooner or latter and as each day goes by and axes keep going up, you can probably safely bet it is going to be sooner than later. Do I need go on, I could name at least a few more things.
I guess the above pretty well can explain why I have ammo on hand that I need for the guns I currently own (meaning the ammo I shoot regularly). What about the ammo I have, the stuff I never or rarely shoot because I do not own a gun in the correct caliber to shoot it through. Well if the SHTF big time, if we are actually faced with TEOTWAWKI, that ammo may come in handy. A neighbor may have the gun that shoots it but only a box or so of ammo. I can give him some in return for say a case of water that he may have in store. I won't necessarily have to make a trade like that, heck I may just be happy that he has that gun if it is SHTF time on my block and he heads over to my place looking for bullets. That would me he is in the fight with me. Still though, ammo in various calibers could be a great bartering item. Ammo in calibers that match the calibers of firearms I own is not something that I am about to trade to anyone else except maybe to obtain medical supplies or food and water to alleviate an immediate life threatening emergency. Even then, I would be hesitant to give up my ammo if the overall situation was TEOTWAWKI. It would be much more appealing to me to have ammo on hand that I did not need but that someone else did need because it would be so much easier for me to part with that ammo than with ammo I could use in my guns.
As I think I already mentioned, there are more benign reasons to have ammo on hand that you do not shoot through your own guns, that you keep for other reasons. It is a great gift to give to others. It is a great way to get to shoot your buddies gun in that caliber. It makes for a fun day at the range with your buddy. It also makes for great trade goods to trade to other shooters who may have something you like. Who knows when your buddy, who is a .45 man, winds up wanting to sell that old Savage .22 rifle his uncle left to him in his will. You could maybe trade a few boxes of .45ACP for the rifle. Running out and buying that ammo today to trade for the rifle would be foolish, it would be worse than paying cash for the rifle. You would have to pay for transport o get to the store, pay for the ammo and pay the tax on it at today's rates. But, if you had bought and then properly had stored some .45ACP, say about 5 or 6 years ago, the overall price of it was lower back than than it is now and if properly stored the ammo is as good today as it was when it came out of the factory. Thus, it would have a trade value today at close to the current market price. Heck, maybe you even picked up some ammo for free. Don't tell me you turned it down because you did not own a gun to shoot it through. If you must tell me that, then at least don't tell me that you did not think of me and send the guy my way with the free ammo. I have had offers of free ammo before that I turned down but not in recent years. If it is free, in the box, and in decent condition, I don't care what caliber or gauge or mm size it is, I will take it.
I don't know about you but as for me, I am going to keep on procuring and storing ammo in any caliber I can get when the price is right - such as in free is deeply discounted. If you don't understand why by now, I am afraid you never will understand.
All the best,
Glenn B
Friday, March 30, 2012
The New "High Quality" (sarcasm alert) Wolf Military Classic Ammunition
I recently ordered 500 rounds of Wolf Military Classic, 7.62x39mm, HP ammunition from Sportsmansguide.com. The order arrived yesterday. When I opened it up, I was surprised to see what was either new packaging for Wolf Performance Ammunition brand ammo or counterfeit merchandise. Nowhere on the ammo boxes was the Wolf name in evidence, instead it was marked WPA. The printing job on the boxes looked inferior to that of the older Wolf ammo packaging, some of the printing was smeared. I opened one box and took a look at the rounds. The case heads were not stamped with the WOLF logo as has been the case in the past. While the case was indeed stamped with the round size designation is was almost illegible. There was also another unfamiliar, to me, marking on the case head and that too was basically illegible. It seemed that the stamping was done very weakly and that quality control must have faltered or maybe it was counterfeit product. All the alarms went off and I shot an email out to Sportsmansguide last night. They responded today saying they were certain this was legitimate Wolf ammunition and they cannot account for changes to packaging or changes to how ammunition is manufactured by Wolf. They reminded me they do not accept returns on ammunition unless defective. Oh did I forget to mention the defect - there was no red sealant between the primer and the casing, I did not forget to mention that in my email to Sportsmansguide. That to me is a glaring defect in any currently manufactured military ammunition.
I also contacted Wolf ammunition with an email through their 'contact us' link. They too got back to me earlier today telling me: "This is a troubling issue that he would like to speak to you about on the phone." So, I gave them a call. The representative I spoke to at Wolf assured me that the packaging is their new look. He also told me that they no longer place sealant around the primer. When I asked 'why not', he said this was due to a decision at the new factory that Wolf is using to produce the ammo. He gave me the name, someplace beginning with a B, maybe Baikal, in Russia I think since it says made in Russia on the boxes. I asked why they would do that and at first he said he did not know, then he said probably because they have received complaints from customers who claim the sealant makes their rifles jam. Probably the same customers who fire a several hundred rounds through their rifle without cleaning it properly, then expect it to work well on their next range trip a month or two later. When I also asked about the lack of the Wolf logo on the shell casings, the rep said the new mark is that of the new factory but that will change to the Wolf logo sooner or later. He said they were using this factory to increase ammo production because this ammunition was so hard to get. As for me I had not known of a recent shortage, did you?
When I addressed the very poor quality of the stampings on the shell casings, he sort of side stepped the question just saying that the logo that was on the shell casing is that of the new factory they are using. My guess is that by new factory he does not mean a newly built manufacturing plant but does mean Wolf's new affiliation with said factory. After me expressing my concerns about quality control or the apparent lack of it and my concerns over whether or not this ammo will be suitable for long term storage without primer sealant and my concerns about whether or not it will be safe to shoot - he assured me this ammunition is good for long term storage and is safe to shoot as it is 'high quality Military Classic Wolf Performance Ammunition'.
Furthermore, he said if I shoot it and have any problems, I can return it to Wolf because they have a 100% satisfaction guarantee. If I have any problems when I shoot it, heck that might be too late if one of the casings ruptures! Babbling Businessmen Batman, I had been on the phone with him expressing my dissatisfaction with this ammunition for about 10 minutes already - how did he miss that. Anyway, as it turned out, I told him I would give it a shot. After I hung up, I gave some more thought to the conversation I just had with him and about what seems to me to be strong signs of reduced quality of Wolf Military Classic ammunition and I rethought whether or not I should shoot this stuff. I then sent off another email to Wolf, this time with the following scanned image:
I am awaiting their reply but somehow I get the feeling that, even if they wind up exchanging this for something of higher quality, my future purchases of Wolf ammunition may be curtailed until it is apparent that quality control has returned to the level at which it had been with Wolf ammo in the past.
Lest anyone think that the single shell casing above was a fluke, I decided to scan all 20 rounds that came in one box of this ammunition. Here is that picture:
All the best,
Glenn B
I also contacted Wolf ammunition with an email through their 'contact us' link. They too got back to me earlier today telling me: "This is a troubling issue that he would like to speak to you about on the phone." So, I gave them a call. The representative I spoke to at Wolf assured me that the packaging is their new look. He also told me that they no longer place sealant around the primer. When I asked 'why not', he said this was due to a decision at the new factory that Wolf is using to produce the ammo. He gave me the name, someplace beginning with a B, maybe Baikal, in Russia I think since it says made in Russia on the boxes. I asked why they would do that and at first he said he did not know, then he said probably because they have received complaints from customers who claim the sealant makes their rifles jam. Probably the same customers who fire a several hundred rounds through their rifle without cleaning it properly, then expect it to work well on their next range trip a month or two later. When I also asked about the lack of the Wolf logo on the shell casings, the rep said the new mark is that of the new factory but that will change to the Wolf logo sooner or later. He said they were using this factory to increase ammo production because this ammunition was so hard to get. As for me I had not known of a recent shortage, did you?
When I addressed the very poor quality of the stampings on the shell casings, he sort of side stepped the question just saying that the logo that was on the shell casing is that of the new factory they are using. My guess is that by new factory he does not mean a newly built manufacturing plant but does mean Wolf's new affiliation with said factory. After me expressing my concerns about quality control or the apparent lack of it and my concerns over whether or not this ammo will be suitable for long term storage without primer sealant and my concerns about whether or not it will be safe to shoot - he assured me this ammunition is good for long term storage and is safe to shoot as it is 'high quality Military Classic Wolf Performance Ammunition'.
Furthermore, he said if I shoot it and have any problems, I can return it to Wolf because they have a 100% satisfaction guarantee. If I have any problems when I shoot it, heck that might be too late if one of the casings ruptures! Babbling Businessmen Batman, I had been on the phone with him expressing my dissatisfaction with this ammunition for about 10 minutes already - how did he miss that. Anyway, as it turned out, I told him I would give it a shot. After I hung up, I gave some more thought to the conversation I just had with him and about what seems to me to be strong signs of reduced quality of Wolf Military Classic ammunition and I rethought whether or not I should shoot this stuff. I then sent off another email to Wolf, this time with the following scanned image:
Now remember, this is a scan of the shell casings. They are both directly on the glass of my scanner. I know this is not as good as a crisp photo taken with a great camera but I do not have a great camera and I am pretty sure I could not focus my now falling apart older camera well enough to get close in like that. Still you get a good comparison of an older Wolf Military Classic casing with a new one. Note, the scanner should have focused equally on each since both are right next to each other and directly on the glass so any fuzziness on one is equal on the other. The poor stamping quality thus is evident on the newer round.
Those casings are only about the width of a shell casing apart. The older Wolf Military Classic ammunition, the stuff I think had higher quality is the one on your left. It clearly shows the WOLF logo stamped into the casing and also clearly shows the cartridge size. The one on your right is the new Wolf ammunition that I received from Sportsmansguide yesterday. It is typical of all the other rounds in the box in which it had been packed. I do not know about you but I think that the stamping quality sucks. I cannot even read the number 7 in 7.62 and the rest is difficult to read at best. In addition, you can clearly see that the sealant is absent. They may call this ammunition Military Classic but there seems nothing military or classic about it to me. Military ammo is known for having sealant around the primers. Along with the picture, I sent my reiterated concerns and I also asked Wolf a question. I requested that, after objectively looking at the scan, they answer this one question for me:
Is what you see, in the shell casing without the sealant and with the poor stamping, really high quality Wolf Military Classic ammunition?
I am awaiting their reply but somehow I get the feeling that, even if they wind up exchanging this for something of higher quality, my future purchases of Wolf ammunition may be curtailed until it is apparent that quality control has returned to the level at which it had been with Wolf ammo in the past.
Lest anyone think that the single shell casing above was a fluke, I decided to scan all 20 rounds that came in one box of this ammunition. Here is that picture:
Again, I cannot speak for anyone else, but to me it looks as if Wolf quality control, at least at the new factory with regard to this lot of ammo, has been flushed down the toilet. Once I hear back from them, in reply to my last email, I will give you an update. I truly am hopeful that they will up the quality of this stuff and that they will go back to placing the sealant around the primers again. Wolf Performance Ammunition, Military Classic or otherwise, had always been a really good buy, in my opinion, because it was a pretty high quality product. I'd love to find out the manufacture of this lot was just a temporary aberration and see Wolf keep up the quality for which it was known to me before I got this particular ammo.
All the best,
Glenn B
People Can Be Idiots - Just Too Funny Not To Share
Man some of them were truly idiots, others maybe just had bad luck.
All the best,
GB
Blogger New Look
I just checked out the new look for the Blogger interface. it sucks but that is what you get when you use a free service and Googlephiles ruin it.
Luckily I was able to get back to the older format. They say it is coming in April, hopefully it will not be forced on us. But if so, oh well...
All the best,
GB
Luckily I was able to get back to the older format. They say it is coming in April, hopefully it will not be forced on us. But if so, oh well...
All the best,
GB
Thursday, March 29, 2012
LEOSA Card
I got my LEOSA cad today. Next step is for me to go qualify to make carry under LEOSA effective and legal for me. I have scheduled a trip to the Rockland County Sheriff's Office range to do just that on April 18. If I find something closer to home and sooner, I may change my plans.
All the best,
Glenn B
All the best,
Glenn B
Another Passed On Into The Sunset
It is with a saddened heart that I tell you I just found out that Newbius of the Newbius Papers passed away suddenly on Tuesday. I got sad news over at MArooned.
I never met the man, but read his blog fairly often. It was one with good commentary and with the cartoon Day By Day inset on a regular basis. Newbius' final post there was on March 13. It seems the blog content cannot be accessed from the main right now page but you can look at older posts by clicking on the link to his last post then working you way back using the 'older post' link at the bottom of each post.
My thoughts, prayers and well wishes go out to his family and loved ones.
All the best,
Glenn B
I never met the man, but read his blog fairly often. It was one with good commentary and with the cartoon Day By Day inset on a regular basis. Newbius' final post there was on March 13. It seems the blog content cannot be accessed from the main right now page but you can look at older posts by clicking on the link to his last post then working you way back using the 'older post' link at the bottom of each post.
My thoughts, prayers and well wishes go out to his family and loved ones.
All the best,
Glenn B
Too Late For The Sleeping English. When Will The Non-Muslims of America Wake Up?
For quite the while now, my guess has been that it is virtually too late for the non-Muslims of Great Britain. I think that their country is assured that short of a major uprising by non-Muslims, the chances of which I see as very remote, Great Britain, at least England, will be ruled by Islamists within a few to ten years at most. I mean absolutely ruled as in England becoming a Muslim nation with little to no tolerance for non-Muslims. I think the next major country seen as a target for conquest by Islam is the United States of America or Canada. In the USA, such a takeover could occur within 20 years.
If you don't think my thoughts are spot on, then watch this video.
Apparently made by a young woman, probably in her twenties, it is a video about the neighborhood in which she used to live. The video shows a Muslim mob parading through the streets chanting for death to British police among other things. The area used to be English, it is not any more no matter the official 'citizenship' of the marchers because they obviously do not consider themselves to be British or to be under British law. Yet, the Muslim man talking to the English young lady, while saying he does not respect British law, says he is protesting under Britain's so called freedom of speech(I say so called because if white or brown or black people in England held a rally like that they likely would be arrested for making racist statements, which is a criminal offense in England)., who were not Muslims,
Take a good look at the English lady, how old do you think is she? My guess would be mid twenties to young thirties at the very oldest when the video was made. She already worked at the airport there, so was an adult, before she moved away. Then she went back to check claims it had become overrun by Muslim extremists (really regular Muslims as I see them). How long could it have been since she had lived there, maybe 10 years. So, it was probably less than 10 years for her neighborhood to become infested with the hatred espoused by radical Islam. Do you really think it would take much longer in America? Just look to Dearborn, MI. It is time to wake up and defend ourselves from this threat. It is not a religion as I see it, I see it as a form of tyrannical government masquerading as a religion. We need, I think, to deal with it as such and end the threat that is already simmering within our own borders.
By the way, if you did not catch it, go back and watch the video again and listen carefully to the last spoken sentence. It is, in my view, the all telling one about what Muslims believe about conquering the world.
All the best,
Glenn B
If you don't think my thoughts are spot on, then watch this video.
Apparently made by a young woman, probably in her twenties, it is a video about the neighborhood in which she used to live. The video shows a Muslim mob parading through the streets chanting for death to British police among other things. The area used to be English, it is not any more no matter the official 'citizenship' of the marchers because they obviously do not consider themselves to be British or to be under British law. Yet, the Muslim man talking to the English young lady, while saying he does not respect British law, says he is protesting under Britain's so called freedom of speech(I say so called because if white or brown or black people in England held a rally like that they likely would be arrested for making racist statements, which is a criminal offense in England)., who were not Muslims,
Take a good look at the English lady, how old do you think is she? My guess would be mid twenties to young thirties at the very oldest when the video was made. She already worked at the airport there, so was an adult, before she moved away. Then she went back to check claims it had become overrun by Muslim extremists (really regular Muslims as I see them). How long could it have been since she had lived there, maybe 10 years. So, it was probably less than 10 years for her neighborhood to become infested with the hatred espoused by radical Islam. Do you really think it would take much longer in America? Just look to Dearborn, MI. It is time to wake up and defend ourselves from this threat. It is not a religion as I see it, I see it as a form of tyrannical government masquerading as a religion. We need, I think, to deal with it as such and end the threat that is already simmering within our own borders.
By the way, if you did not catch it, go back and watch the video again and listen carefully to the last spoken sentence. It is, in my view, the all telling one about what Muslims believe about conquering the world.
All the best,
Glenn B
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Farewell To North
Well, it seems we are losing one of the good blogs or at least any further posting on it. North has decided, not to delete his blog, but to stop blogging. One has to hope it is temporary. I only recently became acquainted with his blog but it is an interesting one for sure. I am hopeful he will reconsider by staying with it and maybe just posting less frequently. One can hope.
All the best,
Glenn B
All the best,
Glenn B
Monday, March 26, 2012
At Long Last - A Trip To The Range With Some Pistols
It had been way too long since I had been to the range to shoot my pistols. Being that I retired in November and they were locked up at my old office until I got my pistol permit, I did not have the chance to shoot them from November through March 15th, the day the license was issued. I finally went to the local indoor range yesterday afternoon.
I only wanted to bring 2 or 3 and limited myself to that out of my 8 handguns. So with 8 to choose from - 3 of which are Beretta 92 series pistols, I gave it a bit of thought and decided on a Beretta 92FS, the Glock 26 and my Ruger Mark II. I don't think I could have made a better selection. I wanted to bring the Glock because it will probably wind up as my regular carry piece. As for the Beretta 92FS, the Glock has to be sent in for a replacement of the sights so I am going to need an alternate carry piece while the Glock is absent. I currently have Tritium night sights on the Glock 26 but the front sight has lost its mojo. All of a sudden at the NRA training class I was at last spring, the front sight got very dim. Glock said to send it in for repair but then I got hit with the big C and forgot all about it. I'll contact Glock, probably this afternoon, about making arrangements to send it to them for repair. I think, I'll have regular sights put on as replacements for the night sights. As for the third gun I brought along, I figured something in .22LR would be nice in the event the 9mm gave me to much of a jarring from the recoil.
It turned out I was pretty much right on thinking I should bring a pistol in .22LR with me. After shooting about 120 rounds of 9mm through the Glock and then about 150 rounds through the Beretta, I needed a break from the NATO pea shooter round because the recoil did pain me some. Please don't laugh, I know it sounds funny, saying that NATO Pea Shooter 9mm round had that much recoil but after 7 weeks of cancer treatments, followed by about another 3 1/2 months of doing virtually no exercise at all combined with arthritis/bursitis and all I can say is I took a pounding from that measly round. So I switched to firing the Ruger. I shot around 50 rounds out of the Ruger, then another 50 rounds out of it while alternating between the Ruger and the Beretta out of which I fired another 6 full magazines in with about another 90 rounds. In all, I shot up about 470 rounds of ammo, 370 of that being 9mm and 100 being .22LR. It was a fun hour.
As for my shooting, I did fairly well but need some practice with an eye toward improvement. It wasn't really bad but not really good either but I haven't shot since October and had all that shit in between so I am still satisfied with how I shot. I used the blank side of an NRA 50', slowfire, pistol target. At 7 yards I did okay with about a group that was spread 5 3/4" vertically and 3 1/2" horizontally, at 10 yards my widest spread was 6 3/8", at 15 yards it was 7 1/2", and at 25 yards it was 9 3/4. Yep, I sure can use some improvement but at least I had them all on a chest sized piece of paper and I am quite happy with that for my first pistol shoot after way too long of feeling way too crappy to shoot.
I don't know if it made a difference but I was shooting 2 or 3 different brands of 9mm ammo. I suppose that could have caused my groups to open up a bit more than if it had all been one type of ammo. I truly don't think it made that much of a difference and as I said, I think more practice is needed with an eye toward improving group sizes and toward just having fun. I will point out, if I had shot like that for a qualification course when I was still a LEO, I at least would have shot 245 out of 250 and maybe just would have been in there enough to have scored a perfect score of 250. It certainly would have been more than good enough for qualification by far, it is just I would like it to be better.
Speaking about law enforcement, I met another retired federal worked, Bill, at the range while shooting. He was on the point next to mine. He used to work for the USPS. Seemed like a nice gentleman. We talked just a bit and it wound up getting to politics. After talking to him, I think there is hope that November will bring change.
All the best,
Glenn B
I only wanted to bring 2 or 3 and limited myself to that out of my 8 handguns. So with 8 to choose from - 3 of which are Beretta 92 series pistols, I gave it a bit of thought and decided on a Beretta 92FS, the Glock 26 and my Ruger Mark II. I don't think I could have made a better selection. I wanted to bring the Glock because it will probably wind up as my regular carry piece. As for the Beretta 92FS, the Glock has to be sent in for a replacement of the sights so I am going to need an alternate carry piece while the Glock is absent. I currently have Tritium night sights on the Glock 26 but the front sight has lost its mojo. All of a sudden at the NRA training class I was at last spring, the front sight got very dim. Glock said to send it in for repair but then I got hit with the big C and forgot all about it. I'll contact Glock, probably this afternoon, about making arrangements to send it to them for repair. I think, I'll have regular sights put on as replacements for the night sights. As for the third gun I brought along, I figured something in .22LR would be nice in the event the 9mm gave me to much of a jarring from the recoil.
It turned out I was pretty much right on thinking I should bring a pistol in .22LR with me. After shooting about 120 rounds of 9mm through the Glock and then about 150 rounds through the Beretta, I needed a break from the NATO pea shooter round because the recoil did pain me some. Please don't laugh, I know it sounds funny, saying that NATO Pea Shooter 9mm round had that much recoil but after 7 weeks of cancer treatments, followed by about another 3 1/2 months of doing virtually no exercise at all combined with arthritis/bursitis and all I can say is I took a pounding from that measly round. So I switched to firing the Ruger. I shot around 50 rounds out of the Ruger, then another 50 rounds out of it while alternating between the Ruger and the Beretta out of which I fired another 6 full magazines in with about another 90 rounds. In all, I shot up about 470 rounds of ammo, 370 of that being 9mm and 100 being .22LR. It was a fun hour.
As for my shooting, I did fairly well but need some practice with an eye toward improvement. It wasn't really bad but not really good either but I haven't shot since October and had all that shit in between so I am still satisfied with how I shot. I used the blank side of an NRA 50', slowfire, pistol target. At 7 yards I did okay with about a group that was spread 5 3/4" vertically and 3 1/2" horizontally, at 10 yards my widest spread was 6 3/8", at 15 yards it was 7 1/2", and at 25 yards it was 9 3/4. Yep, I sure can use some improvement but at least I had them all on a chest sized piece of paper and I am quite happy with that for my first pistol shoot after way too long of feeling way too crappy to shoot.
I don't know if it made a difference but I was shooting 2 or 3 different brands of 9mm ammo. I suppose that could have caused my groups to open up a bit more than if it had all been one type of ammo. I truly don't think it made that much of a difference and as I said, I think more practice is needed with an eye toward improving group sizes and toward just having fun. I will point out, if I had shot like that for a qualification course when I was still a LEO, I at least would have shot 245 out of 250 and maybe just would have been in there enough to have scored a perfect score of 250. It certainly would have been more than good enough for qualification by far, it is just I would like it to be better.
Speaking about law enforcement, I met another retired federal worked, Bill, at the range while shooting. He was on the point next to mine. He used to work for the USPS. Seemed like a nice gentleman. We talked just a bit and it wound up getting to politics. After talking to him, I think there is hope that November will bring change.
All the best,
Glenn B
More Information on the Trayvon Martin Case
An interesting read about Trayvon Martin and the incident leading up to his death.
http://dumbolddad.blogspot.com/2012/03/since-our-entire-country-is-about-to.html
I figured there might be some additional information coming out soon and it is at the above link. If it is all true then it appears to be a very different story than portrayed by the media and by Mr. Martin's supporters. The 911 tape sounds pretty real to me, and if unaltered, I owe an apology to Mr. Zimmerman for saying I thought he was an asshole. On the tape it becomes quite obvious that he stopped following Mr. Martin almost immediately after the 911 operator told him that they did not need him to follow Mr. Martin. There is other info at the link besides a link to the 911 tape, such as photos of the guy who has been made out to have been an 'angel'. He seems far from that.
It seems this may be another Tawana Brawley case or another Duke University case (remember the Lacrosse team). It comes as no real surprise if so, not with how the media handles such cases nor with how the African-American community seems to invariably demonize the European-American community when such things happen. It does appear that Mr. Zimmerman may indeed have been in fear of threat of imminent serious bodily harm to himself or that he was about to lose his life.
Hat tip to the Feral Irishman for making me aware of the above link.
All the best,
Glenn B
http://dumbolddad.blogspot.com/2012/03/since-our-entire-country-is-about-to.html
I figured there might be some additional information coming out soon and it is at the above link. If it is all true then it appears to be a very different story than portrayed by the media and by Mr. Martin's supporters. The 911 tape sounds pretty real to me, and if unaltered, I owe an apology to Mr. Zimmerman for saying I thought he was an asshole. On the tape it becomes quite obvious that he stopped following Mr. Martin almost immediately after the 911 operator told him that they did not need him to follow Mr. Martin. There is other info at the link besides a link to the 911 tape, such as photos of the guy who has been made out to have been an 'angel'. He seems far from that.
It seems this may be another Tawana Brawley case or another Duke University case (remember the Lacrosse team). It comes as no real surprise if so, not with how the media handles such cases nor with how the African-American community seems to invariably demonize the European-American community when such things happen. It does appear that Mr. Zimmerman may indeed have been in fear of threat of imminent serious bodily harm to himself or that he was about to lose his life.
Hat tip to the Feral Irishman for making me aware of the above link.
All the best,
Glenn B
Sunday, March 25, 2012
TEOTWAWKI Guns & Ammo or Food & Water
One of my readers, Eric, asked a really good question, in the comments section of my recent post about buying ammo in which I mentioned preparing for TEOTWAWKI (The End Of The World As We Know It). The question, one that always has provoked a lot of activity among my little gray cells, is one that is not always so easy to answer because the answer to it depends in great part upon what form TEOTWAWKI takes. Does it catch us prepared or unprepared. Does it come quickly or does it develop somewhat slowly over time. Is it a natural disaster that brings it about or is it a man made catastrophe such as a world war that would likely last longer than a natural cataclysm. There can be an awful lot of answers depending not only on the different types of situation we may face. The answer to his question also may depend upon our preparation for TEOTWAWKI, and upon our own make-up - our will to survive and that can be different for each person. When it comes down to it, the right answer may depend fully upon the final outcome of any given person's attempt to overcome any set of circumstances relative to the situation in which he finds himself.
Me? I do have an answer it will just take a bit getting to it, just as it has taken me time to get to the actual question. Without further delay, let me tell you the very basic and seemingly simple question that Eric asked me but that has provoked the frantic activity of my little gray cells, even in the nether regions of my brain, and that has resulted in my very long answer:
"... what do you think is more important in a End of The World situation?.... ammo and weapons, or food and water?.... just curious..."
My Answer (this has been edited by me over the hour or two since I first published this, although the answer is essentially the same):
As far as prepping ahead of time goes, for something like a natural disaster, I would say it is sort of a toss up. If you are well prepared, say for a natural disaster like the aftermath of a Hurricane Katrina or for the massive earthquake they keep saying will hit California sooner or later, then you would have both guns and ammo AND food and water. Chances are that neither of these will bring total collapse of the government or of the infrastructure there to help us. Even if it does do so, it would likely not be long lasting in as much as help arriving would go. You might need to make it a week or two or maybe a month without help and without being able to gather supplies from outside your shelter. In a case like that, you want to have enough food and water on hand to last and enough firepower to protect yourself from vandals and looters.
The same thing sort of goes for a totally man made TEOTWAWKI situation such as a war on our own soil, or a major civil disturbance such as a revolution but that would likely be much longer lasting than the great majority of states of emergency caused by natural forces. It is great if you have them all, guns, ammo, food, water and so on and you are secure with them in your home or another shelter of some sort. Food and water are necessary for survival, you cannot survive long without water and not all too much longer without food. The difference is, if there is a total breakdown of life as we know it, and yes it can happen, such as a major war or insurrection on our soil, other people may be the primary threat you face as to deprivation of your life sustaining supplies. Not only would they be a threat similar to looters, after a natural disaster, but they may also see you as their enemy and be bent upon your destruction instead of merely stealing your supplies. They may also be well armed and well organized, something that vandals and looters are often not.
So which is more important in my view. I kind of think they are equally important for overall survival considerations when preparing for a really bad situation like an immediate SHTF or TEOTWAWKI due to natural calamity. It is that really bad situation for which I am preparing. I think we may face either a revolution or world war - on our soil - sometime within the remainder of my lifetime. I am preparing with stores of food, water, arms and other things. Not just for that but for a natural disaster or even an economic depression too. I also think other things are important to survival such as the know how needed to get food and water, in the event you do not have enough, and I must admit I could use a lot more knowledge there and have been getting it bit by bit. I try to do all that I can do to prepare. I think each aspect important. Then again, there are times when one may be more important, in fact the most important to survival.
What could be more important than food or water for our survival? Even more important are the will and the ability to fight to survive. If you have the will to survive then you had best arm yourself. If you look at situations like the American Revolution, or the Civil War both on our soil and both of which truly were TEOTWAWKI for those involved - if not for guns and ammo the outcomes of each would have been much different for those being oppressed or who were the targets of aggression. There are also other more recent examples around the world.
The example I am about to give may seem to be one that has been used and used again and again to the point where it seems over used. Yet, it has a lot to teach us about survival by looking at they who did not survive and they who did and at those who survived better than others. I make the comparison I am about to make with all due respect. I am not judging anyone over their convictions but I am going to give the rationale of why I believe some survived while others did not and why some, even if they perished in the fight, had better chance at surviving than others. Look at the Jewish people of pre-WWII Europe, who for the most part had few weapons and did not broadly prepare for survival. Yes, they prepared for hard times somewhat. They worked hard, they reaped the fruits of their labors. They saved money. They had some stores of food and some had stored wealth. They prepared spiritually. Yet, most did not have firearms. Most did not have the will to use violence to survive. most never thought something the likes of what was about to happen could happen even when it had already commenced most kept their heads buried in the sand. For the most part, the European Jews did not fight against the Nazis and Germany. Their supplies of food and water went to feed and quench the thirsts of their enemies. Their wealth went into the coffers of their oppressors and was used to help fund the very same war efforts that were used against.
Compare those people to some who did prepare to fight back even though overwhelmed and oppressed - those few in the French Resistance. No matter how much folks like to joke about the French, they do have a history rich in instances of them being ready and willing to fight. The Jewish people, we know what happened to most of the Jews of Europe. They were mostly unarmed, without the will to fight, rounded up into ghettos, then imprisoned, then outright killed or forced into labor. Those who lived to labor were deprived of food and water. Sadly the outcome was that so many, if not actually most of their population, lost their lives. There were tens of millions of Jews in Europe before the war and 12 or 13 million less after the war due solely to the dreams of a deranged master race that wanted to wipe them off the face of the earth and that does not count the ones who were lucky enough to have fled the persecution. Who would have believed it could have happened before the war and before the roundups started. Not many except for a handful of madmen whose dream it was to do it.
Ask yourself now, how could the outcome for them have been different in WWII had they been better prepared for TEOTWAWKI. Again, I am not judging them but I am giving a very hard look at what they did not do and otherwise could have done to avoid the outcome that so many of them met. I am learning from history. The one thing I have learned, that I truly believe that would have made the difference would have been had they been armed and willing to fight for their survival. Sure there are many other things that came into play but again, the most important aspect of their lives that led to their downfall under the Nazis was that they were not prepared to risk survival by arming themselves and fighting to survive. Think of how that could have been different had they been armed and willing to fight. We know it worked out better for the French in great part because of the resistance, because they were at least somewhat ready and somewhat willing and they were armed.
I think, in a situation like that, guns and ammo and whatever other weapons you can muster are one of the most important keys to survival. With them, you can not only protect what you have but you can go out and obtain, from others, what you do not have. I am not saying we should go out and pillage and plunder at every opportunity, I am talking about a TEOTWAWKI situation, such as a war, that could arise in our lifetimes. Think that is far fetched? We need to remember that the Axis Powers took over almost all of Europe in almost no time and then commenced killing of not only 12-13 million or so Jewish people but also of at least another 10 million, all too often forgotten about, non-Jews. They dies in the gas chambers, ovens and concentration camps and few died fighting for their lives. We also need to bear in mind that it happened as recently as within the last 3/4 of a century. It was in modern times and the government, on which so many had depended, was not there to help. The fact was that the government was the oppressor and other nations were already busy fighting the war and were incapable of helping while the war raged on. So who was there to help if not they themselves and they were, for the vast majority of them, unarmed and not willing to fight.
Think that a rare occurrence? Think again. There have been similar catastrophes since. There was Joesph Stalin killing millions of his own people and others that he oppressed; the estimates range from a few million to over 15 million and are seemingly incalculable. Then look east to Cambodia and Pol Pot. It is estimated that he killed off 800,000 to 3 million of his own people in Cambodia in the mid to late 1970's. That was only about 35 years ago. Look also to Africa. We hear, repeatedly, in the news about tyrants in African nations who are destroying populations of one ethnic group or another. It is ongoing. Look also toward Iran and their repeated calls for the utter destruction of Israel and the Jewish people. Look at the so called Muslim 'extremists' who are bent on ruling the world and who kill in the name of their god on a daily basis. Then look back to the example of WWII. When you think about it, there were some before WWII who cried out in alarm. They were looked at by most as being paranoid. Few saw it coming, fewer prepared for it, most just ignored it and lived on blissfully until the world as they knew it ended and a new world began, a terrible world. The same thing is happening today and if the world does become a terrible place again, I want to be prepared to help make it well again.
So what could have made the difference in WWII or any of TEOTWAWKI situations mentioned. Well, mostly being prepared for bad times. having food, having water, having shelter and having the means and will by which to protect them. The will is within the psyche, the means are within your own private store of guns and ammunition. Yep, I think guns and ammo are very important in any situation like that as are food and water, in fact equally important as are food and water and shelter. There are also times though, in TEOTWAWKI situations, (mind you not SHTF situations like you are lost in the woods, or your plane crashes in the middle of the desert) when guns and ammo are more important. As I said it depends and what it depends upon is the situation you are facing. You cannot know for sure what situation you will in the upcoming year, nor the next month, not even tomorrow or later today. Yet, you can prepare for almost any of them.
In preparation you should stock up everything you might need. I was about to key in "enough of everything" but there is no way to know what will be enough either. How much would be enough is probably a topic best reserved for another post but I will address it very briefly here. Enough food and water would be an amount to last at least 3 months, better yet a year with enough for each of your family members. Having that much water on hand is almost impossible for the average person. I sure do not have the means nor the room to store it. A lot of food is easier to store but again there is difficult getting it, long lasting survival foods are expensive. Of course you can buy as I have started to do, a bit at a time and build up your stores. As for guns and ammo, I buy them not only for survival but because I enjoy shooting and enjoy it a lot. I like to have extra ammo on hand for several reasons. The first being so I always have a supply to shoot for fun. The second being for survival in the event of TEOTWAWKI. The next reason goes toward both of the first two, I am concerned that the government will be successful at implementing laws that will make it almost impossible or actually impossible to purchase firearms or ammunition in the near future. So I want to have enough on hand to last a long time. In that regard, I ought to start buying some firearms parts too. I am lacking in that regard for sure.
Let's face it, the government putting an end to the right to keep and bear arms, or severely restricting firearms ownership, has happened before in many countries, when it has happened tyranny was sure to follow. If and when tyranny rears its ugly head here, well that is when TEOTWAWKI will have arrived and we will need to do something drastic to assure we are left with shelter and enough food and water to survive. The only way we will be able to do that is if we arm ourselves in the here and now and prepare to fight to survive. So, I guess when it comes right down to it - in the event of TEOTWAWKI coming in the form of breakdown of our government and disregard for our Constitution and implementation of tyranny or in the event of invasion or insurrection - I believe that the most important survival items I could have, so long as I maintain the will to fight for the survival of my family and myself, are weapons like guns and ammo.
All the best,
Glenn B
Me? I do have an answer it will just take a bit getting to it, just as it has taken me time to get to the actual question. Without further delay, let me tell you the very basic and seemingly simple question that Eric asked me but that has provoked the frantic activity of my little gray cells, even in the nether regions of my brain, and that has resulted in my very long answer:
"... what do you think is more important in a End of The World situation?.... ammo and weapons, or food and water?.... just curious..."
My Answer (this has been edited by me over the hour or two since I first published this, although the answer is essentially the same):
As far as prepping ahead of time goes, for something like a natural disaster, I would say it is sort of a toss up. If you are well prepared, say for a natural disaster like the aftermath of a Hurricane Katrina or for the massive earthquake they keep saying will hit California sooner or later, then you would have both guns and ammo AND food and water. Chances are that neither of these will bring total collapse of the government or of the infrastructure there to help us. Even if it does do so, it would likely not be long lasting in as much as help arriving would go. You might need to make it a week or two or maybe a month without help and without being able to gather supplies from outside your shelter. In a case like that, you want to have enough food and water on hand to last and enough firepower to protect yourself from vandals and looters.
The same thing sort of goes for a totally man made TEOTWAWKI situation such as a war on our own soil, or a major civil disturbance such as a revolution but that would likely be much longer lasting than the great majority of states of emergency caused by natural forces. It is great if you have them all, guns, ammo, food, water and so on and you are secure with them in your home or another shelter of some sort. Food and water are necessary for survival, you cannot survive long without water and not all too much longer without food. The difference is, if there is a total breakdown of life as we know it, and yes it can happen, such as a major war or insurrection on our soil, other people may be the primary threat you face as to deprivation of your life sustaining supplies. Not only would they be a threat similar to looters, after a natural disaster, but they may also see you as their enemy and be bent upon your destruction instead of merely stealing your supplies. They may also be well armed and well organized, something that vandals and looters are often not.
So which is more important in my view. I kind of think they are equally important for overall survival considerations when preparing for a really bad situation like an immediate SHTF or TEOTWAWKI due to natural calamity. It is that really bad situation for which I am preparing. I think we may face either a revolution or world war - on our soil - sometime within the remainder of my lifetime. I am preparing with stores of food, water, arms and other things. Not just for that but for a natural disaster or even an economic depression too. I also think other things are important to survival such as the know how needed to get food and water, in the event you do not have enough, and I must admit I could use a lot more knowledge there and have been getting it bit by bit. I try to do all that I can do to prepare. I think each aspect important. Then again, there are times when one may be more important, in fact the most important to survival.
What could be more important than food or water for our survival? Even more important are the will and the ability to fight to survive. If you have the will to survive then you had best arm yourself. If you look at situations like the American Revolution, or the Civil War both on our soil and both of which truly were TEOTWAWKI for those involved - if not for guns and ammo the outcomes of each would have been much different for those being oppressed or who were the targets of aggression. There are also other more recent examples around the world.
The example I am about to give may seem to be one that has been used and used again and again to the point where it seems over used. Yet, it has a lot to teach us about survival by looking at they who did not survive and they who did and at those who survived better than others. I make the comparison I am about to make with all due respect. I am not judging anyone over their convictions but I am going to give the rationale of why I believe some survived while others did not and why some, even if they perished in the fight, had better chance at surviving than others. Look at the Jewish people of pre-WWII Europe, who for the most part had few weapons and did not broadly prepare for survival. Yes, they prepared for hard times somewhat. They worked hard, they reaped the fruits of their labors. They saved money. They had some stores of food and some had stored wealth. They prepared spiritually. Yet, most did not have firearms. Most did not have the will to use violence to survive. most never thought something the likes of what was about to happen could happen even when it had already commenced most kept their heads buried in the sand. For the most part, the European Jews did not fight against the Nazis and Germany. Their supplies of food and water went to feed and quench the thirsts of their enemies. Their wealth went into the coffers of their oppressors and was used to help fund the very same war efforts that were used against.
Compare those people to some who did prepare to fight back even though overwhelmed and oppressed - those few in the French Resistance. No matter how much folks like to joke about the French, they do have a history rich in instances of them being ready and willing to fight. The Jewish people, we know what happened to most of the Jews of Europe. They were mostly unarmed, without the will to fight, rounded up into ghettos, then imprisoned, then outright killed or forced into labor. Those who lived to labor were deprived of food and water. Sadly the outcome was that so many, if not actually most of their population, lost their lives. There were tens of millions of Jews in Europe before the war and 12 or 13 million less after the war due solely to the dreams of a deranged master race that wanted to wipe them off the face of the earth and that does not count the ones who were lucky enough to have fled the persecution. Who would have believed it could have happened before the war and before the roundups started. Not many except for a handful of madmen whose dream it was to do it.
Ask yourself now, how could the outcome for them have been different in WWII had they been better prepared for TEOTWAWKI. Again, I am not judging them but I am giving a very hard look at what they did not do and otherwise could have done to avoid the outcome that so many of them met. I am learning from history. The one thing I have learned, that I truly believe that would have made the difference would have been had they been armed and willing to fight for their survival. Sure there are many other things that came into play but again, the most important aspect of their lives that led to their downfall under the Nazis was that they were not prepared to risk survival by arming themselves and fighting to survive. Think of how that could have been different had they been armed and willing to fight. We know it worked out better for the French in great part because of the resistance, because they were at least somewhat ready and somewhat willing and they were armed.
I think, in a situation like that, guns and ammo and whatever other weapons you can muster are one of the most important keys to survival. With them, you can not only protect what you have but you can go out and obtain, from others, what you do not have. I am not saying we should go out and pillage and plunder at every opportunity, I am talking about a TEOTWAWKI situation, such as a war, that could arise in our lifetimes. Think that is far fetched? We need to remember that the Axis Powers took over almost all of Europe in almost no time and then commenced killing of not only 12-13 million or so Jewish people but also of at least another 10 million, all too often forgotten about, non-Jews. They dies in the gas chambers, ovens and concentration camps and few died fighting for their lives. We also need to bear in mind that it happened as recently as within the last 3/4 of a century. It was in modern times and the government, on which so many had depended, was not there to help. The fact was that the government was the oppressor and other nations were already busy fighting the war and were incapable of helping while the war raged on. So who was there to help if not they themselves and they were, for the vast majority of them, unarmed and not willing to fight.
Think that a rare occurrence? Think again. There have been similar catastrophes since. There was Joesph Stalin killing millions of his own people and others that he oppressed; the estimates range from a few million to over 15 million and are seemingly incalculable. Then look east to Cambodia and Pol Pot. It is estimated that he killed off 800,000 to 3 million of his own people in Cambodia in the mid to late 1970's. That was only about 35 years ago. Look also to Africa. We hear, repeatedly, in the news about tyrants in African nations who are destroying populations of one ethnic group or another. It is ongoing. Look also toward Iran and their repeated calls for the utter destruction of Israel and the Jewish people. Look at the so called Muslim 'extremists' who are bent on ruling the world and who kill in the name of their god on a daily basis. Then look back to the example of WWII. When you think about it, there were some before WWII who cried out in alarm. They were looked at by most as being paranoid. Few saw it coming, fewer prepared for it, most just ignored it and lived on blissfully until the world as they knew it ended and a new world began, a terrible world. The same thing is happening today and if the world does become a terrible place again, I want to be prepared to help make it well again.
So what could have made the difference in WWII or any of TEOTWAWKI situations mentioned. Well, mostly being prepared for bad times. having food, having water, having shelter and having the means and will by which to protect them. The will is within the psyche, the means are within your own private store of guns and ammunition. Yep, I think guns and ammo are very important in any situation like that as are food and water, in fact equally important as are food and water and shelter. There are also times though, in TEOTWAWKI situations, (mind you not SHTF situations like you are lost in the woods, or your plane crashes in the middle of the desert) when guns and ammo are more important. As I said it depends and what it depends upon is the situation you are facing. You cannot know for sure what situation you will in the upcoming year, nor the next month, not even tomorrow or later today. Yet, you can prepare for almost any of them.
In preparation you should stock up everything you might need. I was about to key in "enough of everything" but there is no way to know what will be enough either. How much would be enough is probably a topic best reserved for another post but I will address it very briefly here. Enough food and water would be an amount to last at least 3 months, better yet a year with enough for each of your family members. Having that much water on hand is almost impossible for the average person. I sure do not have the means nor the room to store it. A lot of food is easier to store but again there is difficult getting it, long lasting survival foods are expensive. Of course you can buy as I have started to do, a bit at a time and build up your stores. As for guns and ammo, I buy them not only for survival but because I enjoy shooting and enjoy it a lot. I like to have extra ammo on hand for several reasons. The first being so I always have a supply to shoot for fun. The second being for survival in the event of TEOTWAWKI. The next reason goes toward both of the first two, I am concerned that the government will be successful at implementing laws that will make it almost impossible or actually impossible to purchase firearms or ammunition in the near future. So I want to have enough on hand to last a long time. In that regard, I ought to start buying some firearms parts too. I am lacking in that regard for sure.
Let's face it, the government putting an end to the right to keep and bear arms, or severely restricting firearms ownership, has happened before in many countries, when it has happened tyranny was sure to follow. If and when tyranny rears its ugly head here, well that is when TEOTWAWKI will have arrived and we will need to do something drastic to assure we are left with shelter and enough food and water to survive. The only way we will be able to do that is if we arm ourselves in the here and now and prepare to fight to survive. So, I guess when it comes right down to it - in the event of TEOTWAWKI coming in the form of breakdown of our government and disregard for our Constitution and implementation of tyranny or in the event of invasion or insurrection - I believe that the most important survival items I could have, so long as I maintain the will to fight for the survival of my family and myself, are weapons like guns and ammo.
All the best,
Glenn B
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Gas Prices Up - Will Commodity Prices - Like Ammo Prices - Follow?
I am betting that prices of all goods transported by any vehicle that uses gasoline or diesel will soon be going up again, what with the price of a barrel of oil recently and with the current price at the pumps and with summertime prices coming soon. If prices go up much more than they have, it is going to start getting really difficult to buy things that I think will be necessary if the SHTF or if we wind up in the middle of TEOTWAWKI (The End of the World As We Know It). I would like to be ready for the end of the world and all that comes with it, it might be an adventure, but I am not ready for it right now. To that end, the end of being ready for TEOTWAWKI, or even being ready for TCOTWAWKI (The Continuation of the World As We Know It - as in another 4 years of the Obamessiah which could certainly hasten TEOTWAWKI) I just bought another 500 rounds of Wolf, polymer coated, 7.62x39mm HP ammunition. I would like to have bought a thousand rounds but being on a limited budget, I have to take it easy. This order cost me: $113.71. Not a bad price by what it goes for nowadays but wow, it sure has gotten expensive over the past 5 or 6 years. Then again, it is less expensive now than it was in 2009. Wonder if the prices then had anything to do with who it was that took over as president that year?
One thing I have going for me with this order is that I just returned a pair of shoes and a pair of boots that I bought from Sportsman's Guide. That return will put a refund on my Amex card of about $130 or so. I used Amex to buy the ammo, so I'll actually be ahead of the game a little bit, and there was nothing spent out of pocket since the shoes were already paid for. The only down side is no new shoes for me.
All the best,
Glenn
One thing I have going for me with this order is that I just returned a pair of shoes and a pair of boots that I bought from Sportsman's Guide. That return will put a refund on my Amex card of about $130 or so. I used Amex to buy the ammo, so I'll actually be ahead of the game a little bit, and there was nothing spent out of pocket since the shoes were already paid for. The only down side is no new shoes for me.
All the best,
Glenn
What if Trayvon Had Been White, and the Shooter Black?
What if Trayvon Had Been White, and the Shooter Black?
An excellent read with a lot of truth to it. If we want to end racism then we had best start treating everyone equally and race baiters had best be made to keep their mouths shut. That can either mean that each time someone believed to be white shoots a black person, blacks can continue to rant, rave and rage against so called racism while being racist themselves but it also means that whites should do likewise each time a white person is shot by a black person. Could you imagine that. If whites did it too, well there would be an awful lot more of protest marches as per the statistics just quoted in the linked piece. Or it could mean, we all start acting sensibly and doing things peacefully and respectfully without race baiting. Sadly, neither the first or second option is likely to happen and the race baiters will just keep being as racist as they can possibly be and they will keep getting the support of the media while doing so because it makes for 'good' press. Sooner or later though, if that keeps up, things will explode one day and it won't be the people who are marching now that set off the powder kegs. We really would be better off without all the race baiting and racism but it almost seems a race war is almost destined to come our way soon if stuff like this keeps up much longer.
Hat tips to Wirecutter and the Feral Irishman, I found the link on both of their sites.
All the best,
Glenn B
An excellent read with a lot of truth to it. If we want to end racism then we had best start treating everyone equally and race baiters had best be made to keep their mouths shut. That can either mean that each time someone believed to be white shoots a black person, blacks can continue to rant, rave and rage against so called racism while being racist themselves but it also means that whites should do likewise each time a white person is shot by a black person. Could you imagine that. If whites did it too, well there would be an awful lot more of protest marches as per the statistics just quoted in the linked piece. Or it could mean, we all start acting sensibly and doing things peacefully and respectfully without race baiting. Sadly, neither the first or second option is likely to happen and the race baiters will just keep being as racist as they can possibly be and they will keep getting the support of the media while doing so because it makes for 'good' press. Sooner or later though, if that keeps up, things will explode one day and it won't be the people who are marching now that set off the powder kegs. We really would be better off without all the race baiting and racism but it almost seems a race war is almost destined to come our way soon if stuff like this keeps up much longer.
Hat tips to Wirecutter and the Feral Irishman, I found the link on both of their sites.
All the best,
Glenn B
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