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GUEST ARTICLE

REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION FROM THE LMI MAGAZINE - theindependentamerican.freeyellow.com

Dirty Little Gun Secretswritten by Douglas P. BellEver wonder how gun companies can offer those "life time" guarantees for their firearms? How about the reloading companies with their "two year guarantee/satisfaction of your money back" warranties? Ever wonder if companies really honor the various guarantees? Ever read the fine print of most of these so called "guarantees"? None of them, or at least none that I have ever seen, cover such items as the grips, stocks, bore of the barrel, and naturally none cover abuse or lack of care, such as dry firing, rust, dropping the gun, and of course, unauthorized repair or replacement of parts.
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Ever wonder what the company means by "life time of the gun"? Well sit right down and I'll tell you about my experiences with the various gun and gun industry companies.The first firearms I ever bought with a "lifetime of the original owner" warranty was an Ithaca Model 51 autoloading shotgun. I personally feel the Ithaca M-51 shotguns are one of the best shotguns made, mainly because I shoot them extremely well. However Ithaca went out of business and then opened shop again a short time later, something they seem to be in the habit of doing every few years. Naturally the "new" Ithaca Gun Company wasn't the same as the "old" Ithaca Gun Company, so they "couldn't" honor any repair or warranty work. My warranty was worthless.Charles Daly, an importer of fine firearms back in the late 1800s and early 1900s was pulled out of the forgotten bone yard of long gone companies by KBI, importer of various grades of firearms. Charles Daly has a well earned reputation for finding reasons not to honor their warranties however.
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One handgun, with a "lifetime" guarantee, was refused work and the warranty voided because different grips had been added, or as the company put it, "unauthorized replacement of parts"! When it was pointed out the stocks had nothing to do with the barrel having a seam running down it that split, wrecking the slide, it was just "the warranty had been voided so we can not repair or replace the firearm". In other words, you bought a low end, cheap piece of junk and it is cheaper, called "more cost effective", for the company to screw the gun buyer than repair or replace the pistol with a new one which would probably suffer the same problem. Charles Daly now offers a Browning Hi-Power clone with a wholesale price of around $300 and a "life time" guarantee. it will be interesting if the quality and service have improved or if they will continue to shaft the consumer. UPDATE NOTE July 2008: The Charles Daly Hi-Power has been discontinued because the Hi-Power WILL break the slide or frame if fired enough, it is inherent in the design. Rather than risk having to actually stand behind the warranty, Charles Daly has discontinued the pistol.Taurus for years had a "life time of the gun" warranty. I was never able to get an useful answer as to what, exactly, "life time of the gun" was suppose to be or mean.
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Until the gun broke a part, or until some part wore out or otherwise failed? A given number of rounds? What, exactly, did that warranty mean? The company refused to say. The silence was deafening. Taurus now offers an "unlimited life time" warranty on their 1911 clone, and at least some of the other guns, possibly all now. It will be interesting to see what that means and if they will stand behind it.Beretta on the other hand, made the mistake of answering that question when asked by a gun writer, who published the answer. According to the writer, he was told that Beretta expected "the life of the gun" to be ten to fifteen thousand rounds of .22 rimfire ammunition, and/or five thousand rounds of centerfire ammunition. Naturally Beretta caught a huge amount of flack over this and had to publish quite a few adverts and "product announcements" stating Beretta was a high quality firearm and the guns were not going to fall apart or suddenly stop working at some magical number of rounds, but could reasonably be expected to last a life time of use.
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Seeing as the "average hunter" barely fires his gun every year, this claim is not out of line. After that any questions about their "life time of the gun" warranties were met with absolute silence. In the Janurary/February 2008 issue of RIFLE Magazine, Ron Spomer, the "Optic" writer, wrote "Manufactures use the cheapest materials they can get away with to create a scope designed to last roughly 1,000 to 1,500 rounds from an 'average' deer rifle, ie, no more recoil than a .30-06. The average hunter puts fewer than 20 rounds through such rifles annually. By the time his 30-to 60-year hunting career is over, he'll have either traded or sold the scope or retired it still intact."Also in the same January/February 2008 issue of RIFLE, Brian Pearce, who writes the "Mostly Long Guns" column stated in an article about the Ruger 77 Hawkeye in .375 Ruger cartridge, "One problem I have experienced multiple times includes stock splitting, particulary with Ruger Model 77s chambered in .338 Winchester Magnum." He continues with "During this session the familiar 'sting' in the hands of a splitting stock was felt while firing a load that was actually producing less velocity than factory loads;" and continues "Upon examination, the stock had split just behind the tang in three places and extended well into the pistol grip areas."
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Apparently stock splitting is a common problem with the M-77 Rugers in magnum calibers, so why is RIFLE the only magazine that ever mentioned it? Of course Brian goes to great lengths to let the sheeple know that "Again, it should be emphasized that this rifle was fired conciderably more than the average .375 rifle will be subjected...", but doesn't tell how many rounds "fired conciderably more than the average" is, but according to Ron, "the average hunter puts fewer than 20 rounds through such [.30-06 power/recoil level] rifles annually." Again, apparently, the stocks are only as good as they have to be to last a few hundred rounds, as the .338 Magnum (Winchester or the new Ruger cartridge) and .375 Magnums (H&H or the new Ruger) has conciderably more recoil than the "'average' deer rifle", the .30-06, which has about as much recoil as the "average hunter" can handle, so the rifles will be shot even less than a .30-06 power/recoil level rifle.
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While we are talking about Ruger stocks, Phil Bourjaily in the March, 2008 issue of FIELD & STREAM magazine, said he owned three Ruger Red Label over and under shotguns, and "the 12 swung like and anvil, the 20 had ejection problems and the wood-to-metal fit on the 28 barely met a junior-high-shop-class level", so we at the LMI are not the only ones who order guns from the factory or wholesaler that are junk, and Ruger has had stock issues for some time now, which is just coming out, finally.Bill Ruger, who basicly hated and feared the sheeple, after all, Ruger Firearms is the Firearms Maker for RESPONSIBLE gun owners, leaving Savage and Marlin for the rest of us I guess, refused to sell the Mini-14, in .223, to the public until it became totally and completely obvious that the po-LICE were refusing to buy it and he would lose his entire investment in the Mini-14 if he didn't offer it to the public. He then refused to sell the factory 30 round Mini-14 magazines to the public because the sheeple had no need of high capacity magazines, as far as he was concerned.
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Then when it became obvious the sheeple didn't care a fig what he thought, Bill Ruger, in a fit of rightious rage, then wrote and rammed through CONgress the high capacity magazine ban. If the sheeple didn't know what was good for them, then by God, Bill Ruger would TELL them and they could just stick it if they didn't like it! As if that was not enough, he then brought out the Mini-30, in 7.62x39, which was just another turd in the punch bowl of life, and it was a complete failure. Enraged that his new turd refused to sell to the gun buying public, especially as the Russian SKS was both cheap, worked great and was conciderably more accurate than the Mini-30, Bill then wrote and rammed through CONgress the so called "assault rifle" ban, so cheap, reliable surplus firearms could no longer be imported and the sheeple would be forced to buy his low quality, unreliable and inaccurate rifles. If the sheeple wouldn't buy his over priced crap, he would just have ALL guns banned, so there! After all, Bill Ruger knew what was good for us, and by God, he would have his way!
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Many guns are famous for having parts fail, but you will never see them being mentioned in the various gun rags. The gun rags depend on ad money to stay in business and to mention Ruger M-77 rifles break stocks and Red Label shotguns are less than steller, that the Glock pistol regularly breaks the take down lever spring, that the Browning Hi-Power will break the slide and frame if shot enough, that the Beretta 92 will break the slide if shot enough, well let's just say a company paying $10,000 in ad money (the going rate at one of the bigger gun rags) to have their product reviewed doesn't want to see any thing unfavorable, like the truth, being printed in the paid sales pitch, sorry, I meant to say product review.Back in the good old days, C. Jack Lewis was the editor of GUN WORLD Magazine, and it was rolickingly good fun, and one of the best gun magazines out there, inspite of the fact, or maybe because, Jack Lewis is a drunk. He basicly started GUN WORLD to get beer money and to hell with anyone or anything else.
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GUN WORLD did a review of the Colt AR-15 and they went out in the desert to shoot jack rabbits with it. The last line was something along the lines of if you can't shoot the jack rabbits, you could always bayonet them, as the AR-15 had a bayonet lug on it. Colt took exception to that one line and threatened to pull their ads. Jack, alcohol soaked as usual, told them where to go and for years there were no Colt ads in GUN WORLD, and GUN WORLD never reviewed a single Colt product. Another time Jack was at an industry meeting, or some other funtion, where there was a Savage Arms executive. Gin soaked (or rum, or whiskey, or pretty much anything else with alcohol in it) as usual, Jack stumbled up and demanded to know what the Savage Arms ads, which always had a "noble savage" (ie., American Indian) holding a Savage firearm, usually a rifle of some sort, were actually suppose to be selling? What were they trying to sell, Indians?
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Savage Arms ads, and Savage Arms firearms reviews, disappeared from GUN WORLD as well. Jack retired and now GUN WORLD is a mere shadow of what it once was and interchangeable with, and indistinguishable from, every other gun rag out there, unfortunately.Lee Precision puts out the Lee Load Master reloading press. This reloading press is a worthless piece of trash (see my product review "LEE LOAD MASTER - A Load of SOMETHING Alright!"). Period. According to the book "Lee Modern Reloading 2nd edition", 2003, by Richard Lee, on page 26, "All Lee presses include...a two year guarantee. Most important, Lee guarantees satisfaction or your money back." This is nothing less than a bald faced lie. Period. Lee not only refuses to repair or replace their defective presses, the "satisfaction or your money back" guarantee is an absolute lie as well. Period. I bought a brand new Lee Load Master press and it never worked right. After three days of aggrivation, irritation and constant tinkering, I packed it up and returned it to Lee Precision and demanded they either replace it or refund my money!
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Not only did they refuse to give me my money back, they refused to repair or replace the press, even after they admitted the press was defective due to the ram being warped due to being cooled too fast after heat treating. They did, however, offer to repair or replace the defective press if I paid 50% of retail, but I saw no reason I should pay another 50% of retail to have a defective product replaced or repaired, which they admitted was defective due to their negligence, and should have been repaired or replaced under their two year warranty. After returning the defective press to Lee something like 25 times in the first two years, and even having it returned to me seized up and with all the broken parts still in place, exactly as it was sent to them, it still has never been repaired or replaced and still does not work. The Lee Load Master press? Junk. The Lee two year guarantee? Worthless. If you read the various gun rags, the Detonics copy of the Colt 1911 was the greatest thing since sliced bread. No hint that there was any problems with the Detonics was ever allowed in print. So what happened, why did Detonics go out of business? The company went belly up for several reasons.
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One reason was Detonics, after selling a bunch of their worthless firearms, couldn't afford to sell any more, and really didn't want to. I wrote them for their dealer catalog and price list and sent my FFL (Federal Firearms License) and RTP (Retail Tax Permit) along with the letter, photo-copied on the back of the letter to be exact. I got a letter from Detonics back that they needed a copy of my FFL, so I resent a copy of my FFL with the RTP. I got another letter back that they now needed a copy of RTP, which had been sent twice already. So I resend my FFL and RTP,...again. I get a letter back, they now need a copy of my Yellow Pages advert. Then I get a letter they need a photo of my gun store. Then I get a letter they need a ..., well actually I have no idea what they needed that time, as I threw the letter away. Shortly after that Detonics went out of business and closed shop. They reopened as the "New" Detonics, so I sent my FFL and RTP to get the dealer catalog and price list.
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They wrote back they needed a copy of my FFL, then they needed a copy of my RTP, then they needed a copy of my Yellow Pages advert, then they needed a photo of my shop, then they needed a ...., well I threw that letter away too, so I have no idea what they needed that time. Then the "New" Detonics went belly up too.So why did Detonics refuse to send me their dealer catalog and price list? Probably because they were afraid I would buy one of the guns they were selling and the guns were junk. According to the head gunsmith at Detonics, something like HALF of all guns sold were returned to Detonics due to being worthless pieces of trash that didn't work! At least a third of all guns returned were scrapped by Detonics as being unrepairable! Jerry Ahern, a writer of cheap pulp fiction and a big fan of Detonics, even bought the company in the early 2000s and was going to move the company to Georgia. I just saw (late 2007) in a trade publication that the new owner of Detonics (Jerry was not mentioned) was moving the company out of Georgia. Only God knows when, or if, the Detonics pistol will ever be manufactured again, and if it is, if it will work this time.
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Not to leave out some other low life companies, Colt pulled the bayonet lug off the AR-15 to save us from all the drive by bayonettings in an attempt to placate the anti-gun scum like Chucky Shumer and Di-Fi, long before CONgress passed a a law banning the bayonet lugs to save us from ourselves. Due to the stupid choices, poor quality and attempts to placate the anti-gun scum, Colt has gone down hill so far and so fast it is on a death watch by most firearms buyers. Harrington and Richardson (H&R)dropped it's line of handguns because the CEO was anti-gun and hated handguns. In case you missed it, H&R was bought by Marlin and Marlin was just bought (made offer on December 26, 2007, finalized, pending the usual gov't regs, late January, 2008) by Remington, who is owned by a huge conglomerate as well. S&W was owned by a British toilet manufacturer (some how that seems fitting, concidering the quality they were putting out at that time, and had been for awhile) and as soon as Slick Willie Klinton looked at them sideways they dropped their pants and bent over, agreeing to any and every anti-gun measure Slick could think of pulling.
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This enraged the gun buying public (however Bill Ruger gets a pass on screwing the American sheeple, repeatedly, go figure) and S&W was promptly boycotted, which nearly put the company out of business. The company was bought by Americans and quality and service were returned to their old levels. The agreements entered into were NOT voided however, although they have dropped off the gun buyers' radar. Of course the gun rags refuse to mention any of the S&W agreements that are still in effect in the paid gun sales pitches as that might impact on ad revenue, so the gun buying public once again is sold out down the river.
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Note: due to run-on after pasting, I've randomly inserted paragraphs. Jim.

obammy got my gun!

OBAMMY GOT MY GUN!
I don't know who has already been selected to become captain of the USS Titanic. I know better than to think my vote would count ( not that I vote as I long ago withdrew my consent to be screwed ), or that of all the other voters out there. Elections have been a sham, eye candy to those lacking the wisdom or the desire to wake up and look where our country is heading. The only difference between the leader of America or that of any Banana Republic is that closer to the equator the dictator doesn't care how the elections look. We spend millions building a facade to convince either ourselves or others the election is real. And, frankly, I don't give a rats behind who becomes the new El Supremo Jeffe. I'm going to get royally screwed no matter what. So are you. But, hey, if it makes you feel better that a communist will keep you on the welfare roles a little longer than a fascist, by all means go out and vote and hope like hell.
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The survivalist/patriot/militia/etc. block is once again in a lather, concerned a socialist will be elected and they will either no longer be able to buy plastic coated carbines, or worse their guns will be taken by Blackwater squads. Now, I'm not saying this can't happen. It could. I think the odds are good we won't have a total ban. I'm not saying pre-buying magazines isn't a great idea. But please allow me to make a point here. Regardless of what the election means for guns, I think we have much bigger problems going on here. I think the future of fuel and food is much more in jeopardy than the future of guns and ammo. If we focus our limited funds on playing soldier-boy we neglect food storage. And then the Powers That Be can easily control us by withholding food supplies. Food is already centralized and can easily be controlled at will. I think $100 spent on wheat and beans is a lot smarter than buying another one or two dozen magazines for your precious semi-auto. And for the price of one "no-paperwork" rifle you could get a few pieces of metal pipe and a box of shotgun shells, along with several years of food.
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We could very easily see severe gun restrictions coming up. Or total bans. But it is more prudent to take steps to minimize the economic hold the government has on you. Avoid needing food stamps ( perhaps only available with a "no gun" clause, because it's for the children ), or begging for the only job which is on a new Federal reservation/work camp ( and allowing no guns or storage food of course ). Historically, dictatorships ban guns. But at this point, with the oil supply contracting and food being oil dependant, I think the Feds can still allow some ownership yet totally control the population. You can be narced on by neighbors, hunted down by government troops or mercenaries, denied food or fuel or access to roads. Even if you stay armed, if the majority of the population is against you it will do no good. We like to envision the rural folk rising up to protect our gun rights. I see 95% of the population voluntarily giving up their guns as soon as it gets too cold or they get too hungry. Then, the hunt for the remaining armed population becomes the new "war on drugs". So, you can still be allowed ownership yet controlled by other means or after a total ban most neighbors will help turn you in.
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It is going to be damned if you do, damned if you don't. I'm only saying that the money spent on guns will most likely better serve you spent on more food instead. You will survive longer not needing their food rather than trying to fight. You need both, food and protection. But most likely you need less guns and ammo than you think and far more food than you believe.
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We are off from work due to a state holiday, plus the library is closed. I will pre-post a guest article for tomorrow ( and please help, this is my last guest article ). Also, bad luck. My laptop computer won't work on 12 volt. My other laptop does, but it is worthless because of a virus ( I dumpster dived it ). I think it is something to do with the battery. Anyway, in the trash it went. It has given great service and more than paid for itself but it is time to let it go. So, still no computer work at home, even with my new power source. I was bummed. Something for the future, for now I hope you can stay happy with my blog only.

tent living

The following is from my free "Homesteading" book, available at www.bisonpress.com/homestead.html . I couldn't get to a computer until my lunch break was almost over, so this is what you get. Keep in mind it was written two years ago. Although it might take on new relevance as the economy sinks.

TENT LIVING
If initial cost is more of an over riding concern to you than long term energy efficiency ( or safety from wildlife for that matter ), there is always tent living. Personaly I don’t like the idea of flimsy walls between me and human blood lusting bears or cougars. But they are a darn cheap investment for shelter against the elements. You can get an old fashion canvas tent ( think of the tent in the second and third Austin Powers movies ) something like 8 foot by 12 foot with frame and chiminy vent for about five hundred bucks. You can live in that in style. I suppose if you had a ready source of wood for the stove and a pet dog to guard against wild critters ( along with a shotgun ) than there would be little disadvantage against cheap living in a tent. You can even buy a huge Army tent for under a grand. The “Polar” type is great for cold weather and is something like a twelve foot circle. The platoon type is pretty long, bigger than the above cowboy type tent. Just make sure they come with all the poles and rope, etc. I have seen some for sale without the poles. A real pain to figure out that one. Do a Google search under “military tents for sale” or something similar. You should get a good selection offered. Another place to look would be online military surplus companies. I have seen Russian military surplus tents for sale.And of course there is always the cheap nylon tents from Wal-Mart. I can’t see wanting to live in one long term. Although you can live on a $500 piece of land and then buy a large nylon tent and put it under a large shade tarp for summer shade, and very cheaply heat it in winter ( perhaps with only a small coffee can heater or even a catalytic propane heater for a safer alternative ). That might cost a whole $150 with tent, tarp and heater and several propane canisters. So, you buy land for $500. The shelter is $150. The bike and bike trailer about $175. A surplus Russian bolt gun for protection is under $100 retail. A years supply of wheat is another $100. For about a grand you are indipendant with your own land and shelter and “hard times” supply stash. Then go one food stamps to avoid work. You can be a bun the rest of your life. Just by living in a tent. Don’t dismiss it off hand. It does have its attractions.But, back to reality. If you do want a tent and you buy the cheap ones, you must ensure it will survive more than a few seasons. My solution would be duct tape, but only because I’m such a classy guy. There should be repair kits just for nylon tents. But even with repairs and a gentle touch cheap tents are sure to wear out after a season or three. Plan on replacement costs. Just like a cheap bicycle. Eventually even with proper maintanence you are going to have to replace it. You should budget a monthly amount for these kinds of replacement. Another strange possibility might be a homemade tent. Even without sewing skills you could make a cheap and well insulated tent. A wood pallet floor, a PVC frame, thrift store blankets and some clamps and a tarp over it all ( plus underneath ). I assume it might be feasible. It shouldn’t cost much more than a cheap tent and be larger and better insulated. Buy a mess of blankets at the local thrift stores after the winter is over for cheap price and better availability. PVC pipe is cheap, and pallets are usually free. Tarps are usually less than a dollar a square foot.
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You can also get this whole book in PDF format, go to www.bisonpress.com for the link. While there, Buy My Crap!!

rice warmed earth

RICE WARMED EARTH
Doesn't most of what passes for news today just make you want to vomit? Who cares about the election, it has already been decided with the transparent distraction of "fixing" voter fraud in certain locations. I would rejoice that the whole damn thing is almost over with, but that would be foolish. Remember the last four years? The sorry bastards didn't stop with cheer leading for Clinton the entire time. And, yes, it was successful. We got so worked up that "BBQ Reno's" lesbian lover that would throw us all in concentration camps after taking our guns and taxing us at 100% of income could be elected we cheerfully accepted the "election" of a Muslim communist instead. And isn't it strange how the chorus of "not four more years of Bush" happened just before the global economic crisis kicked into high gear? So after the election I can just see it now- endless puff pieces "analyzing" the performance of our new wonder boy. Oh, look, isn't it just simply amazing how a African American can nationalize everything and turn us into a People's Paradise and get the trains running again on schedule? Well, not Amtrak. The only thing they do is crash on schedule. But everything will simply be fixed by printing a lot more money. And the bankers will give the new Idiot In Chief the credit. Never mind he will also be the fall guy.
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So, anyhooo, I am equally appalled by the "news" covering global warming. I-Gore And His Travelling Circus. Step right up, folks. The same Super White Bread that gave you the wonders of the Internet will now explain how he alone can cure global warming by outlawing all cars except those driven by rich folks. And, as an added bonus, if you replace all light bulbs with cheap Chinese made fluorescents, he will guarantee the American Way Of Life will continue for all eternity, for as long as the buffalo roam and the sky is blue, amen. And speaking of which, we didn't really lie to the Indians, did we? We killed off all the buffalo and then broke all the treaties. So it follows that I wouldn't be spending good money on a book about global warming, right? Well, no. I finally got around to reading one, "Plows, Plagues and Petroleum" by William E Ruddiman. And I think it was very well done. It was printed before the above mentioned travesty of a Presidential candidate who conceded an obviously rigged election and was rewarded with untold millions by acting the fool and hyping unscientific propaganda. The author even talks about how both sides will use his book to further their own agenda.
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The basic argument is that mankind altered the environment long before the Industrial Revolution with the introduction of agriculture. Between deforestation for cropland and extra methane production from widespread rice paddies greenhouse gases rose enough that the scheduled ice age never happened. In effect, we have postponed colder weather globally for around eight thousand years. His reasoning is well thought out, and his credentials are much better than I-Gores ( who prostituted his family misfortune in his carbon spewing plane ride towards obscene wealth ). Our author finished a career as a global weather expert. Sure, he was a shameless taxpayer suckee as a University professor, but that is still much better than a whore of a politician. He provides much data to back up his theme of agriculture as climate changer. In addition, he speculates that plagues also had a lot of impact. Massive deaths lead to farm abandonment which regrew into forests. Cold spells followed as CO2 declined. He also brings up an interesting tidbit. With newer agricultural practices, the use of pesticides has almost eliminated the weeds in rice paddies. That used to account for just as much methane production as the rice itself. In effect, with petroleum use methane has been cut back ( also, new hybrid rice strains allow much more grain from the same land- a further cut in methane ).
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It is a lot more involved than that. The book is a great "big picture" look at the whole complex cycle, to include the orbit of the earth around the sun, volcanism, etc. I am just going off the top of my head here. Thank you, Amazon product buyers ( through my links at www.bisonpress.com ) for allowing me to buy this book. Your purchases give me credit that I use to further my University Of Doom And Gloom diploma. And thanks for picking up the pace lately. My latest credit is over $20!
END

thousand mile journey

THOUSAND MILE JOURNEY
One of the reasons you are desperate enough to read my drivel daily is you hope I might leave a shiny nugget of wisdom for you to stumble over. This doesn't happen often, but just like a fat woman will read romance novels in the vain hope that a muscled he-man will sweep her off her feet with romance and non-fat chocolates ( and a well proportioned package ), you keep tuning in with hope. Today, I'm likely to disappoint you again. But, what the hay- I'll try. Today's topic is the first step in the thousand mile journey. You know, "a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step". Which is such inspirational Zen like advice that you are immediately temped to shave your head and walk barefoot through burning sands, kung-fuing old timey Western Capitalist Robber Barons in a cool 70's attempt to introduce more communist propaganda to the proletariat unwashed masses. Only when you can snatch an untaxed dollar from my profiteering hand will you be ready, grasshopper!
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I was quite proud of myself this weekend. I performed many small steps, thus fooling myself that I was getting ready to survive the Peak Oil Dark Ages ( PODA, trademark pending ). I finally sorted through my loose pocket change, putting aside almost twenty cents in real money ( pre-82 pennies, real copper coins ). I bought a battery jumper. Thanks to the ongoing generosity of a few Double Loyal Minions, First Class I had enough to buy a $40 sealed battery. 300 amps with 12v plug in. I'm going to charge it at work and use it at home to start writing more than just this blog. I haven't produced any more booklets and I'm getting antsy to get more e-books out there to you. So there is a cheap power source. I still can't easily transfer over to the computer at work ( no memory stick software on my laptop ) but it is good enough for occasional transfers. Hence, the use for booklets that take weeks or months to churn out. This will hopefully arrest my decline in e-book revenue. I know better than to expect fame and fortune, but I do want to stop my sales from falling into the crapper.
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I finally got around to oiling all my rifles. I had put that off for a few months too long. And I also put up some more insulation. Last weekend I put the eggshell foam pad type insulation under my living room rug. It went a long way towards keeping our feet from getting cold. No, I can't afford skirting right now, but a free five by six foot foam rubber pad goes a long way in comfort ( new definition of comfort- not freezing/no frostbite ). I also had put a pad under our bedsheets on top of the mattress. I had already put one underneath the mattress last year. But the one under the sheet on top of the mattress did wonders keeping us warm at night. It usually gets down to at least thirty in the trailer, but we are sleeping snugly on top of foam and under two comforters and two wool blankets. This weekend I used a few leftover strips of foam and sealed up a crack over our bed. You can look up and see sunlight through the fiberglass shell. When it really gets cold you can feel the draft there. So that got insulated.
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Putting aside real money, buying a tool to increase my writing revenue, maintaining my firearms and increasing the comfort of the home. A very productive weekend. And at very little cost. The pocket change yields five to ten percent copper out of the pennies. No extra charge. It took a few drops of oil and a cleaning patch for the firearms. The foam was free dump scavenging. And the battery jumper unit was a heck of a lot cheaper than buying more solar panels. You can cheaply prepare anytime. With the smallest steps, one after another. They add up quick.
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You know you must Buy My Crap in order to earn my love. www.bisonpress.com

ELKO

ELKO
Well, nothing really inspired me today. I promised I would try to stop posting so many financial articles, so even though global market took a big squishy dump last night I'll refrain from doing a Happy Dance and giving you another Chicken Little lecture. So, what the heck, I'll blather a bit about Elko in the vain hope that a few of you will drop everything, give up all that is dear to you, leave family and move to a bitterly cold scrub covered spot of dirt in the middle of nowhere. Misery loves company.
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As I have said before, Elko is far from the perfect survival spot. After a severe collapse the only way of living here would be to adopt the nomadic herder lifestyle. Which is fine with me, it seems a lot more promising than hoeing turnips and being a peasant dying of malnutrition and plague, the lord in his castle amusing himself by buggering the occasional peon. Right now the town survives nicely by doing the same thing it has for over a hundred years, mining, railroads and cattle. No manufacturing dependence, no begging for tourists to visit yet another desert hellhole in the hopes of winning at nickel slots. The mining is capital intensive. You can't get a pick and shovel and spoon out nuggets. You need a lot of credit to operate huge machinery to mechanically pick out a little bit of gold from a lot of dirt. Not totally immune from a downturn, but not a bad way to anchor an economy. Cattle is a good industry right now. Turn desert into meat. If we enter a depression it might suffer if prices fall below costs, but I think inflation is still more likely. And rail is ultimately dependant on carbon fuel but it beat semi trucks for economy so its future is bright for some time.
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Jobs here are less than perfect. If you don't get on in the mines or get hired by a government entity ( one can cherry pick employees and the other is facing budget cutbacks ) you are stuck with retail near minimum wage. They aren't paying a premium like they were a year or two ago. And a lot is only part time. If you live in town, prices are still inflated. The local real estate market has yet to go down in value compared to the rest of Nevada. Once you are out of the city limits you can buy land cheaply and zoning is a little more relaxed than most places. You are allowed almost any type of single family dwelling. You still need permission and permits for permanent building over a certain size, but the frugal type in a trailer can slip in and relax with no hassles. I live off of Bullion Road, which is on the south side of the river roughly paralleling the river. Two miles from the west side bridge you come to a cattle guard were the pavement ends and the poor people live amongst wrecked cars and piles of junk. The road continues on a well maintained packed dirt. The county maintains and plows about four miles from the start of the dirt, until you get to the Y in the road where Bullion turns south. So most places would see little isolation in the winter.
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The town is under twenty thousand, with the entire county at around thirty total. We are two to three hundred miles from anywhere else of any population size. It is nicely isolated. But there is a Super Wal-Mart, a Home Depot, most fast food places, two movie houses, a JC Penny, etc. Yet the town is only two miles long. You can get around it easily and only the west side of town is the newer corporate plantation type. The rest of town has the old time feeling about it. A Dairy Queen by the park is the old style with the walk up outside windows and lighted menu boards. Traffic is bad at three intersection twice a day, eight and five. The rest of the time you can easily jaywalk across the main street without fear of being run over. Almost all businesses roll up the sidewalk at five. Very few folks are open on the weekend. It is a lot more relaxed than most cities. A bit too big for a town, but a nice small city.
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The weather really sucks. In Carson I was used to mild winters, the low usually in the twenties, with the teens being considered a cold snap. Here, the seasons are two. Comfortably hot or damn cold. In October it turns to the teens and twenties as a low. Daytime is fifties or sixties. So, the fall norms are Carson winters at their worse. I thought six month winters were in bad places like Montana. Yes, I know there are plenty of colder places. But not what I am used to. I'm assured the lows rarely get past ten below here. But the winter is definitely more than three months. And wood is cheap only in relation to the plains states. $250 a cord here. It fluctuates a bit, of course. But you might want a better plan than trailer living. I wake up to a thirty degree trailer most mornings ( in October ). The sun then heats it up nicely. I'm sure the winter will be most uncomfortable with my limited propane budget. If you would like more details, please feel free to write ( my email address is at www.bisonpress.com ).
END

disaster profiteering

DISASTER PROFITEERING
Let's just get this out of the way first thing. I approve of profiteering, price gouging, obscene profits and usury. I think check cashing businesses should be allowed to run unmolested. Gas stations should be allowed to charge whatever they wish during shortages. You may not approve, being indoctrinated by the People's Re-Education Camps at a young and impressionable age. You think everything should be "fair". You think the intelligent should be penalized because they can get better paying jobs? You think pretty people should be taxed more since they can make millions modeling or acting? Of course not. Fair Is Where You Go To Sell Your Pig. Life is not fair. Yet the masses think that they don't have to prepare for disasters and can escape without consequences. Profiteering is simply protection against disaster. If a gas station is selling gas for twenty bucks a gallon when the refineries shut down, only those that truly need gasoline will pay that amount. Folks with medical issues that need a generator running. But since the government deems that prices must be "fair", the fat lazy bastard can fill up his generator to run his A/C so he won't be inconvenienced, the rich and spoiled shopping queen can fill up her SUV to go to the mall or hair dresser, or the unemployed crackhead can fill up his old beater to drive down to the hood for more pharmaceutical recreation. If the medical provider wasn't first in line, the station will run out in hours and no resupply will be available.
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Today we can see a lot of disaster profiteering going on. This isn't like the pre-Y2K days, where the only real price increases were for a few canned freeze dried foods. Oil was still cheap and plentiful and no financial bubbles had yet popped ( or at least their effects had yet to be felt ). Today we are at the end of both the Tech Wreak and Real Estate Bubble, oil has doubled in price, food has doubled at a minimum, the dollar has taken a beating, the economy has supported a couple of wars for five years. We have seen commodities jacked up in price, precious metals are no longer held down by Central Bank stockpile sales. In short, prices for everything are much worse while at the same time a heck of a lot more people are panicking this time around. Y2K was a boutique disaster, a designer calamity. Not everyone was concerned or convinced. Now, since everyone knows a economic disaster is possible and probable, there is wide spread panic. Prices are going up accordingly. Storage food, ammunition, precious metal. The prices might not be obscene, but in their place are waiting periods. This is evidently the legal loophole being used to avoid profiteering charges. The official rate is a low reasonable price. Sign up on the waiting list and we'll get back with you in three weeks ( or more likely, months ). The intelligent folks realize there is no longer safety in unbacked promises and so buy at the unofficial price.
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Ure at http://www.urbansurvival.com/ gives a good example. Silver is $9 an once on a waiting list. Buy It Now on E-Bay is $20. Gold is $725 later or $1,000 now for an once of bullion ( not a collectors piece ). Everyone has been seeing ammunition shortages. I haven't tried to buy myself, yet I imagine a dealer can get you some quicker after a premium has been paid. Storage food ( freeze dried ) has a long waiting list. Yet I'm sure it is available at the right price. The good news is that if you have not yet prepared, some farsighted person can profit off of your complacency. Also good news is that it can be cheap, easy and fun to get ready for profiteering. Buying dirt cheap cast iron stoves before metal prices increased, shipping rates went higher or more folks started installing wood burners is a good example. As is pre-buying semi auto high capacity magazines. But those are rather capital intensive. You can buy things now very cheap and profit greatly later. Of course, the waiting period will be longer and the risk greater. For instance, baking powder. A few fifty pound sacks from a restaurant supply house will be very cheap, and it is an item few people have much of. But to bake any leavened product such as biscuits or pancakes you need it. Yes, I understand you can make sourdough batter, but the bulk of the population doesn't know that. They will buy your insanely inflated priced baking powder. The downside is this only works in a total collapse.
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Barter and disaster trading have been covered by many. More to the point here, you are going to see much more disaster profiteering. Already, old travel trailers are being overpriced and quickly sold. The motor homes will be discounted as they are overpriced. But the older trailers are being jacked up in price. Because people are buying them to live out of. The same with junk land. Still overpriced. There is not a whole lot out there and the prices are overinflated. Because, just like trailers, even a much higher than necessary price is still a great bargain compared to whatever else is available.
END
Sorry for the delay, Blogger malfunctioned, cut me off. Lost the last half paragraph, but the main points were made.
END

factory food

FACTORY FOOD
Well, once again a troll spouted off, thinking he was soooo clever. Oh, look at me, I'm going to demolish the well reasoned logic of someone who is my mental superior by simply ignoring a vital fact put forth in the argument. Look, I ain't claiming to be the sharpest marble in the box. But at least I'm trying to stay awake enough to put two observations together and give you a half intelligent thought. It could be the extra doses of coffee at work, or perhaps weaning myself from the electronic teet ( TV ), but I don't think I'm doing that bad of a job. Anyway, the troll severally miscalculated and as a result I have today's topic. Thanks for the idea, dumbass.
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If you are what you eat, I'm a big growth hormone saturated with artificial fertilizers. I gladly eat at the trough of factory food. It looks like food, at a stretch it might taste like food. But it really isn't food. It is a delivery system that superficially resembles the real thing and containing chemicals more than natural ingredients. And guess what. It's as good as it is going to get. A few chosen mortals that are lucky enough to own farmland that is in a location which wasn't near artificially inflated real estate and can thus afford land taxes can grow real food in real soil. The majority of us are going to be eating devitalized plants and chemical coated meat. And we should be glad, because at this point the alternative is to have food beyond our budget. It may not be as bad as Haiti residents buying mud patties to fill their bellies, but it is the First World equivalent.
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Almost all farms have empty, nutritionally devalued soil. It is merely a root support system for the plants that are doused with petroleum/natural gas based fertilizer. Almost all livestock is raised on feedlots, raised on chemicals and Frankenfood corn. Farms don't have their own livestock to use to replenish the soil. Why? Thank you, former President Nixon, you foul puke only surpassed in evil by Lincoln and FDR. While he was in charge of the USS Titanic, food prices were escalating wildly. Who would have thought inflation could raise prices! His solution was to adapt policies that subsidized crop prices with government money and led us down the road to big Agri-Business. Centralize the farms and use ( then ) cheap oil to fill in for natural fertilizers. At the time it worked great. Production spiked, prices came down. And the family farm died and we started to eat non-local worthless food.
*
And, the system is now firmly rooted. It won't change without a fight. If at all. We all get plenty of cheap, subsidized food. It might kill us down the road, but it sure is nice while it lasts. I'm not saying I agree that this is the proper way to run a nations food system, just that we all benefited economically until now. Nothing is free of course. We pay one way or another. And I wouldn't bet on organically grown 100%. Research how that expensive food is grown before you think you are getting superior quality. With prices so high, it stands to reason "organic" will be the next consumer fraud. Enjoy your mud patty.
END

bleach RX

BLEACH RX
I had this one on my list for quite a time, holding off in case some room temperature IQ idiot did something stupid and sued me. Then, I could send half my paycheck to the ex-wife, a quarter to Uncle Sugar, the other quarter to settle a lawsuit and with nothing left over I could eat rocks for dinner. Now, it's no big deal. You can sue me all you want. The economy is going down the toilet as the oil dries up. You won't live long enough to collect. I have ten bucks in one bank account and fifty in another. The land I own will soon be hundreds of miles from water as the super drought settles on the southwest , submerged under the rising oceans back east, or destroyed when the New Madrid fault lets loose again. And there won't be a paycheck to seize as unemployment rises ( unless I did write about this before and can't remember, in which case you can disregard the above ).
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I have used bleach on skin funk before. It always works pretty good for me. Whenever I get a minor wound I clean well with soap and water. If it's something I didn't notice for awhile, or something the soap didn't kill, I'll try hydrogen peroxide next. When that fails I try rubbing alcohol. As a last resort I use bleach to either disinfect an infection or kill a boil. I don't use it in severe wounds, just minor skin abrasions. That is the part that concerned me, the idiot dousing a huge cut or deep wound with bleach and suing me with the resulting medical problems. But my own personal experiences point to bleach as a great minor skin medical treatment. Let me give you a few examples to illustrate.
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While in Florida I had been chewing on a cuticle. I guess I pulled out too much skin and had a bit of bleeding. A few days later I notice an infection starting under the skin. Previously a coworker had cut herself and the infection started traveling up the arm under the skin so I was alerted to that possibility. I had no desire to pay a doctor to recommend an antibiotic so I decided to self treat. For several days, every night while watching TV I would soak my finger in a cup of diluted bleach, continually rubbing my fingers together to get the entrance of the wound open and force the water/bleach in. I did that a half hour a night for a few nights until the pain and discoloration went away. Other times, I would get a big ass boil on my face. Here I am, middle age, and still getting acne. So rather than put up with every idiot at work thinking they are the next Rodney Dangerfield and yucking it up at my expense ( Seeing much better out of that third eye, ha, ha, I'm I friggin laugh riot, ha, ha, twenty thousand comedians out of work and I think I'm funny ) I would rub some bleach on the boil to get it to retreat quickly. A few drops a few times a day. Just don't make the mistake of using the ultra bleach like I did. The boil disappears but in its place you have a chemical burn. Use the regular strength bleach.
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The last time bleach came in very handy was two months ago. I had been peddling my bike into town to find a job, go to the library for the Internet, etc. Never had a problem for weeks. Suddenly, for no damn reason, one day two giant dogs come tearing down the hill. They were moving so fast they raised a pretty big dust cloud. The bastards came out of their gate and started chasing me down the public paved road. One bit me on the calve. I thought it was just a blood blister, that he hadn't broken the skin. Well, a week later ( or so, could have been three or four days ) I start getting some serious pain at the bite site. The wife thought it looked infected. And, this was just after we moved, before my first paycheck. I was flat broke, so there was, again, no doctor for me. Time to self medicate. I took the bleach out and used a Q-Tip. A couple of drops of bleach and I poked the tip hard into the sore, trying to open it enough to get the bleach in. I did that three times that day and the next day I woke up to a lot less pain. I repeated the application that day, just to make sure ( the dogs continued to harass me until I bought some pepper spray, now they are all sound and show as soon as I show them the bottle ).
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When you are too poor to go to the doctors, or when Supreme Ruler For Life, Defender Of The Common Man, Big Daddy Obamma turns the medical field into another Post Office and you don't want to be retina scanned in order to get treated, it pays to know a few tricks like this to take care of minor infections that could get serious.
END
Bad friggin news, loyal minions! The ex got rehired at her old job. A three week vacation, rather than karmic justice. Mores the pity, but I still have hope justice will be served. Here's hope in your eye.
I love you all for reading, I'll love you more if you buy my crap at www.bisonpress.com

self shortages

SELF SHORTAGES
Living in the cold pretty much sucks. Not that living in the tropics is a piece of cake, what with exotic diseases like leprosy, venomous snakes that bite you just because you happen to be passing them by, humidity that rots your skin, mosquitoes that take a few drops of blood and pay for it with malaria, etc. In fact, given the choice, living in a cold region looks pretty attractive as long as you don't freeze to death, or get eaten by polar bears or wolves. But living in both really cold weather and a place that lacks a whole lot of sunshine has got to suck worse. I don't know if Iceland is close enough to the Artic Circle to qualify, and to be frank I lack all motivation to research it. But just off the top of my head I can guess it just plain bites to live there. This was brought in sharper focus with news that since their currency is in worse shape than the Zimbabwean Dollar ( or close enough for non-Third World currencies ) nobody wants to take them for payment. So trade is slowing down between this little island with no fertile soil to speak of and the rest of the globe which has at least a few acres left to douse with oil and grow a few crops that superfluously resemble a healthy food product. The supermarket shelves in Iceland are getting a bit skimpy.
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But don't think that it sucks to be Iceland just because they are an island or are seeing fallout from the American financial sector drowning everyone else in their toxic Ponzi schemes. They are pretty much independent in power thanks to geothermal. A nice thing to have when winters get to the point that in comparison a witches bosom in an iron bra would feel warm. And they still have a good fishing industry. It's not really anything that is setting them up for failure economically. Most likely it was just the roll of the dice that they were the first to feel the global melt down. They are no better or worse off than anyone else. To me, this is just another warning bell. You can have an otherwise sound economy, you can enjoy an energy surplus. But because global trade has made everyone dependant on everyone else and because most ( once healthy ) economies are exposed to the derivatives game, the breakdown of trade is going to bite us in the butt, hard.
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I don't care how broke you are, you can afford some food storage. You can improvise some kind of shelter with what you have on hand. Some kind of defense is possible, even without much cash. Anyone can improvise a crossbow with bolts. Water and food are all you should be worried about at first if you have no other preps. And for under ten bucks you can buy a big bag of flour. Enough to keep you alive for a month. Surely, most of us can put together enough from the cupboards and from trapping small game to survive on as long as we provide the basic bulk of calories from flour. I don't recommend it for long periods of time, and it must be added to more healthy foods. But for thirty cents a day you can get enough calories to squeak by on. No one should be without at least a months emergency food.
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After that, you can flesh out your food storage. Buy a bag of wheat kernels. Either food grade wheat from the local feed and seed store, or if nothing else is available ( the cost is a bit high ), go to my web page http://bisonpress.com/amazonproducts.html and buy a bag ( you can also get cheap grain mills there ). This gives me a percentage of the sale which I buy research books with. Even if you can't yet afford hundreds of pounds of wheat for food storage, this will be enough to use as sprouts. Sprouts is all you need for vegetables in food storage. Don't waste your money buying freeze dried or canned vegetables. I would add beans next, for the protein ( a legume and grain combined give you a complete protein comparable to eggs or meat- not that I would trust white flour over whole wheat flour to do this completely, but better than nothing ). You can use the grain mill and make bean flour that will cook up much quicker than normal, saving you a lot of fuel. Boil the flour in water for several minutes and you have a refried bean type paste. Or just add to flour for bread products. Also, grinding is the only way to eat old beans that have been in storage awhile.
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You have calories, vegetables and protein. Plus, with the beans, fiber. It is not the greatest diet, but it should keep you alive very cheaply. Each family member costs under twenty five bucks a month to feed, with a pound of flour and a half pound of beans plus sprouts, perhaps even with some condiments and spices thrown in. Anyone can afford this, even if you must do a little every payday. Not that I would wait too long. The US dollar could be next to be rejected. We might be reliant in food, but we still need imported fuel to transport that food to population centers. And cook it. Don't let lack of money stop you from buying insurance against self shortages.
END

slow collase blather

SLOW COLLAPSE BLATHER
No collapse in history has been covered more than the Roman Empire. One might even say that has been covered to the exclusion of all the others. And everyone has their own pet theory for the collapse. I've even held more than my fair share. "Come on, Jim, let me have weather related crop failures, you already have hyper-inflation and soil depletion". The one thing that is agreed on is that it was a long and slow collapse. And so everyone uses Rome as a collapse comparison. And while a few Peak Oil writers call for a much more rapid collapse since we are 100% petroleum reliant, I don't think most people have let go of the Rome comparison.
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Which is fine. There are many parallels. Rome and the US both overextended Empire, both introduced more taxes and inflation, both depleted their soils from feeding too much population, both depended on foreigners for energy ( Rome for biological slaves, us for petroleum slaves ), both traded Republics for dictatorships, both encouraged a welfare state, etc. The one difference is that Rome was confined to the Mediterranean whereas the entire world has copied Western models and entered a race to use up as much liquid fuel as fast as possible. Not to use that fuel to build a sustainable future, but to keep their masses in luxury to starve off revolution. Peace is being maintained with a one time energy gift. And let's face reality, the chance of the Abiotic Oil theory being true are pretty darn slim. And even if they are, the replacement rate is no where near the usage rate. As witnessed by Mexico's 10% year over year decline and Saudi Arabia's 90%+ water injection rate.
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The whole globe is going to be effected by overpopulation, soil depletion, currency devaluation, Peak Oil ( remember, the down slope on the bell curve is as steep as the one going up ) and perhaps even the recent lack of sunspot activity. The current economic collapse might be the global start of our long and slow collapse. Certainly, one can argue that the peak of global oil production was reached three years ago. So, add together the decrease in oil and the increase in derivatives and it can only be bad news. I don't think the decrease in crude price reflects the end of inflation so much as credit destruction.
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Now, to get to the point, while global collapse might seem from a historical perspective to be prolonged ( one viewpoint is it started thirty years ago as per capita oil use fell ) the thing to keep in mind that no collapse is universally, evenly applied. Different areas collapse at different rates, one population group is temporarily able to boost its wealth or energy ( actually closely tied together ) at the expense of the other. And that is where the US has been, benefiting off the suffering or lower living standards of others for quite some time. Could that time be coming to a close? No dog stays Alpha Male forever, there is always a younger and bigger dog that comes along. When we are dethroned, it will be our turn to suffer. And it won't necessarily be a manageable collapse. Anarchy, pestilence, starvation, all are a few months of oil supply away.
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Long and slow are from a far away viewpoint. Up close and personal, on the ground amongst events, there will be a lot of suffering individually. Even in a long and slow collapse. Human nature dictates that a few will survive at the expense of the many. This is how the species survives. Think of it as the median price of a house. It doesn't reflect reality. The half million house is for a select few, the hundred grand houses are few and far between ( already bought up ) and most folks can't afford any house. In a collapse, some areas prosper through conquest, a few are totally wiped out and most people live in an unhappy middle of constant lose barely survivable. You see a constant attrition through inflation, job lose, malnutrition, death by exposure, death by crime, starvation, disease. One feeds on another until all four horsemen visit one after another. You are not immune to the statistical insignificant events. In other words, this might be a slo-mo event, but it could still effect you in a serious way.
END
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wet wipes

WET WIPES
Well, I know most of you don't really want another article on the economic toilet flush in progress, Peak Oil, a dissertation on why I am right while everyone else is wrong, or such things as junk land or wheat as the perfect survival food. Although you might see all of that next week. Instead, an article on practical living in the trenches. Yes, another three sentence instruction sheet turned into several hundred words. I almost feel like a Congressman, taking a butt simple idea and turning it into a four thousand page law which adds a trillion dollars in pork to a hundred million dollar project, all the while having the exact opposite effect of the original intended bill. This is why my loyal minions pay me the big bucks ( thanks, Estella, for the generous donation ).
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I have mentioned wet wipes before. Or, perhaps you wish to refer to them as baby wipes. Not that your wishes are that important. If they were, you would be richer than Buffet with a harem larger than a middle east oil sheik. Well, that would be me. You would probably waste your wish on world peace. But then, my luck, I would be deputized against my will as Supreme Economic Adviser and strung up by angry mobs when my policies failed. Or, my court physician would screw up a test and allow a syphilitic wife through and I would go insane quicker than normal. Wet wipes are important. They save on water. In the short term that might become very important. Say, angry peasants are looting the suburbs where you are marooned. There is a creek just down the road, but it behooves you to make as few trips as possible down there to haul water. Yes, I understand in a perfect world where the survivalist fairy sprinkles magic dust upon your pillow as you dream, you would have twenty acres of farmland with a solar and wind powered water well, along with a ten thousand dollar arsenal to defend it against the Bad People. But back in Reality Land ( a dark foreboding place most fight their whole lives to avoid ) most of us are going to have to be content to haul our water.
*
If you can bath with wet wipes ( again, short term ) you could stretch out your water supplies almost twice as long. Sure, you can just go without bathing. The French do it just fine. But then you feel like crap. And, the last thing you need after antibiotics are a fond memory is to have to worry about some funky skin disease. You will also find that wipes to stretch your toilet paper supplies. A clean orifice, a fresh feeling and less TP used. At the Chinese Manufactured Goods Import Warehouse ( Wal-Mart ) wet wipes are $2.18 for 82 wipes in a shrink wrapped plastic disbursal box. Refills are $5 for 246. If you are very generous with your math, that is almost one box free with the purchase of two. Buying a good supply of wet wipes stretches your water supply, helps for TP supply last longer, helps with sanitation. It is a great investment of $5.
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And, yes, cloth is better and lasts longer. It is more economical long term. This is just like paper plates or napkins, it fulfills a short term need cheaply. And, yes, I most likely covered this when I did the article on disposables. The only thing new under the sun is the record breaking complaining you are doing while reading my repeating drivel. I love you anyway.
END

fear and loathing in yuppieville

FEAR AND LOATHING IN YUPPIEVILLE
When certain writers have nothing to say, they rag on suburbanites. When I'm at a loss, a safe and fun target is Yuppies. My favorite whipping boy for a time was old people on Social Security, but that got "old" after awhile. Once I turned forty it was less making fun of old crippled guys and more like I would be trying to deny I was aging myself. Plus, when your father starts collecting at the public tit it cuts close to home. So by default that leaves the Yuppie survivalists.
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And by Yuppies I don't mean there is a dividing line in income. It's not like most people are frugal at thirty grand a year and suddenly start slurping down Starbuck lattes everyday when they get fifty gees to play with. No, it is a attitude thing. When you think you are too good to economize, you are a Yuppie. When you think you only deserve the best, same thing. When you can't compromise. When you won't shop at discount stores. When you won't let your neighbors do as they wish on their own land because it effects your property values. It is the opposite of Redneck in every aspect. Yuppie survivalists won't live anywhere but on a farm. Won't buy any gun that is not a semi-automatic or made with at least some plastic. Thinks protein is freeze dried instead of in a bag of beans.
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There is nothing wrong with wanting the best tool for the job. The problem is when you refuse to use the next best tool that your income allows. Insisting on only the best means you'll have the best of nothing when the oil dries up ( imports down 10% from a year ago ), when the supply lines falter ( such as when lines of credit freeze up ), when the currency inflates ( last years 15% will soon be the "good old days" ) or when you lose your job ( GM accelerates plant closing, seeks partners for cash infusion ). Junk land might produce nothing, but so does the farm they just repoed. Junk land will keep you out of People's Relocation Camps. Bolt action war surplus guns will kill what you can hit, even if it is a bit slower. Grains and legumes are a boring diet, but anyone can afford them ( fifty pounds of wheat cost the same as two MRE's ).
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Wanting to be a Yuppie Survivalist on a Redneck budget means you are avoiding reality. You don't want a collapse. You want a petroleum saturated luxury lifestyle, the one already disappearing ( at least for the proletariat ). If you can't suck it up now and settle for a much more primitive style of existence, you might as well just stop prepping now. Sell your one gun and three mags and turn up the heat to eighty. Go driving down to the mall, buy a few electric doo-dads. Prepping is not about holding on to an easy lifestyle until the last minute, then miraculously going into camping mode flawlessly. It means taking steps now to cushion the fall against the coming decline in living standards.
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I don't envy Yuppies. I see them clutching on to the wrong values until it is too late and it hurts them. Okay, I hate the bastards for their superior attitude, as if money equals brains. But it still pains me to see where they are ending up. See, I'm not a total jerk, I care a little.
END

inflation ahead strategies

INFLATION AHEAD STRATEGIES
Inflation ahead. Duh, right? The Federal Reserve is no longer interested in creating credit by the billions. That was so six months ago. Hundreds of billions lost its flavor last month. Now nothing will satisfy the beast except trillions. The US can't use another trillion? Let's slop some of that into the European banks. They can use it! First the Dot Com's. Then housing. Now the banks. Nothing to sell here except inflation. So you see, the American work ethic is alive and well. We import credit and paper for fun and profit.
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All this is going to lead to inflation. Inflation that screws you over. A few of us grow all our own food on land with low taxes and without a mortgage. And don't need supplemental income or a car. The rest of us ( 99.999% ) are going to feel the pain. Food and energy and shelter doubled in the last few years. Of course your income didn't go up more than a token amount. And that was just the warm up period. The coming inflation won't be offset by pumping oil from new mega-fields. It won't be offset by Unions demanding cost of living increases. There are plenty of workers and far fewer jobs that will be available. Real wages will drop.
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What can you do? You can't really save up on precious metal to counteract inflation ( the paper gold and silver that outnumber actual bullion has given us a low price environment but without the actual supply available to purchase ). You can't stockpile enough of anything to totally insulate yourself. Of course, you should try to do both as much as possible. More importantly, you need to decrease your expenses. You need the ability to shift limited funds from one area to another. I can halve my land payments if food prices doubles. I'm currently budgeted for gasoline at twice the current price. Of course, that is only a short term solution. Then I can eliminate land payments altogether ( having a paid for lot means no rent although it also means I couldn't get to work from there- this strategy is for when you join the ranks of the permanent unemployed ) as well as gas expenses.
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The important thing to realize is that you can't win in the coming inflation. You can only plan ahead of time for fall back positions. All the way back to living in a hovel on junk land poaching game and gathering wild edibles. You are investing now for a more comfortable retreat. Don't invest and you are living in your car ( with an empty gas tank ), freezing in the winter and slowly starving. Much better to have the basics ( paid for land, stored grain and legumes, shelter, guns and ammo ) where you are legally able to squat. A long slow collapse means the government is around to harass you. Junk land, trailer, wheat and surplus bolt guns. A few thousand bucks now for a life time of security.
END
YOU BUY NOW!!!! www.bisonpress.com

motives

MOTIVES
As handy as the Inter-Web is at finding out information, it is not without a price that must be paid. I'm not talking about the $9.95 a month you pay to NetZero for dial-up access ( and a fine deal it is ) but the mental effort that is required to process any information you receive. Nothing is free, and the price for "free" information online is you must judge the accuracy of what you read. Not only that, but you must figure out what motivates the person giving you this free information. If you don't, you are risking money, time, effort. It is easy to give an example in, say, bomb making instructions. If you follow that advice and get caught you will quickly become every bodies favorite bitch in the joint, trading back and forth for a few packs of menthol's. But there are other traps, far more subtle.
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How about the ill-disguised hard money advocates. Obviously their news and articles are slanted at selling you precious metals. You can tell their motives. Yet if you are too cynical about their motives you might ignore actual sound advice they are offering. And the storage food companies. You know they are not going to recommend feed store grains as part of your food storage program. That makes them no money. At the least they will over inflate the danger of not buying their Mylar packed grain. But another point is that they might mislead you about coming dangers. They want to scare you enough to buy their food, but not too much. If there is an immediate danger that would collapse supply lines they will not tell you about it. To take a far fetched example, what if they knew an asteroid was coming ( that no one else was aware of ). They would take your money, put you on the waiting list, then use the funds to set up a retreat far above sea level. Or a coming credit collapse. Why tell you about it? Then you wouldn't trust them to send your order. Do you see where I'm going here?
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I'm not trying to imply survival businesses are crooks. What I am saying is that they see the world through rose tinted glasses. As we all do. Most of the time, we don't try to cheat other people. We just look at reality to ( subconsciously ) benefit ourselves. A cop looks at the greater good of society, not individual suffering from laws against victimless crimes. A corporate executive looks to the good of stockholders, not necessarily workers or customers. Feminists or socialists look at the oppressed minorities and ignore the unintended consequences of their policies. We think we are doing good and so we justify potentially harmful behavior. It is human nature. Most folks are not crooks, even if their actions or inaction's ultimately have the same outcome as if they were trying to hurt others.
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So, a more close-to-home example. Survival writers. The essential product they are selling is fear. Buy my crap now, to save yourself. The best of intentions are behind this. No one sets down to write a book or a Blog with simple profit in mind. The up front effort with the promise of little reward almost guarantees the purest motives. And yet, the writers motives must still be questioned. Myself, I look through the glasses of both irrational fear and paranoia and that of irrational hate. I am 100% convinced they are out to screw me over ( and by extension you also ) and have enough examples through the years to continually feed that paranoia. Thus, I also want to see the whole system that fosters such parasitic behavior come crashing down since that is the only way They Will Suffer Also. So, while I might actually believe we are all doomed and are going to die, should you also? Consider my motivation.
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Obviously this is a lot of work, psycho-analysing everyone. It would be much simpler to take things at face value. Remember, however, everything has a price, including laziness.
END

cold weather gear

COLD WEATHER GEAR
Remember me being a total ass, dancing around and sticking my tongue out at you, mumbling how special I was and how unworthy the rest of you were as I dumpster dove for two years at work and got a lot of cool things like functional computers and books and winter clothing? Right now a lot of my mania for hoarding is coming in handy. It's friggin cold right now and I would have been in big trouble if it wasn't for the foolishness of others wastefulness. In the middle of September it was getting down into the thirties and forties. And last night, not even two weeks into October it got into the teens. I was born and raised in southern and central California. To me this is really cold.
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Living the last five years in Carson City got me used to the idea of cold weather. I was commuting to work in the cold. To me, fifteen was about as cold as I had seen it. Once it got down to five degrees but that was a one time event. The teens were cold enough. And I had the cold weather gear for that. But I just learned an important lesson. Commuting a mile and a half in fifteen degrees is a lot easier than going six miles in thirty. All my "teens" cold weather gear was being made obsolete in the Fall here in Elko. Here I was preaching against folks that ran from warn homes to warm cars to warm jobs or shopping. Don't rely on petroleum products to keep you warm, dress as if they weren't there. But I was less ready than I thought. Even being stationed in Korea long ago hadn't prepared me. I had been relying on artificial heat instead of cold weather gear ( being in the field for a month in the winter didn't really yield much of a lesson as we pretty much just lived full time in our heavy clothes ).
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So it was a good thing I had scavenged all the winter gear I now have. I needed a lot more than I thought when the really cold weather is ten below rather than fifteen above. It took me several tries to get warm hands. The cloth gloves with a wool liner only worked above forty. Two wool liners did nothing to make them more comfortable. The Neoprene ( spelling?- the rubber looking fishing gloves ) were worthless. The Gore-Tex mittens with mitten liners work okay, at least only my thumbs get numb ( I'm going shopping for skiing mittens this weekend ). I'll have to go from leather boots to snow boots once it gets under twenty, even with thick wool socks. I'm pretty much okay except for keeping my hands warm. My torso stays warm with layers of wool sweaters, my legs stay warm even with cotton slacks because I'm peddling ( I'll wear thermal pants once it gets really cold ). I have a polyester cap and a wool cap for my head, worn in layers. Once it is really cold I can wear a ski mask under the caps to keep my face warm.
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Lesson- try to assume you are ready for winter and it will bite you on the butt. Get prepared for no petroleum to heat, as well as temperatures far below normal. I was lucky I had over prepared back in Carson, so now I am almost ready for Elko.
END
You can throw me a friggin bone here and buy my crap at www.bisonpress.com

pan bread

PAN BREAD
Okay, I did a quick skim on my September articles and I noticed a far larger number of financial articles than I remember writing. Without counting I might say it was around 90% of the total, if not more. So I'm going to try to spare you any more for awhile. In a nutshell, we are all doomed and you had better finish up preps now. So there should be very little left to say. If I do find the need to scream in blind panic about finances I will make it a side note rather than the entire article. But, hey, I did warn you I might not have a whole lot of original articles for you when I resumed daily publication.
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In the spirit of "nothing original to say" today's article is pan bread. I have written before on flat bread, the whole wheat with no oil tortilla. I love the stuff. Yet they are a pain in the butt to make. Last Sunday I had a hankering for them and made up three meals worth. It took two hours of constant attention ( you need to keep flipping to avoid burning ). Oh, they were great. I had a huge breakfast of flatbread. I supplemented my fried potato dinner with them. I had them for lunch the next day, and I had enough left over for the wife to munch on for several days ( she eats very little and can make the smallest portions last forever ). But two hours is too long no matter how many meals it produced. Which is why my daily bread is now pan bread.
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It's hard to get much simpler with bread. Well, a microwave flat bread is the simplest, but pan bread takes the prize if you are off grid without a nuker. As my dinner is cooking in the cast iron skillet I add together a cup of whole wheat flour and a half of cup of white flour. A sprinkle of baking powder. Add water. You want the dough thick enough that you need to take a fork to spread it out. Too moist and it takes longer to cook ( too dry and you dirty up a rolling pin and board that takes extra water to clean ). When dinner is done I throw the dough in the pan without turning off the burner. The pan is already hot so you don't waste energy getting it ready to cook. I cook it ( covered with a lid ) on slightly over the lowest flame for fifteen minutes, then turn it and cook for another fifteen. Turn off the flame and let it sit to keep cooking a bit more.
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The bread tastes different almost everyday since it sops up the grease from dinner. On days I haven't used the pan prior to making the bread ( such as on Tuna Tuesday's ) I will add a smidgen of sugar to the batter to give it a sweet, different taste. Every work day I eat a third of the loaf for breakfast and the rest for lunch, along with a handful of chips and pretzels for some salt and grease. It fills me up and gives me enough energy to cycle to work and stay on my feet all day as I pretend to work ( I love the job but a lot of it is "make work" ). I buy my chips at the dollar store and mix them half and half with pretzels since those are half the price of potato chips.
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Simple, kind of common sense, but hopefully a reminder just how easy it is to eat mostly healthy and cheap ( if you aren't peddling long distances the chips would just be a luxury ). It sucks when you start to forget what bacon tastes like, but that's the name of the new game ( "screw the peasants" ).
END

enron nation

ENRON NATION
Now might be a good time to go back to yesteryear and visit a little company called Enron. You know, the guys that played the financial paper game so skillfully they doubled or tripled California electric rates. Then they went bankrupt. And they took all their investors down with them. The other players took a lesson from Enron, but it wasn't the right one.
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No one stopped and said, gee, we might want to be careful and not over leverage ourselves. No, what they said was, We're To Smart To End Up The Same Way. They did the exact same thing to make billions. They just never thought they would end up broke. And now everyone is looking like the idiots that ran Enron. Super filthy rich one day and running from the creditors and the law the next. Right now it looks like the entire nation of Iceland is becoming another Enron. And the EU doesn't seem too interested in bailing them out. They think they are Too Smart To Fail. We'll just print up a few quadrillion dollars and all will be well. Yes, the peasants in the huts will have to pay more for heat and food, but the bankers will keep profiting.
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Unless the bankers end up like the executives at Enron. We'll too smart to fail. Famous last words. When the derivatives market is thirty times larger than the global economy no one is safe. The best case scenario is that hyperinflation keeps the economy going. That is best case scenario. The worse case is that all the intertwined economies fail. And it won't be years and years in the making. It could be weeks or months. Heck, it could be days. If you panic now and nothing bad happens you are merely more self sufficient. If you wait to panic and things fall apart faster than expected...
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The Japanese stock market fell 10% just in one day. The Russian market has to keep closing as its stocks plunge sharply. Both of those countries actually save money. The US has been living off of debt and Enron Economics for almost a decade. It will catch up to us. Trying to time that is juggling chainsaws. It looks cool until you make a fatal mistake. The average retiree is down twenty or thirty percent in their retirement funds. I've got bad news for them- WalMart only has positions open for two door greeters per store and those are already filled. You have no job ready, no retirement income and Social Security, best case, pays off with inflated dollars. Most of those that used to belong to the middle class are upside down in cars and homes, are seeing their retirement shrink and need to compete with a coming tidal wave of Baby Boomers for welfare. If they even get there, as one nation after another sees their banking sector dissolve. But don't worry. We're too smart to end up like the rest.
END
Before they inflate, spend your dollars buying my crap at www.bisonpress.com
Vlad, thanks a million for your generous donation ( the rest of you suck ).

one gun

ONE GUN
Okay, it's time to once again disagree with another blog. When a former gun hater is coming around to the realization that his safe little liberal tree hugging, Volvo driving, Birkenstock wearing, Hillary voting, Union working existence is about to end in a fiery crash as the Banker owned politicians sell the entire country for two cents on the dollar and decides that it does indeed behoove him to invest in a tool for self protection, it is not feasible to lecture him on the finer points of gun ownership. Of course you need more than one gun. Of course one gun won't do it all. But that is like lecturing a patron of a McGreasy on the finer points of wine or caviar. You need to tailor the message to your audience.
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Gun newbies need as little complication as possible. A thousand dollar AR-15 is going to scare them economically and mechanically. I was exposed to guns as a lad, but never to a concentrated degree. Just the basics. When I first was introduced to the M-16 not only was I more perplexed than had I just been shown the inner workings of a clock, it almost scared me more than the NCO's breathing down my neck. How was I ever going to figure out how this complicated hunk was going to get back together? And a semi-automatic pistol will at first seem just as forbidding. Or a rimfire with all the screws and springs. Remember, we are talking about people that get no closer to firearms than what is one their TV screen.
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It is all fine and dandy to talk about concealed firearms, close quarter weapons, medium range firepower or long range sniping for hunting or protection. So, yes, you do need at least four different guns. But the new breed of firearm owners don't care about all that. Most will tune out any level of detail. They need to have an inexpensive firearm that will provide a security blanket and that is dirt simple to use. Remember how overwhelming guns were to you at first? And that is when you wanted to learn about them. Now try to put yourself in the shoes of someone that must learn but doesn't really want to. They need the tool but need it butt simple. They need to cut a board, not learn about grains in the wood, the RPM's of the saw, the maintenance schedule, how to sharpen the teeth, etc. Time is of the essence and money is short.
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The only gun you should be recommending to such people is a single shot break open shotgun. 12 gauge if they have the stamina for it, a 20 gauge otherwise. Yes, it has short range. It can only be concealed if you break the law and cut it down. It will only hunt under limited circumstances ( wooded areas, chiefly ). But for 99% of the people that are untrained in firearms it will give them what they need. Dirt simple and dirt cheap. Not a semi-auto or pump shotgun. I don't care if you are going to be threatened with gangs, when you need more than one shot. If the level of complication is too high, they will never get the gun in the first place, so it becomes a contest between no gun or a single shot. Guess which one will allow you a better change of running away.
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Rimfires are the best for total Apocalypse survival. Semi-auto plastic guns are better for close combat. Thirty calibers are better for long range shooting. Magazine fed shotguns are better for defense. Handguns are better for continuous protection. It doesn't matter. The novice needs a tool for defense that is as simple as possible. As soon as you complicate the matter you are doing them a huge disservice. You don't start novice preppers on home canning and whole wheat kernels, but store bought canned goods and bags of flour. Firearms should be the same. Start butt simple. If there is time and finances, then improve.
END