expensive mistakes

EXPENSIVE MISTAKES


I’m going to set the record straight. Not that the subject is terribly important but if you were to pass on this information I erroneously printed at a cocktail party and everyone was laughing at you and you got all embarrassed and lashed out with a ninja throwing star and burying that steel into your bosses forehead and the shock killed him and you went to jail and got sodomized and while you were being tossed around to all the gangs as a bitch that only sold for one pack of menthols your wife filed for divorce and started shacking up with her lawyer who then bought her a boob job and instead of a carpenters dream ( flat as a board and easy to screw ) she became the next supermodel, why then, I would really feel bad. Not as bad as you would feel the final day of your life as Jerome stuck a broken off broomstick up your ass because by that time you were pretty loose and not very satisfying, but still pretty bad. I stated that the old Swedish dude Gustofus Adolfus redesigned the musket to achieve mass volley fire ( we were talking about the origins of the current spray and pray with semi-autos ) when I should have stated that he introduced the pre-made paper cartridge. As far as the effect goes, the difference doesn’t matter. But a new gun and a new type of ammo are very different things. It was still revolutionary, ol’ GA was still a super guy who you might want to have hanging around doffing a quart of two ( although I think he was pretty religious ), but I didn’t want to start any rumors. I thank my loyal minion for pointing out my mistake. I need to stay humble and true, because God knows if I don’t I’ll be mocked and ridicules far more than is now the case, and you know how sensitive I am.

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Over at Rawles, there was an article Monday where a few mail order companies were taken to task for shipping cheap inferior items. In defense of the one from the Midwest, if in fact he was referring to Sportsman’s Guide, they never misrepresent what they are selling. You just have to read it very carefully. If they don’t say it is genuine surplus then of course it is going to be cheap China junk. If it is surplus, some countries are better than others. I’ve had Italian rucks that are already rotting and ripping. Sometimes you just have to roll the dice. My Swiss surplus mittens didn’t work for crap but my Swiss rain gear works great. Surprisingly, the East German mittens were far superior. And, Sportsman’s is very good about returns. Frankly, I don’t understand the complaint about the company. I think they are top notch. However, I can understand it if this is your typical Yuppie Survivalist whose standards are WAAAAAY too high. Ordering a cold weather suit for over a hundred bucks? I can wear my thermals, wool pants, thrift store wool sweaters and for about $20 I’m comfortable at five degrees ( obviously you have a bit more to wear such as wool socks and beanies, but I’m comparing the cloths that cover the torso/limbs ). Why is this guy thinking he needs a $150 set of cold weather clothes? Well, the article was on buying cheap items. Not cheap as in inexpensive but cheap as in shoddy goods. Which is where the surplus items come into play. My $10 cold weather mittens are on their third winter ( with my early morning pedal, I’m wearing them at least seven of eight months out of the year ) and show no signs of wearing out ( and, yes, I do have a back-up pair just in case ). I do buy the occasional shoddy object, but never on purpose. Like money can determine quality! My $15 Bell brand bike LED’s were total monkey molester crap while my dollar store lights work far longer than the plastic mount that comes with them. Hence, today’s article. Avoiding expensive mistakes.

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The ex-wife was the last REALLY expensive mistake I made. The next two wives were a lot cheaper. The one was insecure, as if I’m a great catch!, and would overeat every time she thought I would leave, usually when I told her she was a fat gross pig ( hey, I was a little nicer than that, but thinking back probably not by much ). The last one I wouldn’t even marry. We’re common law, but neither Nevada nor she acknowledge that. Short story, I can leave her stupid ass ( and, yes, her behavior is stupid, constantly antagonizing the hand that feeds her ) any time I want and not suffer financially. Everything else I’ve put money into, I could easily afford to lose. I don’t buy $1,000 guns, I buy $100 guns. I could easily afford the expensive ones if I wanted to because I pinch pennies everywhere but on preps or this business ( I pinch pennies on each item but collectively spend quite a bit ). But you can easily buy affordable quality. And the few times it turns out to be a pig in a poke, I don’t grieve all that much. I didn’t spend enough to worry about it. Everyone will make mistakes or get cheated. Or just have some bad luck. But if your exposure is limited, it ain’t no thing! I just lost over a years worth of food. And replaced it easily. Because it wasn’t a grand worth of freeze dried foods, it was grain. I’ve had really bad cold spells here where anything metal in the trailer starts to rust, including a couple of old revolvers with their chrome worn away ( and the rimfire rifle before I wrapped it in a blanket ). It wasn’t a problem to get a green scrub pad and some oil and fix them right up, but I’d have been a lot more stressed if they were $800 semi’s instead of $100 pawn shop specials.

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Frugal preps are fun, affordable by all, and if you make a mistake, easily fixed. In your face, Yuppie Survivalist Scum.

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