three rules

THREE RULES


Well, it’s Monday, Labor Day. In years past I would usually make some smart ass comment about how I was laboring on Labor Day as usual. Oh, how I gazed in envy at the wobbling overweight civil servants and/or Union members as they de-assed their recreational vehicles during their long weekend. Wheezing mightily, the burden of hauling their carcass beyond their abused hearts capacity, they smugly thought they were the masters of all they surveyed. They weren’t Manhattan financial manipulators, but had Tom Wolfe set his sights a few rungs down on the socioeconomic ladder he would have felt comfortable writing about the fall of these hubris puffed buffoons. Well, of course now we all know how fragile their security was, and in that vein I am truly, for the first time, actually grateful to be working this Labor Day. While I don’t fear unemployment, I’m starting to realize how small a time frame is left to be overpaid at a conventional job ( not over pay in terms of mental anguish or calories burned, but too much pay in terms of actual useful activity that produces something besides a widget or a service for a widget user ). But this day also left me sad. Sad because my fellow survivalists are ignorant pukes who will die a pathetic, guilt ridden stew pot death.

*

I can’t believe the number of stories from all these people telling of all the contraptions and doodads that failed them when flooding hit the east coast. The problems with the generators and sump pumps and whatnot. Most survivalists relish these stories, using them as learning tools. Why, had Patrick Prepper merely attached a digital oscillating butt plug to his generator, all would have been well. I shall endeavor to purchase one. Does anyone stop and think to simplify? As in, keep it simple stupid ( a minion wrote to take me to task for suggesting the electric black powder rifle-citing the KISS rule- but I cleverly weaseled out of it by pleading it was a pure research inquiry [ I wasn’t sure if the complexity of the spark system was less than the gunlock ] ). If you need a generator, dare I say you are doing most everything wrong? If your house will only stay on its foundation by pumping out water, is it a good post-petroleum shelter? I don’t bring this up to chastise people for spending too much on preps. Personally, I can’t see the need, but that is neither here nor there. The problem lies in your failing to simplify, not in your failure to be frugal. Any unneeded additional lever of complexity multiplies your changes of failure. You might perform miracles with your machines during a functional economy, but come systematic failure, you can’t keep the machines performing.

*

As late as the 70’s, it was generally considered that in law enforcement circles, the automatic pistol was inferior to the revolver. It didn’t matter that the 45 auto was far superior to the 38 in stopping power. As the military was using the Geneva Convention approved ammunition ( full metal jacket ), it needed the extra power to compensate for the ineffective bullets ( we still groove on the Geneva Convention as far as ammunition goes, but ignore it when it comes to torture or who is identified as an enemy combatant, a distinction I’m sure our troops appreciate ). Police equipment didn’t have that problem. 38’s were fine, with the proper ammunition, as lack of penetration was needed in urban areas. The same reason shotguns were preferred. Now of course, the jack booted thug ninjas like to spray and pray with both side arms and long arms, so one presumes public safety is no longer paramount. Anywho, automatic pistols still had a higher incidence of jamming/stoppages. Until materials improved to make them less prone to this problem, the po-po stayed with the simple solution.

*

Which of course brings us to the 80/20 rule. You still need to simplify, but only to the point of sacrificing an acceptable margin in performance. A knife is far simpler than a firearm, it simply will not fail if kept sharp and free of rust, but you don’t bring it to a gunfight. But to accept a revolver over an auto pistol, you can easily fight on par with an extra bit of training. Come system collapse, the revolver will fire crap ammunition but the auto will not. It goes back to being too unreliable compared to its simple, less sexy predecessor. You can live without grid power, or the poor cousin of such, the generator. You won’t be sacrificing performance past an acceptable margin. Comfort, yes, but not performance. Keeping a generator, nay, expecting it to keep you alive, is setting yourself up for failure. The system you want to keep intact is failing. A generator, or a home only inhabitable by one, is a future failing tactic. You are not keeping things simple at all, but complicating the crap out of them. Simple wins.

*

Our last rule I feel I have to remind everyone about is Survivalist Aren’t Military ( SAM ). Be very careful about emulating anything about the military. It could get you killed. That fancy night vision? You know, the one you wear, your scrotal sac retracting pleasurably as you scream that You Own The Night. That bitch is a force multiplier. Right up until it fails. Then your enemy, pathetically relying on nature and training, suddenly owns your ass, and the night. And the device will fail. That is what all devices do. But it is too high tech to ever replace, in a system devolution. Hell, the crap in the batteries in probably only mined in China ( soon to be a civil war/famine hotspot ). Look at the helicopter. They are awesome. Until they break. Which they do quite quickly. They are the polar opposite of simple.

*

KISS, or you fail. The 80/20 Rule will help you KISS affordably and safely. And SAM will keep you alive and simple.

END
The Official Bison Web Site http://www.bisonpress.com/

*
My e-mail is jimd303@netzero.com
*
Anyone can submit a guest article. No minimum word length, no writing skill necessary ( just get the idea across ). You retain copyright ( this must be your original writing ) and I’ll just use the once. I’ve yet to turn down an article, just don’t use the N Bomb or libel another that can sue me. Send by e-mail ( please, label as “guest article” so I can find it easily later ). Payment will be your removal from my enemies list.
*
By the by, all my writing is copyrighted. For the obtuse out there.
*
Please support Bison by buying through the Amazon links in each article. You can purchase anything, not just the linked item. Enter Amazon through my item link and then go to whatever other item you desire. As long as you don’t leave Amazon until after the order is placed, I get credit for your purchase. Thank you.