ZombieAxe's Ramblings...

You just keep me hanging on...

2010-08-13T05:16:00.002-05:00

Howdy Folks,

Wow, I have been busy for awhile and have neglected posting here. I am doing ok just working a bunch of overtime and trying to stay cool in this hot weather.

I also have been working on a photography website which has been a great diversion for me. Don't worry, I have not lost the mindset of preparedness!

When things slow down later this fall, hopefully I will have a bunch of free time and will be able to continue this blog with some fresh content.

Thanks for being there.

Later,
ZA

Ramblings on the homestead...

2010-05-17T18:35:00.005-05:00

Howdy Folks,

Just had a little time to post another picumentry and show you how the homestead is looking...

Looks like my Stark Apple Trees will be producing a good crop this year :) If there is one thing you need to do when you get a piece of property is to plant fruit trees/bushes, nut trees, etc. as soon as you can. This is one thing that will really pay for itself once they start producing. It takes years sometimes for these trees to produce so you will want to get started as soon as you can. These trees were planted 3 years ago.

The chickens are doing fine, having a problem with one being broody, but that might come in handy when we want chicks. 6 hens produce more than enough eggs for us. Like I said before, chickens are the easiest way to produce food I have found yet!

Another thing we are really enjoying is the Jack Spirko Strawberry pot. When I say we are enjoying it, I mean it!. It provides us with a nice bowl of strawberries every day to eat! Basically it is a large plastic pot with 2" holes drilled into the side and strawberry plants placed in them. I like this idea so good that I plan on adding a few more. This is an excellent way to have strawberries!!! Thanks Jack :)

And thanks to ya'll for reading my Ramblings!

Later,
ZA

Ramblings on Storm Photography...

2010-05-15T11:24:00.004-05:00

Howdy Folks,

Been kind of busy here on the farm lately. I added a new section of chicken pasture since the chickens were none too happy that I eminent domained part of the chicken yard for the garden spot this year. Unlike the politicians I will give it back to them once I am finished!

As some of you may know, I have been seriously messing around with my digital SLR camera and it has become quite the addiction! The power of capturing a never changing moment in time, to be able to relive it at any time in the future is IMHO one of man's greatest innovations.

Anyway, this photography thing is how I like to spend my free time, so I apologize for the long time between posts. Also for those that think I am on the sheeple band wagon because I have a hobby, don't worry I am still prepping.

So to make a short story long, I have been having problems with my super cheap (but paid for) video tripod staying still enough to take night shots and other low light photographs. I decided to pick one up at my local big box store and I now have a steady platform to take some pics with long exposures.

After a rough week at work, I was noticing how the sky looked like it was ripe for a few boomers. The Wx radio confirmed that we might get some storms at night. I worked on the chicken coop and came inside. I was playing with the kids when I noticed that to the North and West the sky was getting dark. A quick check of the radar loop on the iPhone confirmed there was a slow moving line of storms. These storms would be visible North before the rain came from the West so I would stay dry taking some pics.

Out came the new tripod and I mounted my trusty Canon (no not a cannon for you non camera folks! LOL) and took some test pics to set my focus and lock it before the sun went down.

I aimed the camera mostly North to where I could hopefully catch some long streaks of lightning and not get any junk in my back yard in the frame.

It took about an hour and a half for the storm to get near, but it was pretty awesome watching the fireworks. Eventually the lightning strikes came in to where the trees were not blocking them (cotton fields provided long distance sighting of storms, but on a tree farm that view is reduced a whole bunch!) and I started capturing them on the camera.

Before you check out the pics and if you are interested, here is what I was using : Canon D-SLR, 18-55mm kit lens (needed the wide angle), carbon fiber tripod, time value of 15-30 seconds (I left the shutter open for that long to capture the streaks) and a IR remote control to trigger the shutter.

For those that are wondering, most lightning shots are captured by opening the shutter for a certain amount of time and hopefully the film or sensor will capture those streaks. On my favorite shot, those streaks did not occur at the same time but over a period of about 30 seconds... I am showing some in B&W because they are a little more striking (pun intended) that way...

Here you can see the lightning illuminating the underneath of the cloud. Earlier I took some pics were it was illuminating the clouds from above, even though it was dark outside it appeared on the pic that the sun was behind clouds.

Another pic. The house that shows up is an old farm house on the property...

Storm is getting closer. On my viewfinder, I saw the big streak on the left but not the multiple strikes right of center until I saw it on the computer!

Even closer still. Streaks are getting longer!!!

Finally my favorite shot of the night...

When I started taking photos years ago (started with film and Minolta 35mm SLR's) I was under the assumption that with EVERY pic I would take an amazing shot... I would be upset when they we just sorta good! Maybe some folks can, but the vast majority of us may snap a 100 and have only 1 or 2 great ones in that bunch. So when I snapped about 50 last night, I was thrilled that I got one decent lightning shot, I am happy with it (mainly that I was at home and had time to set it all up as that can be a challenge sometime!). All I can say is that hopefully when the next storms roll through (maybe tonight!!! YEAH!!!!) I will be trying again to get an even better image of lightning streaks!!!

To wrap things up, I will try my F 1.4 50mm tonight instead of the 18-55mm if the storms do happen. Luckily for me, the storm came to me, but I need to scout some (SAFE) locations in my area that give you a better vantage point... With working all the time that can be hard to want to head out away from home to set up a lightning shoot that may or may not be productive!

And the final finale... Next to ice storms, lightning/severe thunderstorms do more damage to things in my area than anything else. You do have surge protectors on your precious electronics, or unplug them when storms are coming I hope??? An uninterruptible power supply goes a long way to keep your DSL/cable mode/DVR running. We have one on our DVR to prevent 'holes' in our TV shows since it takes about 5 minutes to reboot when the power is interrupted! Generators have come in handy several times when lightning has wrecked the power grid for a few hours...

If you do decide to photograph lightning or have to be outside in it, be CAREFUL!!!

Thanks for reading!

Later,
ZA

Ramblings on ice ash...

2010-04-17T22:20:00.006-05:00

Howdy Folks,

It has been a hectic past couple of weeks here. A few weekends ago, I changed ALL the fluids on my Tractor, so it is good to go.

I had an accident at work a few weeks back where a careless homeowner left boards with nails out in his woods... now here is the bad part.... instead of stepping on them, I slipped and they wound up in my knee!!! Punctured a tendon but I am pretty much back to normal. I am thankful that we live in the modern world where such things as antibiotics and tetnus shots exist. An injury such as mine could have had a different outcome in a SHTF scenario! So stock some meds and first aid supplies. I have heard some experts say not to have advanced medical supplies if you do not know how to use them, but IMHO that is stupid thinking... You may come across someone who knows how to use them if only they have them... Remember the preppers mantra " IT IS BETTER TO HAVE IT AND NOT NEED IT, THEN TO NEED IT AND NOT HAVE IT!" of course that does not excuse you from having some skills and learning more!

On the farm I have been doing a little bush hogging try to keep that Spring green down to an acceptacle height as well as getting my garden ready. This year I plan on using part of my chicken coop as a garden. The chicken yard is turning a lovely brown color and digging always yields some nice earthworms! The chickens have also kept anything green from growing so it is the absolutely most weed free area I have around! We will have to see how that turns out.

Also I admit to having acquired a iPad and love it. That is also the reason my blogging has suffered, until I remembered I could actually type a blog on this thing! Great device and I really enjoy it. My only problem is after using the iPad, my iPhone looks REALLY tiny!!!

Now on to the topic of this post. Some relatives of mine are in Europe, taking care of family. They are supposed to fly back stateside in a couple of days. Problem is there is this volcano in Iceland spewing up abrasive ash into the air... in the same airspace that many airplanes fly to either get to or from Europe. So they are experiencing massive flight delays and many travelers are stuck wherever they happened to end up at.

I was actually reading the BBC tonight on the iPad and saw a video about folks being stranded justctrying to get home. They were interviewing an Indian gentlemen who was in England for a "holiday" and was worried because he already "blew all his money having fun" and was expecting someone to take care of him until he could get back home!!! Come on folks, you are in a foreign land, you had better have something to provide for you because you are on your own! I detest credit cards, but here is ONE instance I would want a platinum one!!!

Luckily my relatives have a place to stay, and this event is actually working in their favor since they were planning on extending their stay a few more weeks and with the air travel FUBAR now happening, they will not have to pay a penalty fee to stay longer! They are working on gathering a few extra supplies "just in case". Talking about a WORST CASE SCENARIO for bugging out...

Keep an eye on this folks as it could get interesting. Europe imports a lot of their food, but also grows some. What happens when they can no longer provide the food they used to grow and have to import more food??? What happens if this volcano keeps spewing ash for months and it weakens an already fragile European economy??? How will this effect the already fragile economy of the world??? What about Iceland ??? They were already having economic problems. Even if the volcano just spews ash for a few more weeks, think about the impact to their tourism industry!

It is going to get interesting... So keep up the preps, watch your six and God bless ya!

Thanks for reading!

Later,
ZA

Ramblings on SHTF Ham Radio...

2010-03-21T12:13:00.003-05:00

Howdy Folks,

I finally got a little free time today, so I figured I would take on things to do with ham radio wtshtf.

So first lets flesh out the conditions. TSHTF and whatever caused it has pretty much taken out most of the infrastructure (power,communications,utilities) has been destroyed. Governments of the world are either gone or cannot help their people and you and yours are on your own...

1. The Ability to Communicate with Others Over Long Distances

With the internet, phone lines, and cable TV gone you will be in the dark for information. With your ham radio rig, you can reach out to those on the other side of town to communicate with those of your group who are hunkering down there. You can also reach out across your state, country or world to find out what the heck just happened!!! The ability to find out you are not the last family on earth is priceless!

2. The Ability to Setup a Cross Band Repeater to Establish Local Communications

A cross band repeater is a very handy radio. Dual band radios (usually 144/440mhz) sometime have a feature called cross band repeat. This feature helps you extend the range of your HT. I have used this feature to place the cross band radio on a mountaintop so I could talk with my buddies on the other side of the mountain. Since VHF/UHF radios are line of sight, we used the cross band radio to give us coverage to the blind sides of the mountain. Event a 5W cross band capable HT on a mountaintop would greatly increase the range of the HT's/mobiles in the valleys below.

3. The Ability to Talk to a Professional to Talk you Through a Problem

Imagine the scenario that someone in your group has taken ill, you have limited nursing skills. After TSHTF your ham radio guys have setup a national net to provide expertise in skills that groups are lacking. You contact net control and they put you in contact with a doctor that helps your team member survive.

4. The Ability to Send Pictures.

To expound on #3 a picture is worth 1000 words, so instead of the electrician on the national net trying to explain how to wire up a solar panel set, he simply sends you a picture of a wiring diagram. Hams routinely send pics over the air from across the country!

5. The Ability to Send Live Video

ATV or Amateur Television has the ability to send live video across short distances. So TV locally is doable.

6. The Ability to Operate Your Own UAV

With a Radio Controlled Airplane (or ground vehicle) with ATV (Amateur Television) you could have your own UAV that could provide you with intel without sacrificing your groups safety. A UAV could be a definite force multiplier.

7. Have Longer Range Communications Than Those With FRS/GRMS

FRS/GMRS radios do have their uses and will probably be prolific during a SHTF event (barring EMP), but they never operate anywhere close to the range stated on the blister pack. Even a Ham radio HT does not have a range of 27 miles... but a 2m HT will perform much better than those with FRS/GMRS radios! The ability to have communications superiority over those that may wish to do you harm will be an advantage!

8. The Ability to Operate with Odd Splits

Ham Radios have this really cool ability to operate with odd splits. What this means is that instead of transmitting and receiving on let's say 146.150 mhz we transmit on 440.500mhz and the station we are talking to is listening on 440.500mhz. When the station that is listening on 440.500mhz transmits, they transmit on 146.150mhz. This gives anyone listening a hard time following BOTH sides of the conversation unless you know the split. With ANY dual band radio this is possible. Pretty cool.

9. Setup a Packet Radio Network

With packet radio you can establish bulletin boards even send email. The only limits are to how far you can transmit. Even APRS (not using the GPS part) can transmit short messages on a very robust network. The newer D-Star technology has some very cool features with file transfers and video!

10. Having a useful skill

Since you are a ham radio operator, you have a very useful skill as you have already demonstrated that you have a basic knowledge of communications. You may not be able to build a radio from scratch, but you do have a knowledge of communication systems work! This can be a real asset to ANY group.

Hopefully this has given you some ideas of how ham radio can be a benefit to YOU WTSHTF. Get your license so when you need those skills you will have had plenty of time to practice them in a low pressure environment!

Thanks for reading!

Later,
ZA

Ramblings on the small farm tractor...

2010-03-09T21:23:00.004-05:00

Howdy Folks,

Well just when I was going to jump into ham radio and TSHTF scenarios (I will get to it a little later), We inherited (wife's Grandpa and like my own as well) a small farm tractor so I have been kind of busy getting my ducks in a row with that.

I figured that it would be interesting to see how this will figure into my preps and its many uses on the homestead. Now this is not my first foray with farm tractors as my 'POP' lives close by and I can use his anytime I wanted... However this one is MINE (well as long as I stay married to my wife, so that will be like... FOREVER!!! LOL) and I don't have to spit shine and return in better condition when I am finished using it. At least that is what I do when I rarely borrow someone else's stuff!

This is my first experience with one with a front end loader and all I can say is... AWESOME!!!

This afternoon I had free and after PMing (old Army term called Preventative Maintenance)it I tested it out.

First off I had a raised bed in the front yard that was getting too much sun during the brutal summer afternoons. The loader had some homemade forklift spikes on it which I simply slid under the 2"x10"x10' boards and lifted the 4'x10' frame easily up and over the dirt. I then hauled it around back, dropped it off and then removed the spikes/forks and went to dirt scooping mode. I scooped up the rich soil and moved it to another raised bed where I have been composting chicken manure and dumped a couple of scoops in it. Later on I will mix it all up with a tiller. I need to find another place for the raised bed I moved today and I still have about half the soil to fill it up.

Next up I went to the creek at the ford where we cross it. After some big gully washers it deposited some nice piles of sand. I terraformed it to my liking and took two bucket fulls up to the house to use later. It is nice to be able to have that resource and be able to take advantage of it when it happens!

After that I decided to hook up the Bush Hog (yes it really is a Bush Hog) and mow a path in one of my back fields. Worked like a dream and was relaxing. The tractor has HST (Hydro Static Transmission) and IMHO it is a must if you want a loader on front, but I miss the 'cruise control' on the manual transmissions IF you are bush hogging all day long. Still I love the HST!

Now when I work all that OT in the summer and my yard gets high because I am working past dark and off days, I can just jump on the tractor and bush hog it instead of asking POP to use his from now on!!!

I also have quite a few implements to go along with the tractor but I am seriously considering getting a backhoe for the ultimate homestead tool!

The tractor is in EXCELLENT condition with only 705 hours on it (my riding mower gets that in a summer!!! LOL). Next full weekend I have off I am going to replace ALL the fluids in the tractor so I will know where I stand on my maintenance schedule.

I will try and point out how I use the tractor on the homestead and some of the things I am doing to prep for it. Right now I don't have any thing that uses diesel except the tractor so I have a limited amount of fuel for it. That will change and I am already getting things in order.

I would also like to apologize for not a bunch of pics, but a farm tractor has grease fittings on it and by the time I think, "man, I need to take some pics of this", my hands have a thick coat of grease on them! So no way I am gonna get grease on my lenses, DSLR or iPhone... but I will take some in the near future!

Now, I would like to thank the person who left me their little tractor and thought so much of my wife and myself to leave it to us...

I am very thankful to 'Papa Bill' but I am also very sad that all I have is my memories and his little orange tractor that he so lovingly maintained instead of his perpetual smile and good humor to make me feel like I was his grandson. Papa Bill, was the closest I have ever been to a genuine HERO. At age 8 he father died and he had to provide for the family. Family always came first with Bill, with him only considering his own needs after he was sure everyone else had plenty. The only thing that the man ever did wrong was lie about his age, so he could go fight the Germans in WWII. He fought in the Battle of Bulge. Was with the 9th Armored Division as they fought to keep the Germans from blowing up Remagen bridge so they could defeat the Nazi's quick and get back home! When he got back home, he worked in a textile mill as an electrician and maintenance guy supreme. When he got off work he farmed on the side to make money for his family. Then he woke up and delivered newspapers before he went back to the mills!

Eventually he retired from the mill, but he still worked as much as the government would allow him and not penalize him. The fields he farmed sprouted housing developments and there was not as much of a need for a large tractor. So after downsizing he eventually purchased his last tractor. One that helped him out and the one that we came to inherit.

Papa Bill, I miss you and you will live on in my heart and the hearts of your granddaughter and great grandchildren until we meet again. Thanks for your sacrifices, your service to our country, your kindness and that ever present smile!

Thanks for reading!

Later,
ZA

Ramblings on why Ham Radio Operators, "Get IT wrong"...

2010-02-23T21:07:00.005-05:00

That is when we try and sell ourselves to the S&P community!

First off, let me offer up this disclaimer. I am a Ham Radio operator and I, myself, am guilty of some of the following things. This may ruffle some feathers, but it is my hope that we as Hams, don't try and sell the hobby, but instead sell the reason and capabilities to those in the S&P mindset.

Second, let me make it VERY CLEAR, I admire and respect the hams that provide public service to emergency organizations. My hats off to you and keep up the good work. This is in no way disrespectful of what you do...

OK, so why do ham radio operators get it wrong, when trying to encourage others to join our hobby so those of the like mind can be prepared???

It is in my opinion, that we sell it as an expensive hobby (sometimes), one where we will be stuck in some shelter for days on end providing communications, to talk to another human being on the other side of the world for no other reason than to make a friend. I can think of many more, but these always get mentioned!

When you extoll the many wonders of ham radio to someone new, you know you lost them when you say," I worked a JG1 call last night on LSB on 40 meters, running 5w from my FT-817 into a G5RV @ 40' signal was 5 by 9, ain't that cool???" as their eyes glaze over and quickly try and change the conversation!

The S&P (Survival & Preparedness) person that may be interested into learning about ham radio, does not care about what you do with it, but rather... WHAT IT CAN DO FOR THEM!!!

For example, you may have headed down to New Orleans with all your ham gear in tow and VOLUNTEERED a MONTH of your time to man a shelter so they would have a link to the outside world since all the normal means of comms were down, but to the average prepper, that does not sound like something he may want to do.

However, mentioning that sometimes the power fails, telephones are down, cable out and cell phones are a NO GO, but with ham radio you were able to talk into or out of those areas that not longer had any communications infrastructure... now that sounds pretty cool!

I don't think, in our hobby, that we sell ourselves very well in the S&P part. Telling folks that I and several other hams spent a week on a ghost town off of the Outer Banks of NC operating ham radio on solar and generator power for a week is much more interesting than talking about the latest contact we made the other night in Europe after supper.

Not to say there is not a place and time for such things, but it is not usually the 'HOOK' that make the non ham, wish to become part of our hobby.

S&Pers want to know WHY they should get licensed, how to use it WTSHTF/TEOTWAWKI, what are the benefits and so on. It is our job as hams to get those folks interested in ham radio. Maybe some of the S&P hams we recruit will go on to be a world class DXer, head of the county or state ARES/RACES, or maybe ham radio will be nothing more than a vital link to those they wish to communicate with when all other methods are not viable. Either way, it is a win for all hams, and a benefit to anyone that knows how to use a ham radio when the chips are down!

I have helped recruit many S&P minded folks into ham radio, often buying the study manual and telling them to 'pass it on' once they got licensed. Once they got a taste of what ham radio could many became involved in ARES/RACES, MARS, SKYWARN, and/or other emergency organizations. Some just wanted to capability to talk around town on repeaters and with a licensed spouse used them to communicate around the homestead.

I will be coming up with some ideas on how to use ham radios WTSHTF in the next week or so, to hopefully inspire folks to 'think outside the box' when it comes to ham radio and not use the 'old marketing' techniques that have been in place for so long.

Like I said, I mean no disrespect to any ham radio operator who volunteers their time for using their ham radio to provide comms, I just want us to think about how it sounds when we describe our hobby to others.

I mean come on... we have to compete against iPhones and computers that can do MANY of the things that ham radio can do (although hams were doing similar things years before the technology was perfected, and in many cases were the folks who came up with the ideas that inspired many communication technologies) as long as EVERYTHING is working right!

This should be an easy sell to those of the S&P mindset, so lets explain how it will benefit the user in the long run... Once they get their taste of what ham radio can do, THEN they will find out about the hobby and service aspects of it.

That may be why I think this way, for I never came from it from the 'ham radio is a cool hobby', but rather, ' ham radio is a vital skill for me as prepper' mindset. Once I played around with my new skill, I found out the best way to increase my skills was to learn the many different ways to send a message across town or around the world.

I hope that we hams of the S&P mindset, will stop and take a look at how we sell ham radio to folks, and quit trying to talk about the hobby and talk about it as a preparedness skill. We also need to do a better job in explaining HOW you can use this skill in your preparedness plan as a prepper and NOT just a ham radio operator. Just saying...

Thanks for reading and 73.

Later,
ZA

Ramblings on the movie "Pandorum"...

2010-02-21T13:00:00.004-05:00

Howdy Folks,

The wife and I were looking for a flick to watch last night on PPV (pay per view) and came across Pandorum which was a very interesting sci-fi movie.

I was very impressed with the technology in the movie, mainly the emergency power!

In one scene there is no power for a computer station and it seems the engineers foresaw the need for backup power. With a few cranks of a wheel the computer station comes to life.

In another scene a crew member locates the weapon locker which has non-lethal riot weapons. The weapons mount on your wrist and shoot out a pulse. To power the weapon, you must first pump it up a few times to generate enough power.

In many scenes the pumping up of the wrist weapon replaced the racking of the slide on a semi-auto when trouble was near so that Hollywood cliche was still in action.

The movie, IMHO was pretty decent, but what impressed me was that emergency powered equipment!

I sure wish I had some of that power generation technology here on the farm right now!!!

Later,
ZA

Ramblings on a walk in the woods with my 1.4 50mm lens...

2010-02-14T22:05:00.005-05:00

Howdy Folks,

Man this snow here in NC is getting OLD. It has helped us get out of this drought we have been in and has been pretty to look at. It seems here lately though, I am always working in it when the flakes are falling!

Well being I had the day off, I decided to treat myself to a little photo walk around the farm and see if I could catch anything with the camera that looked interesting. It was my first attempt at only using my Canon 1.4 50 mm lens. I usually always take along the lens that came with my Canon DSLR, a 18-55mm which IMHO is a pretty good lens. However with the fixed focal length 1.4 50mm I had to use my 'walk zoom' to either get closer or farther away to frame the pic.

I also wanted to shoot with a shallow depth of field which keeps a small area in focus, but blurs out the background. I am tickled with how these came out but I know they need some work as I am still in the learning phase.

This is a old sprayer that my Grandpa used to spray for those pesky boll weevils in his cotton fields in the 40's and 50's. It is long forgotten and is disappearing under the vines a little more each year. I love the blurring out of the background on this one!

I really was pleased with the way these turned out, but I plan on experimenting with this a little more. The snow was melting on the North side of this spring house. I wish I could have been on the South side to try and catch some light in the water drop as it fell. With the way it has been snowing, I should get my chance real soon! LOL Needs some work, but wow. I even caught a few in mid air that look good. An ordinary drop of water, just for a fraction of a second, is more beautiful than a diamond IMHO!

A old sign telling one not to trespass. I needed better lighting and the image is not as crisp as I would like, but I dig the background! No worries, I will get another chance as the whole homestead is my laboratory!

One of my faithful photography assistants who makes sure a deer doesn't come up behind me and attack me with antlers! Give credit where credit is due!

I have a walking trail around the homestead, and for as long as I can remember this tree has been hollow in the center since I was a wee lad. I am amazed that it has not fallen down. It seems to me it has not grown much either, but every time I pass it, it seems like an old friend that I am happy to see. With the dab of snow left on the top of the hole, it looks like a cozy place for a critter to sleep away the cold days of winter.

Well that is it for now folks, hopefully I didn't bore you non photo geeks too much, but I figured I would calm down and relax after my Ramblings on 2012 entry. Thanks for reading, and thanks for ya'll new followers on the blog. I appreciate all of you!

Later,
ZA

Ramblings on the Mayan Calendar and TEOTWAWKI

2010-02-11T21:17:00.004-05:00

Howdy Folks,

I remember back in the 80's I was excited to acquire a Casio Databank watch. While reading the directions I found out the electronic calendar would show the correct day of the week, date and month until the year 2024.

At the time I was so in love with that watch, I was sure that I would keep it till 2024! After a couple of years, things break and after the strap broke I was on the look out for a new watch...

So what would happen if society collapsed resulting in the majority of the knowledge we have today being lost, (let's say around 1990)?

After a couple decades society is slowly piecing itself back together... many strange artifacts are recovered. One of the artifacts is a Casio Databank watch. With a little tinkering and scavenging the curator of the "Old World Museum" manages to get the Casio working again!

The curator is very excited begins pushing buttons and after awhile figures out that the calendar on the Casio will not go past the year 2024! He thinks nothing of it but when he mentions it to the ruling council, the elders, who are very superstitious take it as a sign.

The elders interpret the sign as the world will end in 2024! For why would such a technologically advanced society of the old world create such a wonderful device and not have the date go beyond 2024 if the world was not going to end then??? I mean what else could it mean other than THAT??????????

Dear readers, do you not think that just maybe the Mayans created their calendars back in the old days and figured they would make it last until the year 2012 which was the end of some great cosmic cycle??? Maybe they thought they had plenty of time to make the "NEXT ONE"??? I mean there is a bunch of other things to do in a 5124 year calendar other than worrying about making the NEXT calendar!!!

The Spanish came to Central America, changed civilizations, had offspring with the natives, destroyed their 'weird religions' and converted them to Catholicism thus destroying the Mayan culture and religion. So maybe the people who used to be the Mayans, don't really give a crap about making calendars anymore and instead give us more valuable items like Tequila, Fajitas and Hot Stuff!!!

Maybe we have the Spanish Conquistadors and their quest for gold to blame for this 2012 hysteria these days???

Dang Cortes, you could have at least let them make another calendar!!!

Shoot, being a 5124 year calendar you could flip the thing to zero year or whatever and reuse it!!!

I mean Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull made more sense than "the world is ending in 2012 crap because we can't find the next calendar!!!"

Maybe the world will end in 2012 (but not because of the Mayan calendar), but if the Mayans were so good at predicting stuff, why didn't they see the Spanish coming???

Whatever it is, I ain't buying it!

***RANT OFF***

Thanks for reading!

Later,
ZA

Ramblings on the SHTF x2...

2010-02-11T20:34:00.002-05:00

Howdy Folks,

With the talk of Iran was going to do 'something' today and the record snowfall in Washington D.C. it got me to thinking... What would have happened if you were in the Capitol (or any where else) and had to evacuate with a blizzard?

I reckon if that is where you chose to live, then you are pretty much stuck when mother nature dumps on you.

I think the most important thing is be aware of the weather and realize that if you plan on bugging out, you are not guaranteed clear skies, empty roads, and smooth sailing, so plan accordingly!!!

Later,
ZA

Ramblings on Podcasts...

2010-02-03T21:42:00.006-05:00

Howdy Folks,

It has been a mess here in the Carolinas the past few days as we received another 6 inches of snow here on the homestead. With the cold nights that dip below freezing and the refreeze of the snow melt it can make for some dicey driving conditions.

All this cabin fever has me ready for spring! Being cooped up is a great time to listen to podcasts... well actually anytime is!

Working by myself has its benefits and also its downsides as well. While I hardly ever have anyone looking over my shoulder I often times have no one to keep me company. That is why I will pester folks like my good friend, Freedom Defender as well as WW in TN and Al in NC. Many times though, my friends are busy or I am suffering from a loss of connectivity in my wireless access, so I have to have other folks to keep me company.

I usually ride along with Jack Spirko of The Survival Podcast which has been a big help in keeping me heading in the direction I need to be in my preps. I have to say though, since Jack has been podcasting from the home office, I sure do miss those 'auto rants'. Good stuff! This guy is worth MORE than 20 cents an episode and it is why I support him via the members support brigade!

I have only been listening to Matt of The Prepper Podcast for a few weeks now and just finished listening to episode 21 today and I am totally impressed with this dude. Every week Matt has bloggers and others of the preparedness mindset on his show and does an excellent interview. For a prepper that is getting his start, Matt is going places. Keep up the good work. Also check out The American Preppers Network which has some great forums and State Clubs which folks can discuss and plan meetups. Good Stuff as well!!!

I also listen to many non S&P related podcasts, such as Leo Laporte for my Technology Fix, Today in iPhone for the latest info on iPhone related stuff, This Week in Photography for my Photography fix, and my Favorite Walt Disney World Podcast... WDW today which always brings me a little cheer because I always enjoy taking the kids to see the only mouse I don't wanna stomp on!!! LOL

I have many more podcasts that I listen as well, but I can't cover them all. I average about 18 hours a day in podcast listening... but it only takes me 9 as my iPhone has a 2x speed setting which allows me to listen to them quickly. Yeah, it takes a little getting used to, but once your ears get calibrated for it, you can easily understand everything being said! This is a way to listen to a TREMENDOUS amount of info daily and keep up with everything that interests you!

Oh yeah, I also listen to audiobooks as well... I use Audible and I am very satisfied with them. If you click on the Audible link above I WILL NOT GET ANYTHING!!!!!!!!!! I do not plan on monetizing my blog at this time, so my plug for them is only from a satisfied customer point of view!

The time I spend working with my hands is also time that I can listen to those books I never seem to have time to read because I am mostly working.

So consider getting an MP3 player, or better yet... a iPhone and finding yourself some podcasts/audiobooks to listen to, so you can learn about more things, get better educated and pass the time better!

Take it easy and thanks to all you new followers (as well as old timers!!!)

Later,

Ramblings on YakTraks and STABILicers...

2010-01-18T22:14:00.005-05:00

Howdy Folks,

If you read some of my report on working in the snow and ice up in the mountains, you may recall how I mentioned that my YakTraks FAILED (EPIC FAIL!!!) because of the constant walking up steep hills and punching through the crust of ice to get to the ground below for a solid grip.

First of all let me say this about the YakTraks... they are worth $20 if you plan on using them in the city on flat ground to walk on the sidewalks coated with ice. They will not do you any good though walking up hills and punching through ice like I did.

Eventually, even with my attempts at repairing them with zip ties they became more trouble than they were worth.

I knew the type of design that would hold up to the conditions I was working in. I needed something with a hard plastic or rubber bottom to allow me to stomp through the ice, and they needed nylon traps so there would be no FLEX when I walked up an down hills.

A search on Amazon revealed STABILicers by www.32north.com These were EXACTLY what I needed and have proven durable enough to last longer than the failed YakTraks. The traction you get with the STABILicers is tenacious to say the least. The first time I walked up a hill I felt like I was walking on dry rough concrete and there was no flex like with the YakTraxs which gave me confidence I was not going to fall and do the luge down the mountainside!

The YakTraks are easy to slip on and off. They also tuck away nicely in your coat pocket for those times you need to go inside.

The STABILicers take a little more time to take on and off, but not really that much longer. They do not tuck away easy though, but for the stability they give me, I can handle that problem!

I will probably get another pair of YakTraks for use when I am in town and need to walk around, but for working... I will be using the STABILicers from now on!

Thanks for reading!

Later,

Ramblings on Y2K , a retrospective...

2010-01-03T20:41:00.004-05:00

Well folks it is a few days past the 10 year anniversary of the much hyped Y2K bug.

I thought it would be a fun thing to look back on this event and share some of the things going through my head at the time.

I have always been into prepping and wilderness survival techniques since the mid 80's. I always thought that S&P (survival & prepardeness) meant having guns... lots of guns. Sure it was a hook for a lot of us gun owners and an excuse to our wives to buy firearms.

About 1998 the Y2K bug was everywhere in the news, with books, videos and websites dedicated to the topic (I still have several of these just to show my kids when they get older). In fact that is where I cut my teeth on various survival forums (the original Squirrels, Plainsman's Cabin, and Assault Web as a few) being heavily involved in the Communication forums.

I learned a lot of things to help prep me for Y2K there but if Y2k had actually happened, I would have been up the creek with a water soluble paddle!

I got a generator, a long term storage fuel supply, a swimming pool to store water, some ammo, a little food and a small battery pack.

On 1-1-2000 nothing happened that didn't usually happen. Most folks sold off their Y2k preps and I got a some freebies from a fellow prepper who said the heck with it and gave me a good start on my preps!

I was not sure that Y2k was going to be a big deal or not, but I wanted to do SOMETHING and I thought what I was doing was good enough. I think it is basic human nature to want to do anything even if it turns out wrong.

It was definitely an interesting time to experience!

Around 2003 I started getting my preps in order. Food is more important that weapons and ammo. Knowledge to know how to grow and preserve more food is even more important. Skills began to overtake preps although BOTH are important!!!

Still there is always more things to learn and more things to store no matter how long you have been into prepping!

So even though Y2K was a flop, it was the catalyst that helped me get into the correct mindset that I have today!

I also think that Y2K is where a bunch of folks learned that they were not crazy because they wanted to prepare. The sad part is that many sold off their preps and said, "Never Again" . They were once AWARE, but decided the light was too bright and it was easier to live life by sticking their heads back into the sand.

Thanks for reading and 73!

Later,

Ramblings on Dumbass Drunk Drivers!!!

2010-01-03T19:54:00.004-05:00

Howdy Folks,

Hope you all are doing well... I am PISSED right now at Dumb Ass Drunk Drivers... I mean who the heck is drunk on a Sunday afternoon at 5 pm??? Get in rehab you idiot!!!

Well before I get ahead of myself, maybe a little explaining is needed...

I was enjoying Sunday afternoon with my family and my wife wanted to visit her Grandpa who is in hospice. Keep him in your prayers if that is your thing, they would be appreciated. Anyway, after that we decided to get a bite to eat. We were waiting at a stoplight for the light to turn green when a white car rammed into the red car that was behind us which the red car then ran into us.

As I was getting out of the car to check on everyone the white car took off. They were gone before I could get the tag # but luckily some folks at the fast food parking lot got the # as I was talking to 911. Thanks goodness for that as we all took quite a whack and I was a little dazed! I hope the kid in the car with the drunkards is OK... poor rascal :-(

When the white car took off it almost hit another car which really pissed off the woman driver because she also took down the tag # and gave it to the city police as they pulled in behind us.

Here is the kicker, the police were already looking for this car as they were drunk when they left Applebees with a female driver, male passenger as well as an unsecured kid whom the driver of the red car said flew up in the front seat when they hit him. They were already on the look out for them and before I could give the 911 dispatcher the tag number they asked me if it was XXX-XXXX to which I said, "Yes!"

So in a matter of 5 minutes after the wreck happened the police were on the scene and within 10 minutes they had the hit & run drunk driver in custody! Hurray for the CITY I was in police department. The officer that responded to the call was very professional and I was very impressed with him. I will be writing a letter to the police department commending him for his professionalism, promptness and concern for all those involved!

The family is OK just a little shook up and our car had surprising little damage but I will get it checked out once we get the lowdown from the insurance company. The red car and its driver suffered the brunt of the impact and he seemed OK but as we wrapped up he was getting checked out in an ambulance.

The way the officer was talking was that they were gonna charge the woman driver with DUI, felony hit & run, leaving the scene of an accident, child endangerment, and speeding to elude arrest! They will be having a worse day when all is said and done than we had, but after all they deserve it don't they???

Sometimes when TSHTF you are the fan and the drunk driver is the shit!

Take care, and if you see someone that is drinking and driving report them, maybe next time they can get the assholes off of the road before they do ANY harm!

Don't worry folks, I will be going back to G-rated posts in the future, so I apologize for the language this time.

Take it easy and 73!

Later,

Ramblings on Storm Recovery Duty...

2010-01-03T12:36:00.004-05:00

After a week off during Christmas I returned to work last Monday. We had a pretty hard rain on Christmas Day, but up in the mountains in about a 20 mile diameter area all that rain was an inch of ice. So I found out I was assigned to storm recovery duty in one of the hardest hit areas.

As I headed up the long and winding road up to the mountains I was sure I could find some lessons about how folks were making do, how people reacted and how bad things could really get. I wanted to bring along my Digital SLR but since my iPhone is almost always with me, I decided to use it for convenience. My el cheapo Sony Point and Shoot was with me, but other than megapixals (Sony is 7.1 and the iPhone is 3.something) the iPhone takes better pictures. This is not a slam against Sony's, it is just my $100 version does not take as good as a picture as my wife's $300 Sony.

As we got up to where the ice had hit, I noticed there was a bunch of tree tops missing, power/phone/CATV lines down EVERYWHERE. Since up in the mountains utilities cannot simply follow the road as it would cost too much money for all the curves, most utilities go in a straight line and are MOSTLY aerial.

So basically ANYWHERE there was enough ice to cause a tree to fall it landed on a utility line, it went out!

Most people were very thankful to the utility workers that were out and about, but there were a few instances of confrontations. As much as I like warm meals, I usually avoid eating in public on storm recovery duty as the sheeple do not understand that you have been working out in the cold for the past 12 hours and just want a bite to eat so they can continue on fixing what is broke!

I had an incident where I was working on a gas stations phone line for their debit/credit card machine. When a large tree fell on the power it sent a surge and fried the modem in the device. As this person came in and was informed that it was "CASH ONLY" because the phone lines were down (NO, WRONG the line was working it was their equipment that was not working) he said, "WTF are you doing standing there MFer, you need to fix it now so I can get some gas!" Which I replied, " the phone is working, it is the gas stations equipment that is deffective, but you could have saved yourself a bunch of trouble had you simply taken the time to get a little cash BEFORE the storm so you would not be in this situation!" He mumbled something as he left but had a look of disbelief and shock as he walked back to his car. SCARED SHEEPLE can be DANGEROUS, so watch your back... I did!

I mentioned YakTraks as a great way to walk around on the ice and they do work... however wearing them for a week and walking up and down hills they kept breaking. I fixed them by using zip ties, but I am sure that that will eventually fail as well! Great for city slickers, not so good for storm recovery duty in hilly terrain. BTW I just want to say to Ajax on another forum, you were right dude!

I was VERY surprised at how many folks that were out of power DID NOT have a generator. I mean where I live at in the Piedmont area of NC, everybody has a generator. When the power goes out you can hear them running from miles away. You would think that folks who live in such an environment they would spend just maybe a little less on the mountaintop Chateau and budget in a generator or other alt power source. This to me, was something I expected to people to have!

It was also surprising to me how many folks reported phone problems when their power was out, but their phone service was actually working, it was just the only phones they had were of the cordless variety and required AC power. Get a cheap and basic plug in the wall phone for when the power goes out. Will not always work as sometimes Remote Terminals require generator power to keep them running, but straight out from the Central Office these lines always have power as long as the copper lines are not damaged!

A week before the ice storm, this area experienced 12-18 inches of snow and it hardly melted. When the ice storm came, it coated the snow with a crust of ice. It was very hard to walk on as it would not break easily in places, but at the wrong time it would break and throw you off balance. The best thing was to STOMP to break the ice to get down to the packable snow layer underneath. The one thing that I found out was that this can wreck havoc on leather climbing boots. My boots at the heels, toes and side were very abraded by the sharp edges of the ice. This is something one may need to consider for extended operations in this type of environment. I am required to wear a certain type of boot so it is hard for me to get by wearing pac boots.

Again as the weather stayed at freezing with one day it got up to 45F, the snow/ice did not go anywhere. When it did melt it was actually worse as the water froze into glass like sheets that made getting traction up steep inclines impossible. Also when it was melting some of those same hills became muddy quagmires and were also very difficult to drive on as the ground was SUPER SATURATED! Be aware that driving conditions can change with the temps. That muddy driveway may turn to a slick sheet of ice that will give you a very scary ride. The major roads were clear and heavily salted. Most of the ones I am talking about were private or secondary roads.

A bunch of the lines feeding the few cellular phone sites were out and thus your cell phone would not work. If you know where your free wifi hotspots are, you can use Skype to make a call if those places were not damaged by the storm. The places in town had both power as well as internet. Know how to communicate by alternate methods when your primary form becomes non functional. Think of Voip (Skype), Ham radio, Calling cards to use in an area that is not affected, etc.

Zippo handwarmers are the best! They run from 12-24 hours on a few ounces of lighter fluid. In the long run, they are cheaper than those disposable types. If you work outdoors in cold weather you should get one or two to keep your pinkies warm!

After working up there a week I am sure enjoying my time inside this weekend. Looks like I will be heading back up there tomorrow and probably for awhile to come.

Be prepared because you never know when TS is gonna HTF in your neighborhood!!!

Thanks for reading!

Later,

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2009-12-24T18:27:00.003-05:00

Just wanted to wish each and everyone of you a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year! God Bless you and yours, stay safe and all the best!

Sincerely,
Zombie Axe

Rambling on a Winter PhotoWalk...

2009-12-23T00:55:00.003-05:00

Howdy Folks,

Since I am off this week, I am seriously playing with my Canon DSLR big time and taking photowalks daily. Photowalks are simply where photographers take a walk and just shoot pics of anything that looks interesting through a lens. It is great practice and you never know what you will capture with the right point of view. I usually take them in the evening...

So I took a walk around the tree farm today . I love how things look with the snow highlights! Hope you enjoy!

Finally here is a Cherry Tree (my favorite pic of the day), this is one of several I took of the same tree. Maybe after a little photoshop work I will enter it into a contest or something... who knows. I just thought the way it looked with the snow surrounding it and the sunset, it was saying, "Old man winter, I am just waiting for you to get done with all this cold weather so I can produce green leave, pretty flowers and juicy cherries!" Hoping for spring!!!

Thanks for looking!

Later,

Ramblings on Murphy and the Snow Storm...

2009-12-22T21:00:00.005-05:00

Howdy Folks,

Thanks for all you new followers as well as you 'old timers', I really do appreciate it!

Back on Friday (12-18-09) we had a pretty major winter storm come through our area. The area I work in (foothills of NC) received around 10-12 inches of frozen stuff (mixture of snow, sleet and freezing rain) and back home we had 6 inches of the same.

The DOT had pre-salted the roads on Thursday, but the first wave of snow came and melted washing the salt away. The roads were wet and slushy but nothing major. After lunch the ice began again with a vengeance and by 4 pm the roads were completely covered. The bosses told us we could head to the house as soon after 3 pm as we could get back to the office. As I drove the work truck back to the office there is a pretty steep hill that is over 1000' long and traffic had stopped. Many folks started up the hill, started spinning, freaked out, and SLOWLY backed down the hill. After 30 minutes of waiting I gave up and headed up the back way, which I had decided to avoid because I figured it would more difficult to go up. 10 minutes later I got to my parking place.

This picture was taken as a screen shot from a video on the iPhone as I didn't have any pics of wreck but lots of videos. iPhone rocks!!!

After seeing much mayhem, stupid drivers, and dicey roads, I was happy to head home. I jumped in ole Blue (my 4x4 truck) and pointed it toward home.

As I headed out of town I snapped this picture of this gas station chain which has huge American flags flying. The wind was blowing around 10-15 mph at the time of this pic.

After I got out of town I pretty much had the roads to myself. The roads were pure ice but I was able to keep it going and going straight.

About 4 miles away from home Mr. Murphy reared his ugly head. My battery had died a few weeks back and I recharged it. The battery held the charge well and I figured it was good to go. WRONG! After running the lights, heater blower, and ham radio I figure it was just too much for the old battery and it just quit on me.

Crap, now I was stuck on a hill with a dead battery!!! NOT GOOD!!! AAA would be swamped. No way the wife was going to come out into this mess. No one was in a helping mood until about 45 minutes after my little ordeal began. As I waited, several folks with front wheel drive cars got stuck down at the bottom of the hill (more on that later). I offered to help them as soon as I could get a jump. With the hood up and holding jumper cables no one offered to help... Karma is a bitch so I hear...

Since my battery was dead, my four way flashers would not work. Luckily being a prepper, I had multiple sets of road flares on hand. I decided to use them one at a time as I didn't know how long I was gonna be on iceberg hill. Luckily before the first one burned down, I was getting my truck jump started :) Luckily it held up. I turned off all non-essential drain on the battery and let it idle.

The battery on my iPhone was OK, but I always carry my little battery pack that I keep charged so in case I needed 2.5 full charges I had that capability independent of my truck's (failed) electrical system.

So now Russell (aka Mr. Good Samaritan) has given me a jump and I am good to go. So off we go to help the stuck motorists. This is another one of those long hills and with the snow/ice sleet still pouring down it was going from bad to worse. Both drivers had front wheel drive cars and they could easily go up the hill, if they would simply learn how to accelerate WITHOUT spinning. One lady had major problems until I told her to put her manual transmission in 2nd gear and start up the hill. With front wheel drives and winter weather driving don't stop or spin on a hill and you are good to go! If that wouldn't have worked we would have lowered the air in the tires, but they went good as is.

Russell and I originally planned to tow the stranded motorists up the hill, but these little cars with all their plastic parts and NO WHERE to attach a tow strap or chain is almost impossible to do! So that is when we decided to drive them up the hill. The only tow points were too small for my clevis hooks to attach to. Works on big vehicles, little ones... not so much!

So by now we got the whole hill cleared and no one is left stranded. Luckily I made it the remaining 4 miles home without any more failures of my Battery. On Sunday the roads were cleared up enough to allow me to get a replacement battery.

So when things are at their worst you can expect Mr. Murphy to come calling.

Things that worked:

Gore-Tex: As I was working outside in the weather all day, I already had my gear on. Usually I take it off for the drive home, but not this time. After laying on the ground looking for a place to attach a chain I was glad I was dry and warm!

Reflective Vest: I was wearing my reflective vest from work and had forgotten to take it off. Glad I had it on!

Flashlights: LED and Surefires worked really well. I was the only one who actually had a flashlight(s)! WTF is up with that??? Light good, dark bad!

Road Flares: Work Great! Lets others know that there is a problem ahead, and also keeps people away from where you do not want them to drive as no one wants to drive over a incendiary device! LOL

Truck (other than the battery): Never had a problem driving on the snow or going up or down hills. Old Blue got-r-done... AutoCraft battery??? epic fail!!!

Things I had that could have helped:

The SAW: No, not the Squad Automatic Weapon, but rather the Husqvarna chainsaw I carry with fuel and oil. With the way the wind was blowing, 20 mph when I got home, I was SHOCKED my power didn't go off or the road was blocked by a tree. This is the first time I have driven home in a winter storm that there was not ANY trees in the road! After the wind picked up there may have been some, but I didn't care.

Things I should have had:

I wished I had a jump starter pack for 2 reasons. One is I could have used it to power the electronics to allow me to roll start my truck and maybe got it going... Also I could have jumped off my truck!!!

My 1100W 12/24V DC Generator: I used to carry this in my truck during bad winter weather but have not needed it, so it sat in the garage. Too bad, this puppy will give you 90 amps of CONTINUOUS 12V DC cranking power. Next winter storm this will be riding along as well!!!

Things I let others borrow: A buddy at work had a failure of his windshield wiper blades, so I let him have my USED spare pair. When I change out my old ones I keep them as spares so I have SOMETHING in case my new ones fail.

We got a total of 6 inches here and lucky for me, I am off for awhile, so I don't hafta go any where if I don't wanna.

Thanks for reading and 73!

Later,

Ramblings on... Sometimes it is the simple things we forget!

2009-12-11T13:32:00.003-05:00

Howdy Folks,

Sometime it is the simple things we overlook. Today I had to work up in the mountains. Where I got into my work truck it was a cool 25F this morning. When I got up to the hills the thermometer read 13F. When I got to my first job the wind was whipping to up around 20 MPH. I don't know the math but it was brutal, or at least if felt that way since this was the coldest temps of the season for my area.

I had some good cold weather gear and I wrapped my fleece around my head to keep warm. I needed something to keep my face warm, and I used the fleece over my face. The problem was, the fleece came untucked and the blast of cold air chilled my face...

If only I had something as simple as a SAFETY PIN! I do have these in my BOB's but not in my work bag!

So if you got a good idea for some gear that you may need, be sure to include it in all your bags!

My short sightedness in this matter will be corrected ASAP. This was not a life threatening situation, but rather a bit of discomfort.

Later,

Ramblings on getting Night Vision Gear (2nd or 3rd gen)...

2009-12-05T11:05:00.002-05:00

Howdy Folks,

For those of us who had the honor to serve in the military and got the chance to use the latest and greatest Night Vision Gear (NVG) it is very hard to forget how awesome they were.

When I completed my tour of duty, I missed three things... my M-16, my 155mm howitzer and my NVG goggles. An AR-15 makes a nice replacement for the M-16, and .50 caliber black powder rifle will make almost as much noise/smoke/smell as a 155mm howitzer, but nothing other than a set of the current set of NVG goggles will replace what you had in the military!

My first attempt at purchasing Night Vision was a set of Russian 3x magnification night vision binoculars. These pair run me over $600 and I thought I was satisfied until I went to visit my friend White Wolf over in TN. WW had a sweet set of 3rd generation PVS-7B goggles (one tube, but 2 eyepieces). It was then I realized that my russkie set was no match for those ITT PVS-7B.

There is only one problem with buying 3rd generation Night Vision equipment and that is finding the money to purchase them. A good pair of NVG's will run you over $3000... ouch! Are they worth it? Yes, I believe so... but ONLY after you have stored up enough food for a year, medical supplies, a piece of land of your own, dependable transportation, debts paid off, a roof above your head, and so on... Yes they are worth it, but not if you do not have all your other bases covered!!!

A good second choice is 2nd generation or 2nd generation + gear (higher end 2nd gen stuff more like 2.5 gen), which run around the $2000 mark.

All night vision works similar. They take available light and amplify it to produce an image that gives us a way to see in the dark.

All night vision requires light to work. That is why your $200 walmart specials usually will work exceptionally well when you use the IR (infra-red light invisible to the human eye, but not night vision gear) illuminator, but NEVER EVER NEVER use this to judge night vision gear! It is what night vision does with the AVAILABLE light that makes them expensive and worth the $$$.

Let me cover the DANGER of using the IR illuminator in a TACTICAL situation. First of all think of this analogy. A submarine has two types of sonar, active and passive. The submarines best defense is how quiet it is. When it is quiet, no one can locate where it is and the sub remains hidden and undetected. To locate enemy and friendly ships it uses PASSIVE sonar which allows the sub to catalog. identify, and track the tangos. Sometimes it is necessary to use active sonar which it sends out a sound wave (PING) to give it information on a target. They do not use active sonar much because while it will 'paint' the best picture, it also lets everyone else know (including the target they are pinging) where they are at!

So your night vision uses PASSIVE light (moonlight,starlight, streetlight) to help you see what is around . When there is a full moon even the cheap 1st gen NVG will work decent, but on a cloudy night deep in the woods you find out that cheap gear starts to show its true nature. When there is not enough PASSIVE light then the NVG needs an external ACTIVE light source such as an IR(infra-red) illuminator to allow you to see.

Here is where it gets interesting... with an IR illuminator (these are usually IR LED's) ACTIVE, folks with other Night Vision Gear can see you! Even the cheap models will allow you to see someone using an IR. So the reason you want 2+ or 3 gen NVG is so you will not need to use that IR often. There are some cheap units that have the IR's on all the time to allow you night vision. These work the same as low light CCTV systems with a lens surrounded by a ring of IR LED's.

These IR LED's are invisible to the naked eye, but I have found that looking at them head on I can see a faint red glow. Not usually a problem...

ACTIVE IR lighting is not a bad thing unless you are wishing to remain stealth. For viewing wildlife and walking through the woods without a flashlight they are great. However when going up against bad guys who may have night vision, you don't want to be running around with an IR on... trust me!!!

OK enough of the technical mumbo jumbo...

Now granted these pics are not perfect as they were taken with a camera phone (the lower resolution ones) and a point and shoot held up to one side of the PVS-7D.

The Woodshed.

Stars through the clouds.

Shep on the trail.

Garden area, notice the sky and the light from a town 30 miles away.

Horse shed, night light and porch lights

Another view of garden area.

Moon rise and house lights on.

Same as last pic but lights off.

I hope that you enjoyed the pics and the posts. You can be perfectly happy with 1st generation night vision. I just want folks to understand the limitations though. If you use your IR, you might as well have a flashlight in your hand if others have night vision as well.

Thanks for reading!

Later,

Ramblings on Gore-Tex...

2009-12-02T22:24:00.002-05:00

Howdy Folks,

Been awhile but work has been brutal here lately. Not only the long hours, but lots of rain. I know just a bunch of excuses... My free time has been spent with the family as well as playing with my camera (photography is becoming one of my favorite hobbies). The pics above are some I took the other night.

Along with the internet I am surprised that Mr. Gore didn't claim he created Gore-Tex. I mean that one at least has his name on it, much more believable IMHO!!!

Well anyway in my line of work, the Mail Man has nothing on me... except that motto because I am out working in all types of weather when the mail man is at home in his/her bungalow nice and cozy.

I wear Gore-Tex boots (USA made Danners) year round and they keep me dry. Whether I am walking through high dewey grass or I stick my foot in a puddle, I know my feet are going to stay dry! For those of you who are looking to retrofit your footwear, look into those Gore-Tex socks which will keep your feet dry!

I can be soaked from the top of my head to the top of my boots, but as long as my feet are dry, I am a happy camper!!!

I also wear a Gore-Tex outer wear parka shell. In the warmer months I wear the shell only when it rains. As it gets cooler I may wear a hoodie, fleece or a warm jacket under the parka shell to layer in the warmth.

If you wear a Gore-Tex jacket or parka and it rains, that jacket will keep you dry... but where your jacket ends, your wetness begins! IOW you need some Gore-Tex pants! I usually add the pants when it is going to rain all day, rain very hard, or when the wind blows hard.

Yes Gore-Tex works great to cut the wind as well!

My original Gore_Tex setup was a set from Cabela's in forest green. These blend in without looking tactical. They are also lightweight and are very durable. I went up to the next size so I could layer very bulky if needed.

My work provided me with a Gore-Tex parka through my clothing allowance but NO PANTS! I just added my Cabela pants to the setup!

My REALLY GOOD set of Gore-Tex is a set of ECWS GenII Millitary Gore-Tex tops and bottoms in woodland camo. US Cavalry had these on clearance for $100 a few years back since the Army was going to the new digital camo. I love this set, but being TRIPLE layered they are kind of stiff and noisy. There is a set issued to the Navy SEALS that are quieter but they are very expensive! If I need quiet I will use the Cabela's Set, but in a hurricane give me the ECWS Parka! Not gonna get wet in those!!!

I treat my Gore-Tex once a year with a cleaner as well as treat the outer shell to give it water repellency so the nylon shell will not HOLD the water. Once your jacket starts to absorb water instead of repelling it, it is time to treat it!!!

The best way to stay dry during a rain storm is to stay inside, but for those of us who can't always do that, be sure to have the proper gear to operate comfortably in it. IMHO Gore-Tex (or other similar fabrics) are worth the money if you wanna stay dry!

Thanks for reading and 73!

Later,

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T12:02:00.002-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

Take a moment to realize all your blessings and reflect on all the things you have to be thankful for...

We still live in a free country, where you have the right to free speech, right to own and use firearms, freedom of religion and many more. Sure the politicians (on both sides) have eroded these rights in Washington D.C. but we are still the freest nation on Earth! Lets not give up and be sure to support and encourage those in Washington who are fighting the good fight. If we lose what freedom we have there is NO place we can go that is anywhere close to what we have.

Be thankful for the US soldier (all branches,reserves, national guard as well) who are one of the core reasons we have the freedoms that we do today. Good people died and bleed to give you and I those freedoms. Unfortunately since the Korean war our soldiers have been pawns and have bled and died needlessly while politicians use these brave women and men to get re-elected. The US military is the best one on Earth and if the politicians just got out of their way they would get the job done! So be sure to be thankful for our US service women and men this Thanksgiving who are far from their loved ones and protecting our nation!

Be thankful for your family.

Be thankful for the foresight you have in being in the 'preparedness mindset".

And I am thankful for having the opportunity to share some of my "ramblings" with you and I am thankful for you the readers of this blog!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Later,

Ramblings on Rodents...

2009-11-10T15:18:00.003-05:00

Howdy Folks,

Let's talk about rodents and the prepper...

As the weather turns cooler, those cute but destructive mice look for warmer abodes as well food which is becoming more scarce. I much prefer those rascals to stay away from my home and I wish they wouldn't find any place that I was not using.

Last week the little rascals started digging little holes around the chicken bunker. I am sure they enjoyed cleaning up the chicken feed that my birds sometimes scatter about. Other than Mickey and Minnie I have absolutely no use for the critters.

A bunch of folks don't like rodentcide and neither do I but I would rather use it than have the creatures find the mother lode of preps, chicken feed, bedding and other materials that we preppers accumulate.

So I decided to feed them the green feed of death. You must keep this away from the critters that you want to keep around (dogs and chickens in my case) so DO NOT just throw it out and hope for the best or man's best friend may not be around for long! I use the green feed mainly outside tucked up under the edges where no critters can get to them EXCEPT the mice. For all those folks this offends, tough, if you wanna catch the mice and sleep with them then that is your business, and mine is mine! I am a Libertarian so leave me alone!

Which brings me to the point of this post. MAKE SURE you have insecticide, pesticide, mouse traps, live traps, snares, etc BEFORE you need them. In other words you need to stockpile these supplies (like any other prep) so when you need them you have them.

Like anythings else, when you need it, you really need it. You can be sure that when there is not much food 2 legged critters will not be the only pests looking for food. Rodents and other creatures will become more desperate and you don't want anything in your pantry that YOU did not put in there!

Thanks for reading!

Later,

Ramblings on the TV show V...

2009-11-03T22:24:00.004-05:00

Howdy Folks,

If you get a chance watch the pilot of "V" on ABC watch it... All I have to say is WOW!!! The political undertones poked me in my chest like a red hot poker. Someone must be upset with how current politicians and the media are acting these days.

Here is some dialogue from the show:

The two priests had an interesting conversation:

The younger priest says to the older priest, "It bothers me that they showed up right when we needed them the most. The world is in bad shape father, who wouldn't welcome a savior right now?"

The older priest replies, "I agree that they are a godsend. And we should be grateful. "

The younger priest says, "But that is the danger. Under the right conditions and enough time gratitude can morph into worship. Or worse, devotion." "

Before an interview with Anna (head lizard person formerly the companion on the excellent TV series Firefly), the reporter is told "Be sure to not to ask us anything that would paint us in a negative light. Don't ask us any questions that would portray us negatively. We can't be seen in a negative light."

The reporter is reluctant to do so but with the threat of a cancelled interview and the promise of elevating his career he relents.

At the beginning of the televised interview, Anna (head lizard person) says "Please feel free to ask anything and everything. I am here to discuss all topics without reserve."

After the interview Anna's assistant tells the reporter, "Compromising one's principles for the greater good is not a shameful act. It is a noble one."

At the end the FBI agent(you know the chick from Lost) tells the younger priest, "They are arming themselves with the most powerful weapon out there. Devotion."

Great show! There are some other goodies in there as well!

Maybe I am reading it wrong, take what you will, "But I see what I what see!"

Later,

Ramblings on why buying a piece of gear does not make you an expert on using it...

2009-11-01T17:44:00.002-05:00

Howdy Folks,

You hear it especially from the ham radio detractors, who always think they will buy a piece of gear and save it for doomsday. The minute they open their 'wonder radio' from the box it will magically bestow upon them all the technical knowledge and skills it take to operate them and allow them to call for help just in the nick of time!!!

I say BULLCRAP!!! Those same people are usually too lazy to study a simple book on ham radio, and are always worried that once you get into the 'federal database' they will come hunt you down because you are on a list! It is just an excuse to prevent them from learning a valuable skill and actually practicing it BEFORE YOUR ARSE is on the line!!!

Ham radio is not expensive, but like most hobbies it can cost a little or alot. However it is not EXPENSIVE to get some great gear!

If you are on the internet and you read prep minded sites you may already be on a list. Who cares??? This is still America the land of the free, and that makes me free to say, "get off of your lazy butts and quit making up excuses so you don't have to read a simple book!"

I honestly can not take folks seriously who profess to be prep minded and can not read a book and pass a simple test...

So get the skills before you get the gear. That wonder ham radio is not like those blister pack FRS/GMRS radios that you turn on, adjust the volume, turn the channel and hit the talk button. You have to know how to talk, what frequencies to talk on, frequency shift and so on...

Rant off!!!

Later,

Ramblings on the chickens, Mantis tillers and local resources...

2009-10-25T20:18:00.002-05:00

Howdy Folks,

Today I decided to block off about 1/3 of the chickens outdoor run and sow it in fescue and I even threw in some scratch grains in the hope some of it will come up. The chickens have laid waste to the grass that once covered the run. I now understand why those 'chicken tractors' are so effective since they really work the soil over.

I placed chicken wire from the back of the chicken bunker to the back fence and staked it to the ground. Later on, I would love to divide the coop into thirds and be able to rotate the runs. In fact that was the original plan back in May, but time constraints only allowed for the bare minimum of work.

The idea is to give the chickens something green to nibble on during the late winter months as they love their 'salad'. Once the run is nice green and tall, I will let the chickens have access.

On the same side I plan on adding 3 6'x10' chain link panels ,I scored for free, in a L shape configuration to mesh with the existing fence to give them a little more pasture. Also I will fence on the same side to surround my west orchard to allow for an open pasture for the chickens. Hopefully when the bugs come out next year, my hens will be patrolling and getting some all you can eat, free buffet style bugs!

Later on toward March I will temporarily block access for the other side and begin prepping it to grow a garden INSIDE the run. You can not beat soil that is picked free of weeds, grass or ANYTHING GREEN to plant in. Not to mention that the chickens have been fertilizing it for me for 9 months prior! Talk about a garden spot!!!

For those of you who are still on the fence about getting chickens, I say "GET SOME". Of all the things I have begun, raising chickens is the easiest way I have tried to become more self sufficient!!!

Local Resources:

As I tilled up the soil to loosen it up to plant some fescue and wheat I realized that the soil was so rich from chicken poop I was not going to have to use fertilizer. I was using a local resource, chicken manure, to give my seeds the food they would need! I compost all my chicken manure but this was what was already on the ground just waiting to be tilled into the ground. Before the poop, I would use 10-10-10 fertilizer to do the same thing I now get for free! Granted the 10-10-10 smells a little better, but I still like FREE!!!

I needed a ground cover to cover up the bare soil and retain moisture after I tilled, raked and sowed. In the past I would purchase a bale or two of straw to cover up bare spots, but today I decided to use my almost unlimited resource of pine needles. I have many acres of pine trees and well they shed pine needles, which is another free resource! I went to the woods and gathered up 2 wheelbarrow loads and spread it out. It looks like it will allow water and air to get down to the seeds below without smothering them. Did I mention they were free???

Mantis Tiller:

Other than my Husqvarna chainsaws, the Mantis Tiller is one of my most used tools on the homestead. For those of you unfamiliar with the Mantis Tiller, it is a lightweight 20lb 2 cycle power house. The tines give you about 6" to 8" of tilling width (I never measured it so can't say for sure) and it will DIG!

The way it pulverizes the soil really allows your seeds/plants to have and easy time to go deep. When planting fescue I usually just go down 2-4 inches. In a matter of 5 minutes I had an entire 160 square foot plot ready to plant!

I still use my large tiller to prep the larger gardens, but I use the Mantis Tiller to prep my rows.

So get a Mantis Tiller, they come in handy!

Thanks for reading and 73!

Later,
ZA

Ramblings on the Maratac 9290 and other 'illuminated' gear...

2009-10-17T22:25:00.006-05:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbouX88xbKI

http://www.countycomm.com/9290.html

Howdy folks quick review of the Maratac 9290 LED flashlight and other thoughts.

I am always looking for new and better ways to do things. Don't think I will give up my BlackHawk Gladius for a go to flashlight, but the 9290 has taken the place of it for my EDC (every day carry) light.

I purchased two of these from CC awhile back and they are really a great flashlight.

I really like that it is smaller than a 2 cell CR123a, uses a SINGLE AA battery and is more powerful than any pocket light I own.

I wore a large holster for the Gladius on my belt that probably alerted "those in the know" that I am of the "tactical mindset" . Now I carry my flashlight concealed as well!

As an aside, a few years back when the "tactical knives" came on the market with those pocket clips, the tell tale clips were being worn by everyone. I soon realized as I was saying to myself, "that guy has a knife and probably has other means of defense as well", others were doing the same to me!

I do not want to appear as a threat to anyone as I prefer the "gray man" approach. No need to raise the eyebrows of law enforcement or bad guys. When you have really screwed up and a bad guy targets you, you want them to be shocked that you are deploying a weapon on them.

Like I said, if the bad guys are targeting you, then you have screwed up on situational awareness or ignored your "spidey sense".

To condense the above, sheeple do not carry flashlights, knives or other things on them, so look like everyone else but don't look like "easy pickings" for a bad guy either. Also, don't look like the "bad guy" or "person of intrest" to the cops either!

So my 9290 now allows me to carry a "whole lotta flashlight" in a very compact and concealable package.

As for the flashlight, it is very well made and works as the video describes. I did have to return one of my 9290's for a failure of the switch after a few weeks of use. However, if you have any problems with any of County Comm's gear they will make it right. To be fair I have had problems with a Surefire once right of the box and they made it right as well.

Occasionally gear will fail, but as long as a company will make it right with their customers, then I can't fault them.

I wish they would have included a belt or pocket clip to attach it to a hat. It seems light enough that one could use it in that manner. Also missing is the strobe feature, but the 190 lumens will git-r-done.

I have a flashlight that gives me twice the light of my other lights, with similar run times, with one AA battery. Now I do not feel guilty when I have to run the light for long periods. AA batteries are CHEAP and it is my standardized battery for 97% of all my battery powered gear. Standardization makes logisitics EASY!!!

Hopefully I will have a detailed comparrison/review of the Blackhawk Gladius (the light which I judge all others by aka my yardstick) with the Leatherman Serac (the single CR123A version), and the Maratac 9290 someday soon.

For those that want to know my opinion of the 3, I can tell you that the tactical winner is still the Gladius (gotta love that strobe feature as well as easily adjustable light levels).

The overall winner is the Maratac 9290 with its 190 lumens light and compactness as well as price and affordibilty to operate.

The Leatherman Serac is a great work light as it is light enough to clip on your hat and bright enough to do most things, however the Serac cycles from its lowest brightness setting to the maximum. This makes it not a very good choice for a tactical flashlight as the 10-20 lumens when you first hit the switch may not blind the bad guys.

You want the Bad Guy's Reaction to be, "Ohhhhh my frickin' retina, you seared my frickin retina, OWWWWW I can't see!!!!!!!" not, "What a pathetic light, you were not trying to go all bad ass on me were you? The doctor's penlight in the prison hospital was much brighter and, unlike yours, would actually dilate my pupils!"

Later,
ZA

Ramblings on isolation procedures and avoiding infectious diseases

2009-10-15T12:43:00.004-05:00

Howdy Folks,

Flu season is upon us and someone is bound to get it in your household. When someone is sick then you need to take care of them, but while minimizing the risk to you.

I was thinking about using technology to keep an eye on those who should be confined to their rooms (barring bathroom breaks and such).

To minimize your exposure, but monitor your patient, pick up a baby monitor to listen in and advise your patient to let you know if they need anything.

Sometimes it is hard for little ones to let you know if they need anything, so a video style baby monitor may come in handy. This allows you the benefit of hearing and seeing your patient without exposing yourself and others to whatever bug they have.

Face it, by the time someone in your house is showing the signs of catching a cold, chances are you have already been exposed to the same thing! It is still prudent to was hands and sanitize EVERYTHING the infected one has come in contact with. Hopefully you escaped the infection.

If you patient symptons include coughing or sneezing, it may be wise to have them wear a facemask to prevent high speed germs from heading your way with an uncontrollable cough or sneeze.

Lets talk prevention now...

Think about things you touch everyday that someone has also touched.

Follow me through this scenario if you will...

You are at Burger King and wash your hands in the restroom before your eat (great). You open the door to the restroom to go place your order (if you touched the handle without a towel you have touched something that someone who is sick may have touched). You get in line and pay cash for your Whopper combo meal (money may have germs on it from the latte you bought at Starbucks and recieved as change from the barista), the cashier gives you back change (another potential germ contaminiation). You get your Combo meal and opt for sweet tea (at least I would), you touch the dispenser handle (yet again) and let the tea flow into your cup. Finally you reach into the community condiment bin and grab a bunch of Ketchup (and all those contaminated people before migh have too!). You add some extra salt on your burger from the salt shakers that sit on the table (which others may have used and sick little kids love to play with).Then you sit down and consume your Whopper Combo meal thinking you were safe because you washed your hands before you ate, but you have at least 7 times in the scenario I presented to have had the possibility to come into contact with something that can infect YOU.

As you go about your daily lives think about ways to minimize coming into contact with something nasty that may compromise your health!

Thanks for reading and stay safe!

Later,
ZA

Ramblings on vacations...

2009-10-13T20:57:00.003-05:00

Howdy Folks,

I finally got to take a break from the brutal work schedule and take a week of fun in the sun. Well it was mostly sunny.

Anyways, I wanted to discuss improvised security methods while away from home base.

When you are in your castle, you are used to a certain level of security that gives you a level of comfort. So when one treads away from home, you may not have the same security methods available that you do at home.

I do not live in an apartment so I am not used to having neighbors. A condo is not much different than a apartment. I really hate those rooms that have adjoining doors and much to my dismay mine had one.

I did not have a alarm system so I had to improvise my own.

I read awhile back about using empty drink cans as an effective nosiemaker. Stacked in a pyramid they can make a bunch of noise it knocked over. My adjoining room door opened away from the cans, so a simple piece of floss tied a can at the bottom of the stack would be just as noisy.

A few chairs propped up against the outside balcony doors beef them up as they were not as strong as the front door.

Also consider that most condo's/apartments have an attic access door that give free run through the attic above. A simple object that will fall freely if the door is lifted will alert you that someone has been tampering in the loft. If it is on the floor when you return, then you know something was up.

Also consider doing the same for the front door with something similar that will fall free if the door was opened, but something that is not obvious.

I do prefer staying in places where there is NO maid service, so no one pilfers through your stuff while supposedly cleaning your room.

Also consider bringing your computer and valuables with you in your vehicle. IMHO your stuff is always safer with you than at some place that is not yours.

So next time you have to leave your fortress of solitude, you will have a few weapons in your arsenal of safety.

Be safe and I'll try to post more regularly after my mental health vacation.

PS Hopefully when I do some more 'picumentrys' my new Canon DLSR will make my pics turn out even better.

Take it easy, 73 and thanks for reading!

Later,
ZA

Ramblings on losing a chicken...

2009-08-26T12:04:00.003-05:00

As you can tell from what I said on my last post, I have been working too much OT.

About a month ago, I installed a solar powered electric fence charger and laid out a pretty elaborate grid of electric fencing to protect the outside fence from any predators. I still need to to install the overhead chicken wire later on to protect from any aerial attacks.

So anyway, as I was getting home late last night. I headed down to the coop to gather eggs, lock the 'hatch' and bring the feed in. I locked the hatch and took the outdoor feeder and placed it inside. I always count the birds on the roost, and I counted only five. I counted again still five. I entered the coop and laid hands on only FIVE birds! Dag Nabit some critter must have grabbed one of my laying hens and I was TICKED OFF!

I just knew that whatever had grabbed my hen, would be back whenever they wanted a meal until my entire flock was gone!!!

Then, I calmed down, went back into the chicken yard to look for the pile of feathers and/or where that darn chicken thief had entered... As I searched around with my flashlight, my light shown into some tiny beady eyes that turned out was attached to some feathers...

OH NO, the chickens had to witness the demise of their comrade. I was hoping that it would not effect their laying, and then it occured to me that my egg layer was in fact very much alive and looking at me like what is the big idea, ruining my sleep???

I quickly picked her up and placed her inside the chicken coop where I knew she would be safe. Then walked inside and placed her on the perch since there was no light for her to see how to get up there.

As I locked up the coop and gathered the 6 eggs, a sense of relief washed over me. I will now scan the chicken yard before I lock the hatch from now on.

I still do not know why Ms. Chicken decided to stay outside. Maybe she liked the temperature, had a falling out in the pecking order, decided to lone chicken it, or maybe she was eating to many bugs others while the others secured their place on the perch and night came quickly??? I don't know, but I am glad I didn't have to go outsmart a chicken thief.

Sometimes even when you build a bunker, you begin to focus on the worst case scenario and often times it is not that.

Don't get your feathers in a ruffle just because things are not the way you planned out.

I am not usually complacent in my level of alertness and I need to not do so in my safe zone either.

Had I preformed my checks to see the entire chicken yard instead of the things I was familiar with seeing, I wouldn't have typed such a long entry in the blog!!!

I need to be a little more observant...

Thanks for reading,

Later,
ZA

Ramblings on working TOO much...

2009-08-24T12:35:00.003-05:00

Howdy Folks,

I have been terribly busy @ work these past few weeks working 12-13 hours almost every day. This has resulted in my computer time being severely limited and my brain functioning in EAT/SLEEP/WORK mode.

August & September are usually my "work till I drop" months, so hopefully things will get back to normal after these next few weeks.

Luckily the money is good and it is helping patch the holes in my preps... I do feel like an almost 3/4 turned zombie a la George Romero style. IOW I feel more like a zombie than a axe! LOL

The chickens are incredible and IMHO are one of the best investments I have made into food production.

The only thing that I have keeping up on are various podcasts that I listen to about 10+ hours a day.

The preparedness podcast had an excellent one on Hydroponics last week, and Jack Spirko keeps cranking out his usual great stuff.

I don't listen totally to prep minded stuff as I enjoy many other interests, so all preps and no fun makes ZA a dull boy... well I am dull enough so no need to make it worse!

I ordered a new flashlight last week that has over twice the output of the BlackHawk Gladius and runs on ONE AA battery. We will see, but looking forward to testing that! Yep, you guessed it... it is a Maratac County Comm special... I figure it has to be pretty good, but only testing will prove it a worthy successor to my beloved Gladius.

It looks like the Scottish jerks let go of that mass murderer. I would boycott Scottish goods, but I have not bought any anyway! Where is William Wallace when you need him???

Well that is all for now as my iTunes has grabbed the latest editions of the podcasts I listen to, so off to work I go.

Thanks for reading... and I'll be back!!!

Later,
ZA

Ramblings on Pan Am Flight 103...

2009-08-13T20:42:00.003-05:00

For many folks their first experience with terrorism was with the first World Trade Center bombing in 1993 ,the terrible Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, or even the horrific second World Trade center bombing, but one that struck close to home for me was the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103...

I had officially become a soldier in the summer of 1988 and had 3 weeks of vacation around Christmas later that year. My parents had provided me with airfare to spend Christmas with some relatives in Dusseldorf, Germany.

I had been enjoying my down time experiencing a European Christmas which was quite different from the ones I had experienced in the South growing up. I can still recall the tolling of church bells at midnight on Christmas morning. That is a truly an amazing experience that if you are given the chance, you should experience it.

I am getting a little ahead of myself here...

My relatives had shown me a wonderful time, with a weekend trip to Paris, a tour of the Netherlands, and all the wonders of Dusseldorf. Life was good with no worries... terrorism only happened to people in far away places...

I was in a far away place, and terrorism was about to come calling nearby...

We were all enjoying watching TV on the evening of December 21, 1988 when the news came on and announced that Pan Am Flight 103 had crashed. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary in the news that night, but over the course of the next week and half, we learned that it was a probable terrorist attack. As a side note, back in 1988 you did not have access to all the 24/7 news channels, Internet, and news radio like you do today. Today one can get INFORMATION OVERLOAD if you wish!

In a week and a half, *I* would be on a commercial jet flying back stateside. I was wondering if a similar fate awaited me...

I remember telling my relatives farewell as I boarded a Lufthansa flight from Dusseldorf to JFK International in NYC. My flight was going to the same destination that Pan Am 103 was headed to and I prayed I would be safe. I will not say I had a sense of dread as I boarded, or was even worried, because the thrill of flying (well it is thrilling to me) was greater than anything that could possibly happen. However it crossed my mind a few times as we crossed the Atlantic.

I was dozing in my seat, when all of sudden Frank Sinatra's New York, New York starting playing (Lufthansa used to do this on all their flights when the plane was getting close to JFK). I had never been so happy to hear that song! That song song still brings back that fond memory and sense of relief.

You know the rest of the story, I lived to tell the tale.

The bad guys were found guilty and locked away... well until Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi is about to released on "COMPASSIONATE GROUNDS" WTF!!! WTF!!! again WTF!!!

Where is the compassion for the 270 people he killed??? All humans deserve forgiveness, but we should never forget and we should never treat him any better than he treated his victims.

Sorry tonight for the rant folks, but this really makes me angry that this scumbag is possibly getting to go home to die with COMPASSION with his family! To bad Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi didn't have compassion for his 270 victims AND THEIR FAMILIES!

I bring this up folks, just to point out, the good guys don't always win, and evil can still triumph in this world I am sad to say...

Later,
ZA

Ramblings on having your gear with you...

2009-08-09T19:27:00.004-05:00

Some folks like to build homes in remote locations and then put gates to block access into them. I totally understand that idealogy, but I don't call people to repair my problems and then don't provide access to allow them to fix them.

I had to head up and fix a customers service. The problem was all the gates that provided access were locked up and I was not going to able to drive the old work truck down to the residence. So I was going to either leave the customer out of service or go on a little hike.

I freshened up my CamelBack with 3 liters of ice cold goodness, sprayed down with insect repellent, grabbed my Woodsman's Pal, Walking Stick, batteries for my flashlight and headed down the road.

The picture on top was taken a few weeks before when I was in the area that shows you the terrain.

I began my descent down the trail with the realization that it would be all uphill on the way back. Roughly two miles down and I located the house and the problem, but I would need my work truck for the materials.

So back up the hill I hiked and I began to appreciate the gear I had with me. The water quenched my thirst, the walking stick helped me walk up the little trail, the LED flashlight illuminated my path, and the iPhone had sent out a position report to my wife via email and also provided me with a map and compass (had paper and a real one as well).

As I came back on top of the mountain my work cellphone had a voice mail with my customer and I called him back and got someone to let me into the gate to fix his problem.

With my gear I carry I am able to save my own rear as well as utilize it for things as simple as long hikes to help me with my job. So your BOB is not just for emergencies only, it helps you when there is nothing too exciting going on as well.

Just make sure you replace any items you used when you get back to where you can.

Oh yeah, here is the last bit of light fading behind a mountain that I was blessed in seeing as I got back to my truck!

Thanks for reading!

later,
ZA

Ramblings on Networking with minimal OPSEC risk..

2009-07-31T20:06:00.003-05:00

Networking...

It is what people do to get to know each other. Most business people do it so they can get to know the movers and shakers in their line of work, maybe get a promotion/ new job offer or just make some new friends that have similar intrests.

You as a prepper should also seek out those of the like mind but how do you do so without risking OPSEC (OPerational SECurity aka giving away your home base) but still make friends???

I will try and cover a few ways to still make friends out there that will grow into life long friendships where you have the power to slowly make sure the people you meet on the web are the people you want to meet in person.

If the people you meet on the web are NOT the people you want to meet in person then no harm no foul, just break contact.

Forums:

Forums and Message Boards such as http://www.thesurvivalpodcast.com/forum/ allow you to use PM (private messaging) which allows other users on the forum to message you without revealing your email address. Very low risk method of getting to know others.

Blogs/Facebook/Myspace and Social Networking Sites:

I included blogs as more or less as a way to sell yourself. Once I had a large amount of email to answer for some writing I had done, and many folks wanted to know more about myself. I simply pointed them to my blog and said, "if it ain't in there, I ain't a telling!!!" My blog and information that I post are things I wish to share with the world. I am a terribly private individual, but I love to write, share experiences (as long as they do not compromise my safety) and come up with crazy ideas.

As for Facebook and MySpace? I do not use them but limit the information to the level you wish to reveal about yourself.

As for Twitter??? I tweet on occassion but not enough to follow...

Picture Sharing Sites, You Tube and other media sites:

Just because you post a picture on Photobucket on your personal account and put it in your blog does not mean I can not figure out how to locate your album (unless you go private) and see those pics of you in your pink tutu you thought the world would never see. Remember, what you put on the web can be used against you in the distant future. Those pictures of your house... maybe not a good idea with the pics of your gun safes contents!

Some cameras will geo tag your pictures with GPS coordinates... maybe not such a smart idea to put a picture of your cache site with that info on the web! Get rid of the geo tagging!

On one of my blog entrys on the "Check Six Ring" I am wearing gloves. Why you ask? The answer is... a close up of my finger tips may be innocent, but with the right technology you could probably get my finger prints. No I am not a criminal, but when I served my country they had to ink me so they are 'on record'.

When you take a picture of a new weapon, make sure the serial number is not showing as that is info that the wrong people may use.

Email:

Google, Hot and Yahoo Mail allow you to setup an email account so when you give out your email address, it is not your personal email address. Consider them disposable if you need them to be. Once your prepping buddy and you are great friends you can always migrate them to your personal email address. If you publish your email address on the web ANYWHERE spammers will eventually use it to send you those 'wonderful Liberian send me money scheme' emails which will flood your inbox with SPAM and you can't even eat it!!! So use an email account you can dispose of if it gets unusable.

Instant Messaging and Chat Rooms:

Instant Messaging Services such as AOL AIM and other 'type to talk' services allow you to get to know folks and ask those questions in a little more privacy than public forums and make sure that your new internet buddy is on the same page as you. Chat rooms that some forums provide are also great places to meet those of the like mind.

Voice and Video Chat:

When you would rather talk than type and you want to see each other, services such as Skype offer you a way to do this. For those of you who are iPhone users, Skype is FREE @ the iTunes store and it works seamlessly with it. You can call any other Skype user for free and if you need to you, can even call a landline/cellphone for a price as needed.

Cellphone:
A cellphone is a great way to talk with a new friend. With many cellphone plans offering long distance plans all the way across the country, you can reach out and call those far away friends. You can cahnge your cellphone # if you get to be to popular and want to make it all go away. Prepaid cellphones are also low risk and low cost solutions to calling your new friends with pay as you go plans that don't lock you into multi-year contracts.

Ham Radio OPSEC:

I was reading some of the comments on Preparedness Junkie's blog the other day and we are both on the same page about posting our callsigns on the web... not a good idea. Where there is ham gear there is nice stuff. Where there is ham gear and prepping supplies, there is thief nirvana!

For those of you who have a ham license or plan on getting one, I highly recommend acquiring a PO BOX address to be associated with your callsign. I will not go into the details but there are websites that will give you the address to any callsign that is out there. With a PO BOX you get the town my mailbox is in, and that can be ANYWHERE!

Hams are generally good people, but you don't want all the looney tunes having a pathway to your home.

I am not EVEN going to go into the risk of using APRS (Automatic Packet Reporting System) which displays a users location to other hams who are voluntarily allowing their position reports to be displayed and how that can be used by criminals. I only use APRS on vacation and never within a set radius of my home QTH (hamspeak for location). So think before you give away your position to the entire web until YOU want to and understand the implications!

I am not telling you this to make you paranoid and I don't think TPTB are out to get us, but I think by covering your six, by limiting your personal info, and being vague to strangers, goes a long way to protect yourself from the scumbags that lurk the web.

Ramblings on The Secure Home...

2009-07-29T11:10:00.004-05:00

So you are preparedness/survival minded and want to build a home? Want to upgrade your current home?? You will need to get a copy of "The Secure Home" by Joel M. Skousen!

This is the book I wish I had read before I built my home and after reading it I found I did a lot of things right. Still there are some things I wish I had done.

Joel has been designing 'secure homes' for years so he knows about what he speaks of.

I really like his idea of a bullet resistent room using commonly available materials and many other great ideas you need to consider BEFORE you begin building your home.

Yes it is pricey, but where else are you going to get that kind of information that Joel provides from your local contractors (unless you have some really cool contractors in your area).

So give it a read.

FYI, this review is based soley on myself purchasing this book on my own (about a year ago) with no consideration to feature it in this blog entry. Only after reading it I found it to be excellent material for those who want their home a little more secure.

Thanks for reading,

Later,
ZA

A parts list for the battery pack requested by Chewiegranola...

2009-07-25T22:05:00.004-05:00

Chewiegranola said...
Hey ZA! That looks like a cool set up. You wouldnt have a parts list for this contraption would you? Thanks!

Howdy CG

Parts list for Power Supply Box:

One 8 AA battery holder.
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062251
One 4 AA Battery Holder
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062239
2 Heavy Duty 9V Battery Connectors (works for the above battery holders)
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062218
Project Enclosure Box
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062285
12 V DC Power Outlet
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062272&numProdsPerPage=60&retainProdsInSession=1
12V DC Power Plug
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062263
12, 1.2V NiMh Batteries to give you 14.4 V DC (shop around for the best deals)
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2437557
1 Wire Nut or other wire connector.

I was able to use the wire that was with the above equipment to make it as shown. You will need a diode as well to prevent the batteries from discharging at night. My folding panel has one so I didn’t install one.
Here is the 12 watt folding solar panel:
http://www.21st-century-goods.com/page/21st/PROD/GSE12
Let me know if you need instructions on how to hook it all up.

BTW great Blog!
Later,
Zombie Axe

Ramblings on six eggs a day!

2009-07-24T23:11:00.002-05:00

Howdy Folks,

All my hens are a laying now. I have been getting 6 eggs a day for the last 3 days so does not look like I have any lazy ladies in the bunker!

6 eggs a day!!! That is 6 eggs I do not have to buy or worry about 'what has been DONE to them'!

Produce your own food! It is definately something that will get you through!

Thanks for reading!

Later,
ZA

Ramblings on why you test out your gear before you have to depend on it...

2009-07-20T20:02:00.004-05:00

Howdy Folks,

This is not a review of that nifty little solar panel I received as a "ATTA BOY" from work but rather what I found out when testing it and the solutions I came up with.

I have always wanted a folding solar panel and when that was one of my choices for 'wowing" them at work, I knew that was what I was gonna pick.

My Primary use was going to be used to charge my iPhone and ham radio HT on backpacking trips into the wild. So needless to say when I got the package in the mail I was excited.

When I finally got around to testing it, I was pleasantly surprised when I plugged in my iPhone and heard that cool sounding 'chirp'. I even got ONE pic of it actually charging.

Then a strange thing happened. I got an error message on the iPhone the next time I plugged it in, saying, "This accessory is not compatible with the iPhone".

I checked the voltage with my handy dandy voltage meter and it read 15V DC. A little HOT but should be able to charge the iPhone.

As a precaution I hooked up my charge controller and dropped the voltage to 13V DC.

I noticed that sometimes the panel would allow the iPhone to charge and other times it wouldn't (as a cloud was passing in front of the sun).

It then dawned on me that although the meter was reading the same VOLTAGE, it was not providing the same AMPERAGE!

Thus the iPhone was wondering, "What kind of crappy power is this???" and refused to continue to allow its use.

I needed someway to stabilize the voltage, and who really want to leave their iPhone in camp as the go hiking away in the wild???

The easiest way was to construct a simple battery pack. So after a trip to the local Radio Shack (their motto should read, "You got questions??? So do WE!!!"). I finally found enough 'parts' to come up with a working prototype (still need an on/off switch).

As a side note, is it not funny how you can go into a Lowes, Home Depot, Ace Hardware, or Radio Shack and they NEVER have exactly what you need and you have to figure out a little different way to do the same thing with other items???

Well that is what happened at Radio Shack. I wanted to use NiMh D cells but they did not have 12, so I had to go with AA's.

I purchased an 8 cell battery stick/magazine as well as a 4 cell battery stick/magazine for AA's. In series, the 12 AA batteries give me 14.4V DC. Add a 12V lighter socket,plug and project box and you have yourself a nice little power source that will power almost any 12V DC gizmo for a time (think cellphones, DVD players, ham radio walkie talkies, etc.)

After I put it all together I now have a power supply that will store that solar energy that my panel harvests and be able to use it when I need it. I can even use it for other purposes for when I need a small 12V DC power source.

The point of this whole blog entry tonight is that had I assumed that my nifty little solar panel would charge my iPhone in the remote wilderness and found out that it performed as I just told you, I could have been in a world of hurt.

Remember... If you don't test it, you don't know it will work and thus should not count on it until it lives up to your expectations! Test... Test and ReTest.

No one should EVER find themselves with their tail on the line with a piece of unproven gear that has failed!!!

*EDITED TO ADD ON 7-21-2009* Al asked me a technical question about including a blocking diode (to prevent the battery from being drained at night if left hooked to the solar panel) which I probably should have mentioned that the solar panel has a 'built in blocking diode' that prevents this. Great question and no, I did not include one as the panel takes care of this for me. Still it will not hurt to add one in the future. SO MAKE SURE that your panel has a built in blocking diode to prevent that energy from leaving your battery if you leave it plugged in overnight!!!
Thanks for reading!

Later,
ZA

Ramblings... Chicken Update!

2009-07-17T22:40:00.003-05:00

Howdy Folks,

I have been extremely busy but have been working on my preps and other things.

I also wanted to publically thank Jack Spirko of "The Survival Podcast" for reading my 'Green Rant' on Episode 237 on his podcast. If you don't listen, then you should! If you do listen consider joining the members support brigade as it is worth it with lots of extras for members.

The chickens are laying 5 eggs almost every day so far, but I am wondering if I should be getting six or maybe all six are laying with one taking a break... Dunno but I am happy for the 5 a day I ususally get.

I plan on getting 6 more and possibly a rooster in the spring to ramp up production.

5 eggs works for now, but if I am going to feed my family and dogs, it will not provide for our needs if we need to provide MORE of our own food!

For those of you who 'Twitter' I am ZombieAxe and for those who use AOL AIM I am ZombieAxe there as well...

This weekend I hope to have up that solar panel test that I have been working on. I had it ready to go, but it did not work out as planned during testing so I had to build a battery pack to stabilize the voltage to charge an iPhone as it would not do it directly.

As for the iPhone, I am now able to do more online and even access Blogger whereas I couldn't with my BlackJack II. Gotta love that puppy :)

Hope you have a great evening and a great weekend!

This is Radio Free Zombie Axe sigining off... for now!

Ramblings on being 'GREEN'...

2009-07-13T11:29:00.008-05:00

First of all I am just not buying the whole "Man is causing climate change" debate. I do believe that the Earth warms and cools through NATURAL cycles that have nothing to do with if man drives an SUV or not.

I do believe in the conservation of resources and to be wasteful is counterproductive, however I do not feel that ANYONE should force their beliefs on ANYONE else. Pollution of our water and air IS a bad thing, but not every time a cow farts in Argentina or a deer takes a whiz in a stream is that bad.

There are a ton of environmentalists/green movements that would love to go back to living like a bunch of vegetarians in the Stone Age... and they want YOU to do the same... You know the old adage, "Misery Loves Company" ???

I am FOR alternative energy, lessening our dependence on other nations' resources, but also for USING what we have. You really think the Chinese, if given the chance, would really give a crap about pumping crude just off of our shores. I still want my gas guzzler truck for big chores but I also want my compact car for commuting to work. I want an electric car that goes 120 miles between charges that has a reasonable price to change out the battery packs, but I don't want that to be my only choice! Why, because I want to save the sea urchins or New York from flooding??? NO because I want to save MY MONEY!!!

I am also for those ugly little compact fluorescent bulbs as they save a BUNCH of POWER but I prefer incandescent for certain lighting. I also like turning off lights when not in use, but not because it saves the polar bears (as Jack Spirko often says), but because I want to save on my power bill!

I want to install solar panels on my home, maybe a windmill too... but I don't want to sell it to the power company, I want to use it ALL for myself!!!

I conserve water not because I am trying to save the salamanders, but because I am on a well. If I use too much water during a drought, I have to pay to dig a NEW well ($3-5K in my area) so I don't waste water! I don't waste my water on keeping a green lawn, but I do water my garden to provide my family with food that is not imported from 3,000 miles away.

I recycle aluminum cans not because it makes me feel good, but because the guy at the scrap yard pays me by the pound. Someone is making some money off recycling why not YOU???

Does it make me an environmentalist or not that I chose to save money instead of supposedly saving the humpback whales?

You feel good saving the California Condor, I feel good saving money by making my own natural pesticides... Are you superior to me or not?

I chose to do these things because they make sense to me in an economic sense... If they really do save the spotted owl then great, but like Jerry Maguire says, "Show me the money!"

I really think if the environmental folks spoke of the great benefits to ones wallet instead of forcing everyone to comply with what they claim 'Mother Earth' told them to say, more people would be green...

For the record, ZA is green, green with saved money!

Thanks for reading!

later,
ZA

Ramblings on I want my portable digital TV!!!

2009-07-04T12:51:00.004-05:00

Back on June 12, 2009 the FCC made many of our preps obsolete with the introduction of digital ONLY transmission of TV signals. Many of us had purchased and stashed away several B&W TV's. I remember picking up five for $25 several years ago at a sale.

Well when the FCC mandated the switch many of us were left without any means of watching news on EMERGENCY POWER... and lets face it moving pictures convey a bunch more information than words. There is nothing wrong with radios as they have their place too!

I was not aware of any small LCD TV's that would receive digital TV signals until I saw the weekly Big Lot sales paper. In it they had listed a Curtis 7" Portable LCD TV for $99. I was not quite sure if this would pick up the new digital TV signals, but if you look on the box you want it to have an ATSC/NTSC tuner which is the standard for digital signals (ATSC here).

The Curtis LCD has a very sharp picture and is very well made (for something from China). I like the fact that it has a 12V DC power cord (great for running it off of the solar power battery banks). I really like that it has a a CATV antenna input that allows you to tap into your cable or satellite signals, providing that you have the power to run them.

Also it has a built in rechargeable battery (unsure of the run time as of yet) and a remote (how lazy do you have to be to sit far enough away from a 7" TV to use the remote??? LOL)

The stock telescopic whip did not pick up any station in my area (would work well in a large metro area), but the RCA 'rabbit ear' antennas that I got for emergency use with the main digital TV worked really well in receiving stations 50-60 miles away. With some of the higher end yagi antennas I bet you could bring the signals in from longer distances.

I was pleasantly suprised that by using the rabbit ears that 2 stations had special WX (weather) only stations. I will be tuning in to them when we have severe weather in our area to see what info they convey. They look like a variation of the Weather Channel with mostly National coverage.

When you are on emergency power you don't wanna run a 25" or larger TV, so this 7" will draw minimum power and still give me the info that will paint my situational awareness picture.

Now you DO have an option to watch the breaking news on a small portable low power draw TV set... maybe one of these days, they will be $5 a piece again!

Thanks for reading!

later,
ZA

Ramblings on fresh eggs...

2009-06-30T11:28:00.003-05:00

Yesterday we found that we had 3 fresh eggs waiting on us when we went to let the chickens out! So my chicken bunker has became a 'producer' instead of a 'consumer'! This morning we had 2 so the girls are ready and it is is nice.

As for me I have been working tons of OT, and it appears that summer is my 'dry season' for blog posts.

I will be working on a blog entry comparing the Blackhawk Gladius to the Leatherman Serac LED light.

Also I will be FINALLY giving my impressions on that nifty folding solar panel.

And for you iPhone freaks out there I will be doing a review of apps for the iPhone that S&Pers might find handy (barring and EMP attack of course).

So take it easy, thanks for reading and 73!

Later,
ZA

Ramblings on the Epic Chicken Coop/Bunker Fiasco problem solved scenario...

2009-06-14T21:23:00.005-05:00

When I was a young kid many moons ago, the old farm I grew up on was slowly becoming just a piece of land. The mules my Grandpa plowed the fields with had been sold. The old milk cow that my Grandma called, Easter, was sold as well as now she had to work in a town and couldn’t take care of cows anymore. The one thing I remember that was still left on the farm was an ancient barn that had weathered many seasons and still stood like a solid oak tree was chickens.

My Grandma kept a few chickens mostly for eggs but one would occasionally find its way into the stew pot when the need arose.

When the last chicken on the farm disappeared I felt saddened as they were always some very fun critters to watch. It wasn’t until I built my house (which I am trying to turn into a homestead) in an old cotton field that my Dad and Grandpa worked that I decided to bring back pieces of the farm that I enjoyed as a child. Chickens are one of the first critters I decided to bring back with more to come as time goes by.

My wife and I read as many chicken books and magazines as we could find on the subject and we eventually settled on the idea that chickens were what we wanted. I would like to give credit to “Backyard Poultry”, “Countryside” and “Grit” magazines as they are invaluable resources for the homesteading lifestyle.

For some reason, the chicken coop never got built as they was always, “ I gotta get this prep finished before I start on another”. Well this year we killed procrastination cycle on the chicken acquisition once and for all!

After looking at portable coops, fixed building, and chicken tractors, we decided on an 8’x12’ DIY type building from our big box Hardware store. I modified it to fit on an elevated platform which it adapted to nicely. We came up with the size because it would easily handle 24 birds in the 8’x8’ chicken area. It was also decided we would start out with six pullets and eventually work our way up to 12 laying hens with a rooster for perpetual rearing of chicks in case the SHTF… but for now six it is.

I laid out the foundation in late April but the rains prevented me from opening the box the shed came in as I did not want the OSB to get warped!

My foundation consists of 9 6”x6” posts (buried 30” in the ground with concrete) supporting 3 12’,4”x6” runners that support the subfloor of the building. Overbuilt??? Probably but I am not gonna hafta worry about it be weak and I?
When I finished the foundation and subfloor I noticed on the inside there were these nice ledges and so I added DE (diatomaceous earth) to the ledges to safely kill any creepy crawlys that may decide to take up residence there.

I painted the OSB flooring with ‘porch paint’ (both sides) as it was gonna be my floor. For some reason we added a nice piece of vinyl flooring as we figured it would be easier to clean. It sure is easy to install a piece of vinyl flooring when there are NO WALLS or obstacles to cut around. It installed in about 15 minutes. Underneath the OSB I added a piece of plastic sheeting to provide a vapor barrier from the ground below.

I differed from the instructions in that I opted to use decking type screws instead of using the standard nails that came with the kit. My reasoning was this; it is much harder to pull out something that is ‘barbed’ than something smooth! I tried to maintain this detail from foundation to roof panels. I don’t wanna see something I worked so hard to build, roll across my yard on a windy day because I didn’t take some extra precautions! Do it right the first time… and I know all you men who read this blog will love to hear this validation… THE INSTRUCTIONS ARE NOT ALWAYS THE BEST WAY TO DO THINGS! They are more for just a general reference… we know usually know better than the person who wrote the manual!!! ROTFLMAO!

The walls studs I tied in with hurricane ties (top and bottom) and the OSB panels for the roof were screwed versus the ‘crappy nail option’.

So all in all this ‘chicken bunker’ was beefed up. I refuse to say that it will survive ANYTHING Mother Nature dishes out, but for most weather events it should still be where I put it.

I want to credit Jack Spirko of the Survival Podcast for giving me the inspiration to ‘home brew’ my own structure. Sure it was pre-cut, but the guy who is really good at making the cuts must have took the week off as I had to fix and hide his apprentice’s mistakes! When you build something on your own you learn about how things go together. The more you do, the more your skill grows… Up until building this coop, I had never built anything out of wood more complicated than some shelves! Not to mention I gained some muscle and stamina as well as lost 20 lbs of me I didn’t need. Best work out I ever had!

So now for a tour of the coop/bunker...

We liked the idea of the double door. When you open the first door on the right you enter the nesting box, food storage observation area. The left side door stays latched unless you need to enter the chicken area to shovel out litter/manure. There is a screen door where you can enter the chicken area from storage area. It swings toward the outside door so if some chicken decides to ‘bail out’ the screen door will stop her/him.

In the storage area (gonna call it a foyer from now on) the nesting boxes protrude inward. You can easily flip a latch and check the top 3 or bottom 3 nests for eggs WITHOUT entering the chicken area. We did this to be easy for folks that will take care of our flock when we go on vacation, and it is a really cool feature in my opinion.

The design came from searching the web for nesting boxes, commercial options and many other blogs on the web! It turned out pretty well and I even had the nice guy at the big box hardware store cut them for me… (How else was I supposed to get it home in my compact car???). Then it was a matter of screwing them together and painting them. For a cost of $30 I easily beat the $100+ price of a poultry supply company made one.

My wife stumbled across some folks that had made litter boxes for their perches. The idea is that when the birds perch they crap and it falls below. The litter box approach is an idea to solve two problems. One is to make the litter below stay cleaner longer and two, give more floor space for the birds. I used this sheltered space to place my inside waterer and feeder.

I used some multipurpose tubs 2’x3’x8” deep (available at Tractor Supply, Home Depot and Lowe’s… the latter two in the concrete area) that are light, strong and big! One the back wall I drilled two holes per tub into the stud on the back wall. I then put in nails (to fit loosely in the holes) to hold them against the wall. This step saved me building a large support system to make the tubs slide in and out like drawers. They still do but you simply remove the two nails and slid it between the 2 2x4’s in front and take it to the compost heap! EASY! I also added a piece of chicken wire between the roosts and tubs, so the chickens wouldn’t use them for nesting. I also added two slanted pieces of particle board (what I had on hand) to prevent the chickens from roosting anywhere but over the litter boxes. One of the roosts is strategically placed over where the two tubs join.

I wanted some good ventilation so I added one of those wind power ventilation turbines. I have some vents I need to add and my goal is to have the fresh air drawn in from the outside and pulled through the foyer/storage area, through the chicken area and out the turbine. Think of a hospital room for a TB patient…

I added a screen to the hole under the turbine to keep out flies. Had to wedge it with a furring strip because those long screws should go through your shingles!!!!Will have to reduce this airflow in the winter so as to not be to drafty!

The building came with a nice window with a decent screen… for flies. I added a piece of hardware cloth to ‘beef up’ the window from any predators that come calling at night! I will be adding some trim and make it look nicer as I finish the details later on. Will be adding an awning as well so water will not blow in the window.

The fence is buried one foot under the ground and turns outward to prevent any diggers from burrowing under the fence. I think Shep can take care of THOSE problems though. I added some garden fencing to beef up the lower four foot of the fence from strong animals. I still hafta cover the top with poultry netting but for now it is operational. I have the left side of the run covered with a large tarp as well as the center until I can build a sheltered area in the fall.

For the gates I was worried about anything I could build from wood might warp, so I went with a 6’x42” readymade chain link gate. I got some bolts to attach it to the wood posts and instant gate. I added one for the left side as well. When eventually I split the run I will have a separate access. This worked like a charm and saved me a bunch of ‘fabrication hours’ doing it with wood!

For the chicken door I used a 2’x2’ piece of pre-cut plywood, some stainless steel hinges, treated 2”x4”, furring strips and 2 hook eyes. The idea for the chicken door was based on my version of an airlock. The hole was cut and a furring strip was placed around the hole. The 2’x2’ plywood was nailed to 2”x4” flat side down. The idea is the 2x4’s seal up with furring strips and prevent air and critters from gaining access when closed. It worked well except I had to remove the top furring strip to make it work correctly!

I will be painting this as well as adding some shingles to shed any water and to protect the wood.

I added a gutter on the rear and will be adding one on the front with a rain barrel to water my nearby orchard in the dry season. Gonna be VERY COOL to not hafta drag out 200’ of hose to water my apple trees.

I do plan on adding some power later on in the fall so my egg production will not fall off in the winter months. I am also sure that I will be adding options or features that make the operation run smoother.

I would like to double my layers to 12 as it would be nice to have the extra protein. In a SHTF scenario if I have enough surplus eggs, it will be a good source of food for my ‘Sheps’ as well!

So there is a tour of the ‘bunker’ and I hope it has given some folks ideas of how to build your own. I do plan on building a few portable coops to place over my raised beds in the future, but for now I am done building any more ‘chicken housing’ for the next few months. I will let you know when I start getting eggs!

Thanks for reading and thanks for still being here!

Later,
ZA

Ramblings on the 'Chicken Bunker' update...

2009-06-11T21:13:00.003-05:00

Howdy folks,

Sorry for the long time between posts. I hope you see that I don't simply talk just about survival and preparedness, I actually attempt to learn new skills as well... thus in the summer months, I get a little 'long' between posts!

I just wanted to let you know the 'chicken bunker' is operational and their are 6 red star pullets now deployed!

I have the pics taken and all I gotta do is type up something interesting and informitive into something ya'll might find useful!

So be looking for that epic post within the week!

Thanks for your continued support and patience!

Sincerely and Later,
ZA

Ramblings on a post a long time coming... the Chicken Coop

2009-05-24T18:37:00.003-05:00

Howdy Folks,

Sorry for the long delay but I have been VERY BUSY. I have spent the last two weeks off from work, but have spent 12 hour days working on various projects on the homesstead but mainly have been working on the chicken coop as of late.

The funny thing about this project was that I thought it would take a couple of days and I would be finished... WRONG!!! Probably because as I said earlier, "I am not a carpenter".

Over the course of the past few weeks I have learned a bunch of carpentry skills and learned to do many things I never have tried before. Some, like roofing I never wanna try again!!!

I also got word that my chicken supplier is sending us the birds in 2 weeks... a week earlier than they origionally said.

Looking through the pics I do not have one of the completed building (still gotta put up the trim) but I will by next post...

I still hafta construct 2 runs so I can alternate the weeks of grazing in the yard. I also will be constucting a very innovative roost I saw on the web that works sorta like a chicken litter box. I have various other little things to finish up but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

This is the foundation I built for building... remember it was designed to sit on a concrete slab, or on the ground on 2 4"x6" runners. It is way overbuiilt for a foundation, but it made sense to me. The white stuff you see sprinkled on the boards inside is diatomacous earth. I figured a good dusting may prevent insect problems in the future and since it will not be rained upon, it should last a long time. It is also safe for the chickens to be around as well.

A friend of mine WHO is a carpenter recommended adding a vapor barrier between the floor joists and OSB flooring. I though it was a good idea, but I also primed and painted both side of the OSB flooring to protect them from moisture as well. I also added a piece of vinyl flooring over the OSB to make it easier to keep clean. I think that would qualify as a TRIPLE vapor barrier!

Here the walls are up and the OSB roofing is going up. The instructions called to use regular 6 d 2" nails, I opted for screws instead. In fact I tied the foundation together with bolts and 6" pole barn nails (these things DO NOT pull out as they are barbed), then I tied the flooring down with screws, then the walls with a combination of pole barn nails and screws, then I used two different kinds of hurricane ties to tie the rafter to the walls and like I said earilier I tied the OSB roofing with screws to the rafter. You want the same strength from foundation to roof peak!

I also joined the the peak of the rafters with a tie plate so it will not pull through the wood! I can easily over build something. Too bad this building is 'for the birds' as it would have made a heck of a nice work shop!

Here is a picture of the hurrican ties, what you don't see is an L shaped metal bracket on the other side to tie it all together!

Finally here is my version of nesting boxes. I saw some pics on the web, got the measurements and built my own. With the idea in my head I went to my local Lowe's hardware, picked out some straight whitewood boards (not an easy feat) and had them cut them down nice and straight. So when I got home it was just put it together and paint and you are done!

This particular design is when you enter the coop, you do not have to enter the chicken area to collect the eggs. Once I get it put where it goes it will make a lot more sense.

So again forgive my absence , I have been busy!

Thanks for reading!

Ramblings on not being able to be in two places at the same time...

2009-05-05T19:33:00.002-05:00

Howdy Folks,

Been real busy here at the ZA homestead since my last post.

I have finished the foundation of the chicken bunker... doesn't look much different since my origional post on getting it started. I still have a few things to tweak but once I get the OSB floor boards placed, it will be going up! Got a few days off coming up so IT WILL BE finished.

The rain has made things a little challenging and it has hindered me from getting to be where I wanted with the chicken coop. It is kinda strange as we were in a drought here last year... as they say when it rains, it pours!!!

Along with the rain comes clouds... so my little product review on a Sunforce 12W folding solar panel will hafta wait until I get enough sunshine to give it a fair shake... looks like it is gonna be a neat setup... and it didn't cost me a dime... will explain that one later!!!

Over the weekend I picked up two more packages of bees and got them placed in their new home. I came up with a pretty cheap hive stand that seems to work very well. Will take some pics of it next time I get into them (next weekend). I also tried to get a clear pic of the queen, but the screen on the queen cage made it hard for the camera to focus. When I get into them I will get a pic of the queen as she crawls through the hive.

Finally I wanted to say a brief thing about the swine flu (H1N1) virus that is going around. I don't think that this is the destroyer of worlds like the media seems to think it is. I do however believe that it bears watching and could become somewhat of a menace in the fall or the next few years. Don't be distracted and keep on prepping. If you have not started on prepping better get started.

Looking forward to getting back in the groove on blogging!

Thanks for reading!

Later,
ZA

Ramblings on planning for and the building of a chicken coop...

2009-04-18T22:53:00.004-05:00

I have been 'teasing' everyone for a couple of weeks about building a chicken coop. For once in long time, it was not raining this Saturday so I was able to break ground and finally get this project started. This has been something I have been wanting to do for over 2 years now, and by golly it is gonna be done before June I hope!

The picture above is what it will look like when I get finished with everything...

Before I get into the actual construction of the foundation I would like to talk about placement of the chicken coop.

The picture above shows my site planning. It is very important to plan where you will keep your chickens at so they will not be a bother after you worked so hard to build a home for them. You don't want to hear that rooster right outside your bedroom window as you are sleeping in on your off day. You also don't want the prevailing winds in the Summer blowing right into your outdoor entertainment area and bringing with it the 'scent of a chicken'... and I am not talking about BBQ chicken on a grill either!

I have studied the prevailing winds for my area for several years so when I got my coop, I would know where to place it. It is also close enough I can keep an eye on it if I need to.

Basically the building is designed to sit on a slab foundation, but it can also be setup on treated wood runners directly on the ground. I didn't want to go with either of those 2 option so I made up a third... Build a slightly elevated platform to get it off of the ground.

First of all I AM NOT A CARPENTER... I repeat... I AM NOT A CARPENTER!!! Sure I have fiddled with wood before, even built a few things, set a few posts in concrete (never when they had to line up though), but never anything like this so far...

I am a perfectionist as well as someone who can build ANYTHING strong from a engineering perspective... but not always the cheapest or most efficient way... So if any of you carpeneters out there read this and laugh... I never claimed to be an expert, but hopefully I will gain some experience with this project...

Looking at the pictures of my foundation, you are probably thinking, "wow that son of a gun is gonna be HIGH!!!". Actually the 4"x6" on the front posts is gonna be where the building will sit... not the boards on top of the posts... they were left there after some of my crazy plumbing and squaring techniques! The posts will be cut off much shorter but will have a little stub sticking up to tie into the building's floor.

I had a real hard time drilling the posts for the 5/8 bolts because all I had was partially charged batteries. As I would get close to getting done, I would have to wait until the other battery charged. Sad thing is that I got a serious set of Dewalt cordless tools with batteries... It was just I did not expect my project to progress as well as it did today so I had not charged them up!

I still have a bunch more work on the foundation part as I want to add another set of posts in the middle with a 4"x6" beam to give the building a strong support! Like I said, it may not be the easiest way, but it will be the strongest!!!

So hopefully that has wet your whistle this week and let you know that ZA finally has got the ball rolling on the coop!

Thanks for reading!

Later,
ZA

Ramblings on One Second After by William R. Forstchen...

2009-04-14T19:29:00.002-05:00

I have been hearing a bunch of great things about "One Second After" by William R. Forstchen as a great 'think' piece on what America might be like after an EMP(Electro Magnetic Pulse) in a very enjoyable, easy to read work of fiction.

I was pleasantly surprised that the story took place in an area of North Carolina I once lived near. So the story took on a very vivid and personal note as I have tread upon many of the places that were mentioned in the book. I could easy see the pictures that Mr. Forstchen painted for me in my mind on the canvas of my memories of those places.

The story is about a man named John Matherson who lives East of Asheville in the beautiful small town of Black Mountain, NC. As we begin the story, life is business as usual as it would be in any small town. As we read on the power fails, until we find out later on in the story that America has suffered a EMP detonation that has crippled all of our technology that we depend on so much today.

Later on in the story we discover how John and his community try to struggle to survive and still try to maintain a resemblance of civilization. How they handle power hungry towns as well as the 'golden horde' that eventually tries to plunge the last bastions of civilization into anarchy. How John struggles with ethical and moral decisions that regard others as well as his family...

The characters come alive and you really feel their pain and feel as if you know them. Even though this was not the typical SHTF/TEOTWAWKI novel, it is probably one of the best written scenarios of how how things could come to pass should America fail to heed Mr Forstchen's warnings.

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars and I highly encourage you to get a copy of this book and read it...

After reading it I found some holes in my own preps and some things that I have never considered before, but are being corrected as you are reading this...

Lord forbid that this scenario (or any other World Changing Situation) ever play out, and hopefully this will get the folks in Washington realizing that this is a threat that needs an intelligent discussion and gets 'their heads outta the sand'...

Thanks for reading! Now go read Mr. Forstchen's book!

Later,
ZA

Ramblings on early Spring, late Winter, hard frosts and food production...

2009-04-08T19:57:00.004-05:00

Howdy Readers,

Been kinda busy at work lately so I have not had much time to blog as of late. I have my ducks (or is that chickens???) in a row for building the chicken house if it would ever stop raining. Seems like it is always raining when I get off work and about every weekend... This weekend I will hopefully be able to get started!!!

The weather and how it relates to survival and preparedness and... food production is what I wanted to type about tonight.

The last few weeks along with the rain brought some very spring like temperatures. Trees started budding, flowers were blooming. Yesterday we had a cold front come into our area with freezing temps. Basically the temps dropped to 29F with calm winds so a frost was expected.

My Stark Apple Trees (some of the best nursery stock I have dealt with so it is a great place to get your fruit trees from) had the most beautiful blooms on them and it was looking like I might get a few apples this year.

As my slight deviation for tonight, the time to plant permaculture (fruit trees/bushes, nut trees, vines etc.) was YESTERDAY!!! If you own property and have a place to plant some plant some permaculture NOW. I planted these about 2 years ago, so it takes a while and is NOT an instant fix!

Now back to our regularly scheduled blog entry... I decided to to try and cover my smallest of the fruit trees and bushes in order to try and save them. I do not know if I succeeded or not, but I HOPE I DID...

As I surveyed the yard this morning, I noticed a very light frost on the the grass... so only time will tell.

Two years ago we had a hard frost after all the apple and peach trees bloomed. The orchards all around had massive crops failures and the early varieties were non existent.

Which brings me to my point about the importance of storing food... YOU MUST STORE FOOD!!! We are not guaranteed ANY CROPS as an early frost can wipe out the fruit production for the year, a hail storm in June can wipe out your tomato vines, and a flood can wipe your corn crop before you can harvest it.

The food you store may be the only food you get if you have a crop failure. What happens if your crops fail for 2 years? Are you gonna eat???

I am not discouraging you to plant a garden or fruit trees, just saying that even with these 'renewable' preps you many not have anything to harvest due to forces beyond YOUR control. So be sure to have some food put up for those times.

Thanks for reading!

Later,
ZA

Ramblings on Bandwidth...

2009-03-30T20:13:00.002-05:00

Just wanted to say thanks to all you lurkers as well as the followers on this blog! I got an email from my photo hosts today claiming I was approaching my Bandwidth limit! Since I only use my photo hosts to post the pics you see on this blog as well as some forums I post on, it must mean folks are actually reading my demented writings!

To save a little bandwidth I am reducing the entries to 5 per page (older entries are still available in the archives at the bottom) so it may load up a little quicker in the future!

Next BIG blog project is building a chicken coop that I hope to have the building and interior finished by early May or June 1 by the latest. SO stay tuned for those epic entries!

Again thanks for taking the time to read my ramblings, I really do appreciate it!

Later,
ZA

Ramblings on busy like a bee...

2009-03-29T19:32:00.002-05:00

Howdy Folks,

Today I installed one three pound package of bees. These bees started out from a apiary in Georgia up to Moravian Falls, NC and finally to the farm...

Ideally it would have been best to put them in their new home yesterday when I brought them home, but it was raining and 50F all day yesterday. Bees don't really like that kind of weather and can get irate!

First of all I had to open the package of bees. A three pound package of bees costs $71.53 out the door from Brushy Mountain Bee Farms FYI.

Inside the package is a can of sugar syrup with small holes poked in it to give the bees access. For those of you who have seen swarms of bees in the wild this is similar behavior inside the package.

The queen that comes with the package of bees IS NOT the queen of the rest of the bees inside the package. She is isolated with a few of HER worker inside her own little cage.

There is a cork covering a 'candy plug' that you remove when you place the bees in the hive. By the time the worker bees eat the candy away, they will be use to the NEW QUEEN and accept here as their ruler. Pretty cool if you ask me! Once she is free, she will begin to lay eggs!

When you place the queen cage in the hive, there are several different methods. I just press it into some drawn out comb (the bees will fix it later). YOU MUST place the candy plug pointing UP. The reason is that in case one of the queen bees workers dies, they will fall to the bottom of the cage they will not block the candy plug exit. If you place the plug down and one of the queens workers die... they may block the exit and then your queen will not be laying eggs until you free her. I will be removing the queen cage within a week.

Now I simply shake the bees into the hive. I remove about 3 frames (I use 9 frame hive) to give the bees room to spread out, I then replace them after about 20 minutes. You also spray the bees with a sugar water solution. This gives them some FOOD, as well as keep them from flying around. They are very docile for now, but next time I visit them, they may get a little defensive!

Here is what it looks like after I dump the bees into the hive! Spread out ladies!!!

Now I place on the inner cover and wait for 20 minutes as they bees spread out through their new home! After that time I replace the 3 frames I removed and on to the final phases.

I really love these type of hive top feeders. They allow you to fill them up without the bees being able to get to you. My wonderful Junior Beekeeper helper fills up the feeder with sugar syrup. This will allow the bees to locate their own food and water sources while having a source of food until they locate their own.

I have two more hives coming in May maybe I will get a better pic of the queen bee inside her cage!

I hope you found this interesting and as always thanks for reading!

Later,
ZA

Ramblings on commo capabilities every prepper should have...

2009-03-24T19:47:00.002-05:00

Every Survivalist/Prepper should have commo :)

The type of communication capability is a question that only you can answer for yourself, but these are IMHO the very basic communications one needs. You can always do better than this list... it is just a place to START.

Two way radios:

Sometimes you need to talk to someone past yelling range. A pair of FRS/GMRS radio (make sure you pay the money and get your GMRS license) are better than nothing. So a pair of these in your BOB (to talk to your allies along the way) or to talk to your party while you patrol your perimeter is always a good thing. Be sure to have this capability!

AM/FM/Shortwave Radio:

Being able to listen to your local AM/FM radio is a definate plus when something is going FUBAR. Add Shortwave capability so you can listen to far away stations in case your local ones are out.

Weather Radio with S.A.M.E alert:

Weather Radios have come along way since the beginning. These radios can be programmed to go off ONLY when there is an alert for your county. So no more getting woke up @ 3 am for an alert for a county 50 miles away! These things give you a heads up for severe thunderstorms, hurricane reports, tornado warnings, winter storm warnings, etc. so having one is a great for getting a heads up and SURVIVING!

Scanner:

A good VHF (and higher) scanner can give you a heads up as to what your police department, fire department, EMS, utilities, ham radio operators, etc. are doing. Be advised, depending on your locale, your public service frequencies may be digital and trunked, so your scanner will need to have this capability.

I really like to listen to the public service freqs to track the occasional severe weather that tears through our area. Knowledge is power!

So get you some commo... you never know when it will come in handy!

This is a basic list... I highly encourage you to look into Amateur (Ham) Radio to give you some truly awesome capabilities!!!

Later,
ZA

Ramblings on the S&P minded web resouces that ZA reads and listens to...

2009-03-22T14:49:00.005-05:00

A lot of folks ask me, "who do you read on the web and who inspires you???"

First off, I have been into the S&P idealogy since the mid 80's (wow whatta decade!!!) and although I have been at it awhile, there is still MUCH to learn! Some folks that I have met in the S&P world have this, "I am so smart NO ONE can teach me anything because I already know it" attitude!!! What jerks!!! The moment YOU think YOU know it all is about the time you fnd out YOU know NOTHING with that attitude!!!

While I am no spring chicken, I am constantly looking for better ways to do things I already know as well as learn new things! I frankly DO NOT CARE if the dude starting prepping yesterday or been at it for fifty years... if it is a better way or a good piece of info... I am gonna use it!!!

Probably one of the best blogs on the web on Survival and Preparedness is James Wesley, Rawles of Survival Blog (links at the top of my blog) who is constantly pumping out info on stuff I can use, news and ideas. Updated DAILY this website is a powerhouse of knowledge. If you don't read it, you should!!! Also I highly recommend JWR's "Patriots" work of fiction which also has a bunch of ideas to get you started.

Also another fellar that is tireless in his efforts to get out knowledge to the masses is Jack Spirko of the Survival Podcast(links at top of blog). Jack usually puts out a podcast once a day that runs from 35-45 minutes. A bunch of the podcasts revovle around the "Modern Survival Mindset". Instead of preaching to just store food, Jack encourages you to also grow some of your own food! I have always been a gardener, but through Jack's podcasts I have learned there are better ways to do these things. Jack Spirko YOU ARE DA MAN!!! Also be sure to check out the great forums there as there are a bunch of like minded people who have a bunch of experience doing things that you will want to try!!!

Another podcast I listen to is The Preparedness Podcast (link at top of blog) which is also a great podcast. This generally run once a week and have been known to flirt with the 120 minute mark in length. There is a bunch of great info that is handed out in each podcast. I really think the Capabilities Checklist is a great tool to evaluate your needs of what you need to acquire to make your SHTF experience less stressful! Good work Rob, Greg and Mike!!!

Finally my other information source is Glenn Beck. Very entertaining, usually spot on in my political idealogy, and a great sense of humor! I prefer to listen to him in the podcast format as I like to be able to pause the program as needed. You can catch him on numerous radio stations around the country as well as the Fox News Channel. IMHO he is way better than Rush or Hannity. You go Glenn!!!

So there you go, this is where ole ZA draws his plans, encouragement, ideas for S&P minded matters on the web!

I encourage everyone to check out the above sources of info, if you do not already, as I feel they are great places to stimulate the thought process and learn about new things!

So again thanks, James, Jack, Rob, Greg, Mike and Glenn for all you do to get the word out!!!

Thanks for reading!

Later,
ZA

Ramblings on Green and Red lasers...

2009-03-16T19:37:00.002-05:00

Sometimes you try something that is full of hype and find out the claims are not entirely true and in the process of testing it you find something out you never knew...

I have been very interested in the claims of the highly visible Green Lasers on the market that claim they work well in ALL lighting conditions. The green lasers are notably brighter than their red counterparts but does it justify that extra money???

First of all, this is not a criticism of LaserMax products as I find they are extremely well made lasers. It is a unbiased totally unscientific test. I used my eyes as the testing equipment and that was my only basis for the test. If it looked brighter to me then it looked brighter to me... nuff said.

The green laser is noticeably brighter when you can see it. I don't care what the claims are, the green laser washes out in bright sunlight and is not easy to pick up even at close ranges IN BRIGHT SUNLIGHT.

I tried many different takes to capture an image of the green laser in bright sunlight, but they did not turn out. The only one that turned out was the one above when I aimed the laser in an old shed that provided enough shade to see the green dot. This was walked off to about 25 yards. It shows up well in the shade.

Now you take away that bright sunlight and change it to overcast/dusk/dawn and it becomes visible at significantly longer ranges.

At night, the green laser has an extremely bright dot and visible beam and is very easy to pick up. As you can barely see (about 50 yards away) the green laser is brighter that the red laser. Both will get the job done! The camera obviously does not do this any justice... but I tried!

So in my testing, the green laser beats out the red laser in brightness and all the photos support this...except for the ones taken through a Night Vision Device!!!

The red laser is the one that shows the trail on the left. The green laser would not show up unless it was reflecting on a close object. To get the picture I had to aim the green laser on a tree about 50 yards away.

I suspect that this has a bunch to do with the green image as seen through the Night Vision Device... but still I thought light was light!!!

Above is the red laser by itself. It won in the Night Vision contest so it deserves its own picture!

This really shocked me as I had expected BOTH to do well about equally.

In summary... the green laser IS brighter in all lighting conditions, but is still wiped out in bright sunlight. If you can't get an IR (infra red) laser for your weapon and you want it to show up through through a Night Vision Device then go with red!

Also, before anyone gets all upset and tells me what a dummy I am for using a VISIBLE laser with a Night Vision Device... I know that one can see the laser beam and KNOW exactly where it is coming from. This was purely a test and I thought the results were very interesting... at least to me!

Finally, I think LaserMax Uni-Max Green Laser deserves a little attention so I will throw in a quick review and comments...

I do not understand why these folks who make tactical lights/laser combo's put the laser underneath the flashlight??? Maybe I don't understand technology or engineering, but would you not rather have the laser CLOSER to the bore of the weapon, rather than far away???

I liked the concept of the laser/light combo, but I could never get over the laser being on the bottom...

Then one day I saw the Uni-max which will attach to ANY picatinny rail and it ALSO has a rail below the laser to attach a light. Now the light can be attached to the bottom... where I thought it should be :)

I obviously got the green LaserMax Uni-Max for this test and found it to be a nice and easy to use unit. I tested it on a pistol rail as well as a Carbine rail... This little laser performs BIG!!!

I also have a Streamlight TLR-1 LED weapon light that I mounted below the laser! Very nice setup IMHO.

I will be doing a review of the TLR-1 and Glock Light in the future so stay tuned.

I hope you have found this blog entry interesting and imformative tonight. As always, thanks for reading!!!

Later,
ZA

Ramblings on "What the Heck is a Hamfest Anyway???"

2009-03-14T20:07:00.005-05:00

So maybe you folks have heard about this crazy thing called a hamfest and have been wondering what the heck is a HAMFEST???

First of all, although the name Ham is in it, it has NOTHING to do with Ham. I have seen some ham biscuits for sale though.

Anyways...

A hamfest is many things. It is a place to buy some new communication gear, some old gear, accessories and mainly a place for hams to finally get a chance to meet face to face after all those wireless coversations. It is also a place to learn new things and well as an opportunity to take a test to get your license or an upgrade.

Ham Radio Operators are also called Amateur Radio operators but we just usually refer to ourselves as 'hams'.

You can also test out some of the newest gear at the manufacturer booths at the larger hamfests (Kenwood and Yaesu were present at this one).

Today,I planned to meet up with a few folks at the Charlotte Hamfest. It was a rainy day. IOW it was a prefect day for an INDOOR hamfest. I browsed around with Freedom Defender from Xcolony.com who was in town to take the Technician test. Which I am happy to say he aced!!! Congrats Freedom Defender!!!

I picked up some cool toys as well as all the latest catalogs from the dealers.

I also some ideas for some new antennas. There was a really nice idea of someone using electric horse fence tape for making a dipole antenna... Pretty impressive!

So if there is a hamfest coming to YOUR town be sure to check it out. Also I encourage you to get your ham radio license and just for clarification, THERE IS NO LONGER ANY MORSE CODE REQUIREMENT, so NO EXCUSES!

Take it easy, 73 (ham speak for best wishes) and thanks for reading!!!

Later,
ZA

Updates to Zombie Axe's Blog...

2009-03-08T12:49:00.003-05:00

Howdy Folks,

I just wanted to let you know about some new things ole' ZA has added to the blog.

First off, I figured that ya'll followers that ACTUALLY claim to read this blog, deserved to be recognized for your insanity and certainly for your support! So THANKS!!!

I also added a way to subscribe to my entries via RSS readers. Sorry it took so long for me to get out of the dark ages!

I also added some of my favorite links and I will try and keep the list short, but these links deserve a mention because either I really like them or they have great info.

So hope you like the changes and again, thanks for your support!

Later,
ZA

Ramblings on the the March 2009 snow storm... AAR (after action report)

2009-03-07T21:02:00.004-05:00

It all started on March 1st after 2 days of rain. It was snowing on and off all day long, but never didn't start laying until it got dark. The wind picked up and with the heavy wet snow sticking to everything vertical after dark. Around 0020 (1220am) the power went out.

Actually my wife informed me of this when I awoke at 0500 as I didn't know or care... When you expect the power to go out and you have to get up, have an alternative alarm clock.

I decided to fire up the generator and provide the family with power while I brought home the bacon. Luckily, when I built the home ,I decided I wanted an interlock panel and a plug to run from the generator to the the emergency panel. Twice it has paid off :) I still need to run the well pump wiring in it and had to run it in temporarily during the power outage, to pump some water in the house. For some reason the electrician figured the well pump did not need to be on the emergency panel, that is the problem when you build a home but can not live in the same town so you can supervise it.

When you run a generator you must understand that the engine is not designed to run for long periods of time without an oil change! Many folks ,when out of power and running on generator power, run them for a week or more and NEVER change the oil. Then the engine fails! You MUST change the oil per your owners manual! I change mine for every 24 hours of run time.

The first time I ever used a generator after a winter storm I used SAE 30 weight oil. When I tried to crank it with the pull starter it was almost impossible to turn over the engine! After consulting with my hand dandy owners manual for use in temps below 32F, it recommended using 5W-30. Let me tell you this certainaly has helped with easy pulling in 32F and colder temps.

It also helps to store the generator in a warmer place such as a basement (WARNING DO NOT STORE WITH FUEL IN THE GENERATOR UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES INSIDE YOUR HOME!!! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!) so when you have to deploy it, the oil will be warmer than it would be outside. Mine is stored in a heated building WITH NO FUEL in it!Anything to do to make it easier on YOU will be worth it!

For running it around 12 hours a day, the generator burned about 5 gallons of fuel a day. We turned it off at night. We also keep a low profile and practiced 'light discipline' ,by not lighting up the night sky with all our lights. When I looked at the home from the front, it looked light we had ONE lantern burning in front of the home.

If you are considering buying a generator in the 10 hp/5000-6000 watt range I would seriously consider getting an electric start one. IF you get one with an electric start, you will also need to consider getting a battery maintainer (trickle charger) or if it will be stored in a remote building, a solar powered charger. This is to make sure when you REALLY need it, it will work for you!

When you are running a generator make sure you lock it to something solid! You don't want someone stealing your source of power. FWIW I have heard of reports in some areas, where a crook will pull up a running lawn mower (maybe yours... your stuff is locked up is it not???) and then take the generator and shut it down and haul it off... All while you think your generator is still running but for some reason it quit generating.

Our broadband modem is on its OWN UPS/APC battery backup system. We found that it would power the modem for a long time. We also did this with out TiVo so we wouldn't miss out on any programming we were going to record. Another benefit of this is that when the power flickers on and off, the modem does not have to resynch and the TiVo does not not take the 5 minutes it normally takes to reboot as the power stays on!

Also don't forget to have a plain Jane regular plug in wall phone. When your power is out those wonderful cordless phones will not work! So be sure to have at least one corded telephone. Chances are even with the power out your landline will still work so have an option to utilize it!

Alarm systems usually have a PUNY 4 amp hour battery backup that may last 4-24 hours before it DIES. To me that is unacceptable!!! At my former home, the power was out for 8 days after a large ice storm. After 8 hours our alarm panel was OUT because the battery was dead. I took one of my deep cycle batteries and wired it into the system to provide power for the system for the duration. When I built my home, I made sure that I had a significant battery backup that would power my system for 2+ weeks in the event of power failure. When I install my solar power system, it will be tied into the alarm system as well.

I do have a battery bank for my ham station that I did not use because I had to work and then come home and do the other chores that with with grid tied electricity are made easier!

Any locks that you may need to unlock after a hard rain and then a freeze should be keep with a sandwich baggie over them to prevent water from entering the mechanism freezing it solid! I FORGOT to do this and as I went to unlock my gate I had to go get my MAPP gas torch and give it a brief heating to melt the ice. No need to heat it cherry red, just enough to get the ice to melt (it will not ruin it unless they are plastic coated with a brief heating). A squirt of WD-40 will displace the remaining moisture and prevent it refreezing when the temp drops at night.

The locks on your vehicle may also freeze. They make some lock de-icer aerosols that work well, but you must keep them warm so they will squirt well.

A trick I used several times was to use my trusty Zippo ( I don't smoke, but I like having a good lighter) to heat up the key an insert it into the lock and thus melt the ice. Since we had rain for 2 days before it dropped below freezing, it took 2 to 3 times of doing this to melt all the ice enough so the lock would function... or would that be UNFUNCTION???

Also consider lubricating your locks on your vehicles since you will be driving through slush and salt water from all the crap they put on the roads to make the ice melt. A lock fouled up with grime can be just as out of service as a frozen solid one...

For heating we used our fireplace which does a pretty good job of keeping the living areas warm. At night we ran a 1500W ceramic heater in the children's rooms to warm them up before they went to bed. The coldest these rooms got was 60 degrees. Our bedroom dropped to 52 after the outside temps dropped to 12F... Not ideal but certainaly liveable!

I do need to come up with a permanent solution to heat these rooms in the future. I have several Big Buddy heaters for this purpose but I really don't like the idea of the kids being around these without supervision.

To contain the heat in the living areas, I came up with the idea of using space blankets reinforced with duct tape at the top to allow it to be hole punched. I then ran two eye hooks at the top of the doorways to run a string through and thread the string through the space blanket. This is a really lightweight and easy option for keeping your heat in only the rooms you need to. Once the emergency is OVER, leave up the eye hooks and stash the rest until next time. Make sure you reinforce the top of the space blanket with duct tape where you punch your holes or it will not last long at all!

For cooking the microwave is on the generator circuit so we kinda stuck with that. There is a burner on the propane grill outside as well as a plethora of various gas burners on camping stoves. We also have a Volcano II stove that gives us the option to burn wood or charcoal to cook on.

I like a hot shower but any shower will do when you feel nasty! I hooked up the well pump to the generator and thought I would take my chances with COLD water coming out of the shower head. As I turned on the water, it ran as expected COLD... REALLY COLD and then the greatest thing happened, the water ran WARM (almost HOT). Apparently the extra insulation I wrapped around my electric water heater paid off. 23 hours after the power went off, there was still hot water in the tank! So the cold shower was not as cold as I had worried it was going to be. I am seriously considering a propane powered instant hot water heater as a replacement to my electric one.

I still need to hang a stainless steel eyehook from the ceiling of the bathroom (over the tub of course) so I can hang one of those solar showers on, if the power is going to be off for a long time. Simply heat up some water on your turkey fryer and pour it in the solar shower bag, hang it up and shower away!

To store water in for flushing toilets we first filled up our bathtubs. We use flat sided trash cans (as opposed to round ones) so we can fill them up even when the water gets shallow in the tub.

Once the well pump was online we filled up our six gerry cans and had plenty of water for the duration. I have been wanting to try one of those Water BOB's as it is a pretty brilliant idea for storing potable water.

I need to get a few containers with spigots on them so it will make brushing teeth, washing dishes, etc. much easier than with the jerry cans. I thought I had one, but was sadly mistaken.

After 36 hours our power was restored. With these events you should always take notes and try to improve your preps.

I need to document with step by step directions how to run the generator so my wife can use it in case I can not get to it in a timely fashion. I happen to know where a bunch of the prep materials are located (spare oil, water cans, candles, etc.) but I need to also have a list of where I store these items.

We also need to come up with a 'initial response box/bag/container/cabinent/shelf' that has extra flashlights, batteries, candles, matches, radio, etc. so we don't need to go looking for them. WE HAVE THESE ITEMS ALREADY, but we need to have them in one rapid response container that will meet all our needs for the first 12-24 hours so we can concentrate on other tasks. Not a biggie, but would be a definate improvement.

All in all we survived and did so in comfort. This was the first time I ran the generator for this great of time period. Mainly I wanted to see how many items we could run and test the endurance levels, fuel consumption and load capability. In the past I ran it 4 hours a day tops, just for the fridge/freezers and to pump water.

WTSHTF, I will probably only run the generator to keep the food cold until I can perserve it by other means and then only for emergencies. I have a spring I can haul water from so I don't really hafta use the well.

WHEW!!! This is one rambling piece of ramble! Hope you stuck with me, and if you did... Thanks!

Until next time, take it easy, watch your six and keep your powder dry! Thanks again for reading!

Later,
ZA

Ramblings on YakTrax Walkers...

2009-03-04T22:21:00.003-05:00

Frozen stuff is slippery to walk on! In my line work I hafta git-r-done whether the weather is good or not.

Working in the utility industry is a great job, but you better not go into that line of work if you don't like working outside.

Other than the thunderstorms in the spring and summer, winter weather is probably the most hazardous type of weather I work in... Many because of slips and sudden impacts that result thereafter with the ground.

To give myself a little more traction I invested in a pair of YakTraxs to wear when the conditions warranted.

So today I was working in the mountains where they had about 5 inches left on the ground. There are not many flat spots up there if you know what I mean. It is either going up or down hills so it was a perfect time to deploy the YakTrax's.

The YakTraxs are basically like snow chains for your boots (or shoes) and work pretty much like them. I easily navigated slopes to accomplish the tasks I was assigned and they helped me walk on some slippery snow and ice!

They easily slip over your boots and just as easily off WHEN you take them off. The YakTraxs are lightweight, so they will take up little room in your winter BOB and are worth the $20 I paid for them. I would lke the security of the YakTrax pros which have a strap which secures over top of your foot to really make them part of your boot.

The standard YakTrax Walkers seem to get the job done and $20 is cheap insurance to keep yourself vertical and not horizontal :)

Thank for reading!

Later,
ZA

Ramblings on our 'little blizzard' in NC...

2009-03-03T22:01:00.003-05:00

Sorry folks,

I have been real busy as of late trying to network with those of the 'like mind' and finding time to organize all this 'stuff'

Sunday Night (March 1st) we had a pretty nice snow storm here in North Carolina. We got 5 inches of heavy, wet snow. The wind really picked up and wouldn't you know it... the power goes out!!!

Not a problem if you are prepared!

So I threw a log on the fire, went to sleep, and I had a chance to test all my 'power grid down' techniques. They worked well... some need improving and all need a detailed written SOP for how to work some of the prep items for my wife and kids!

That is something I will be working on as well as a more detailed AAR (after action report) and how the preps worked out.

For some folks, it is flesh eating reanimated dead walking the earth that they prepare for... Me??? Just give me some winter weather and that is as exciting as my SHTF gets.

Have a great rest of the week and I will have some new stuff up this weekend!

Thanks for reading my 'teaser'...

Later,
ZA

Ramblings on S&P USB drives...

2009-02-15T19:07:00.003-05:00

A great addition to your BOB is a USB flash drive. A flash drive allows you to carry copies of your personal documents, legal documents, insurance policies,photos, proof of identity, files, windows settings etc. So when you hafta leave dodge you will have digital proof of who you are, what you done, what you have and all sorts of other info.

I prefer the 'hardened' version by Corsair called the Survivor. Tough little Son of a gun and water resistant to deeper than you can swim ;)

With 4 GB of data protected by TrueCrypt I have pictures, .pdf and word documents at my disposal should I be stranded from home. Also my IE Favorites as well as email and snail mail addy's are on here so I can 'borrow' a computer and have access to my needs!

For work I also carry some free spyware/antivirus programs, Registry editor and network configuration utilities that my company does not/will not provide. These drives are not 'hardened' but work quite well for my needs. Add a few S&P .pdf's to read in my spare time and you have a bunch of info for your needs!

I encourage all of you to read Shane's Blog (good stuff) about listening to Katrina. Alot of my thoughts on this came from this Blog.

Shane suggests you convert these files to digital format and keep them with you in your BOB (his BOB has a laptop). I suggest you have several copies of this data and ENCRYPT it!!!

From Shane's Blog:

Letters, postcards, and other correspondence.

Data and files from your place of business, if allowed by company policy.

Digitized copies of video or sound recordings that cannot be replaced.

Digital address book. (Windows Address Book is actually portable. Search for .wab files.) You can print this out and have a hard copy in your BOB. If a digital address book doesn't work for you, then keep a good paper one.

Investment and retirement account information.

Information about other financial accounts.

Information regarding membership in clubs and organizations.

If it is important keep a copy of it!!!

Finally, I learned of this flashdrive from the Preparedness Podcast Folksin episode 9. Sounds pretty secure. They are pricey but sometimes your data is as well!

From Iron Key

Hardware Encryption
Your IronKey is literally packed with the latest and most secure encryption technologies, all enabled by the powerful onboard Cryptochip. Rather than employing "homegrown" cryptographic algorithms that have not undergone rigorous cryptoanalysis, IronKey follows industry best practices and uses only well-established and thoroughly tested cryptographic algorithms.

All of your data on the IronKey drive is encrypted in hardware using AES CBC-mode encryption.

Always-On Encryption
Because your IronKey implements data encryption in the hardware Cryptochip, all data written to your drive is always encrypted. There is no way to accidentally turn it off or for malware or criminals to disable it. Also, it runs many times faster than software encryption, especially when storing large files or using the on-board portable Firefox browser.

Encryption Keys
The encryption keys used to protect your data are generated in hardware by a FIPS 140-2 compliant True Random Number Generator on the IronKey Cryptochip. This ensures maximum protection via the encryption ciphers. The keys are generated in the Cryptochip when you initialize your IronKey, and they never leave the secure hardware to be placed in flash memory or on your computer.

Two-Factor Authentication
Beyond simply protecting the privacy of your data on the IronKey flash drive, the IronKey Cryptochip incorporates advanced Public Key Cryptography ciphers that allow you to lock down your online IronKey account. That way you must have your IronKey device, in addition to your password, to access your online account. This highly complex process runs behind the scenes, giving you state-of-the-art protection from phishers, hackers and other online threats.

Good stuff! Thanks for reading! 73

later,
ZA

Ramblings on addictions... your Achilles Heel WTSHTF

2009-02-02T21:12:00.002-05:00

TS has finally hit the fan. You got your preps in order... or so you thought. You find out that you could not store enough whiskey/beer/cigarettes/snuff/coffee/etc. since you were too busy consuming it instead of squirreling it away.

There are no more beer runs, no stopping at the 7-11 to get a pack of smokes and no more liquor stores. What you got is what you got!!!

You can replace the whiskey if you could grow some corn and had a source of sugar, but maybe that would be better served by eating it???

You love your tobacco... do you have any tobacco seeds to grow your own in case RJR stops shipping Camel's??? What about a pipe or rolling paper???

What about coffee??? Do you need a gallon to function before anyone dare speaks to you??? Do you have a replacement (grow your own tea trees for caffiene)???

What about gluttony... do you eat what you need or eat what you want??? Better learn how to get by with what you need, because cold turkey (pun intened) isn't fun???

So what do you do about it???

Either store enough to last you until the situation ends or you die. Limit your consumption. Learn how to make a suitable replacement, or give up the habit!!!

Some of these things can be done easily, some not so much...

Do you really want to be addicted to anything that the lack thereof will allow you do STUPID STUFF when you can not afford it???

Also consider storing some of these items for barter... some folks will 'sell their soul' for a drink of liquor or just a pack of cigarettes! I figure that 'vices' will be worth a plenty in a barter situation.

This is not meant to be a 'holier than thou' type of post, as I have things to work on as well. It is meant for us to STOP, and evaluate our true needs and wants and make a plan. I mean when folks talk about 'beans, bullets and bandaids' maybe they should include the mention of 'booze' or comfort items as well.

No need to give up something you don't want to, but do have a plan so it will not become your Achilles Heel WTSHTF!

Ramblings on the S&W 325 PD revolver...

2008-12-23T00:23:00.004-05:00

I love semi autos and my favorite caliber is the venerable .45 ACP.

Sure I like the capacity of the wonder nines and if it shoots a projectile, I like it.

Revolvers are nice but I have not owned many. So after getting really anal about chasing my brass from the autos, I looked into the S&W 25,625,325 series of revolver. I wanted something light weight so the 325 PD fit the bill. Thunder Ranch has partenered with S&W to make the Nightwatch but I just don't like snub nosed revolver. I consider the 4" barrelled revolver the minimum for a good utility gun. My local dealer ask his supplier and they said they had one in stock and I had them ship it out.

It has some nice wood grips as well as the the rubber grips it now wears. I'd plan on adding some Crimson Trace laser grips (I prefer Lasermax for semi-autos) in the future.

Since the .45 ACP does not have a rim, it requires the use of a moon clip to be able to extract spent cases. Think a speed loader that you just drop in six fresh catridges! I think you can also use the .45 auto rim catridge but to me it is a mute point as I am sticking to the .45 ACP.

If you are gonna use it you better lay in a good supply of moon clips and they are cheap enough to stack deep.

The cylinder is made from titanium and the frame is made from S&W Scandium metal, only the internals and a metal insert in the barrel are made from steel! Very light weight buts recoil is not severe. I wouldn't want to shoot the .357 or .44 mag version a lot :eek: Weighs roughly the same loaded as a Glock 36 and is just as handy.

The sights are of the high-viz front size variety and are very easy to pick up. As all S&W revolvers it is nicely done and is accurate.

Just need some leather for it, might place an order with Kramer to get one of their excellent horse hide leather holsters. Good stuff!

So now when the mighty .45 roars on the ZA homestead, the ZA doesn't roar because he lost his BRASS. It happens when you shoot and move in a fescue field!

Thanks for reading :)

Later,
ZA

Ramblings on my working blades...

2008-12-21T19:30:00.003-05:00

From TOP to BOTTOM:

RTAK by WKC Newt Livesay
Woodsman's Pal
Buck BUCKMASTER
Buck Intrepid commercial copy of the Kit Carson design
Cold Steel Recon Tanto
Gerber LMF II

RTAK (Randall Training and Adventure Knife) made FIRST by Newt Livesay of the Wicked Knife Company. I read an article in ASG (American Survival Guide) and was really impressed with it. I took me about a month to get it shipped and I suspect that is why eventually RTAK production went to Ontario Knife to meet demand. I have both but IMHO the Origional slightly edges (pun intended) out the Ontario version. Currently the ONLY semi custom blade I own. This blade is a awesome chopper. It easily and quickly can help you blaze a trail, clear brush, construct a shelter, split wood and defend yourself if need be!

Next up is the Woodsman's Pal. This was designed in WWII and I even think there is an technique for using it as weapon. I found a local source that carried these for $35 (at the time) so thought I'd try one. I was impressed. It equally chopped wood well and functioned as machete. The brush hook will easily handle small brush, saw briars, and blackberry bushes with ease. I prefer to use this over a axe or hatchet, for to me, it seems much safer.

I use this also to split wood by driving it through the wood by striking the tip with a handy sized chunk of wood. I actually use this on a test for the RTAK's, Recon Tanto and WP to make sure my knives are up to my needs!

The example shown above is my PRISTINE one as it has never been used but resides in my work bag (I have bush axes, axes and pruning saws on my truck and use them because I have to chop poison vines with them, mine is for survival use).

The one on my 4 wheeler has seen a hard life, but other than the wood handles graying, and some shiny spots on the blade, it is good to go!

Bottom line, if I had to have only one blade to survive in the wild, give me a Woodman's pal!

Next up is the Buck BUCKMASTER. Back in the mid to late 80's when the hollow handled survival knife craze was going on, this was the pinnacle of mass produced knives. I later came to find out, that this design was vastly inferior to full tang designs. HOWEVER next to a Chris Reeve hollow handled knife this blade is the only hollowed handle design I would carry.

At the time I liked the idea of having an all in one survival kit in the handle of your knife. I mean it was a cool concept, but blade and handle seperation is a bad thing! Better to have a superior blade and a survival kit in YOUR POCKET!

The BUCKMASTER is a big piece of steel. The handle has agressive checkering and well IMHO is one of the prettiest knives of the 80's.

Unfortunately I lost one of the spikes while on a camping trip. I suppose the idea is to use this knife as a grappling hook or such in the sheath... I don't like that idea but it is there if I need such. The screw off handle has a place to attach a rope or carabiner as well.

Great knife, but it was a "I wanted one when I was younger" thing. It resides in one of my vehicle kits these days as a backup...

This is the Buck Intrepid. This blade was designed by Kit Carson. The knife is very well made and has a full tang. The handles are removable for cleaning zombie blood or when immersed in salt water.

I prefer a straight edge knife to serrated one because it is easier to sharpen. I do however think the combo blades with partial straight and serrated edges are great. I think serrated blades really shine in cutting nylon, rope and similar materials. So got the best of both worlds there!

I also like the chisel edge on top of the blade as this knife has lots of cutting area, which is a nice option as well

This blade has a Tanto point which is also a plus in my book as it makes the tip very strong as well as great piercing characteristics. They also made this blade with a chisel tip, but it was not for me

This knife resides in my work bag in case I run into a survival situation @ work and need a great blade to get me out of a survival situation.

Above is the Cold Steel RECON Tanto. This blade wins in the economy department. As you can see from the pics, I have used this knife, lovingly but HARD! I love this blade and can not say enough good things about it!

Funny thing is a group of three of us went on a camping trip. When we pulled out our knives, EVERYONE had a RCON Tanto. This said a lot being that we were from varied backgrounds and had come to the same answer in a fixed blade knife!

One of the fellars showed me a technique to split wood with the RECON Tanto, that when I first saw it, I honestly thought he was gonna break it. I mentioned it above about striking the tip to drive the Tanto through the wood with a baseball bat sized piece of wood!

I use the RECON Tanto to split pieces of wood for kindling just like I described above and it works great! The Woodman's Pal beats the RT in this method mainly because the WP is a bigger piece of metal!

Overall one of the most affordable, durable and SHARP (holds and edge and is easy to sharpen) knives I have ever owned/used.

I don't know if the RECON Tanto's are still made in the USA, but if I had a choice, I'd go American, this one is.

Finally we get to the last blade and the one that has the honor of residing in my BOB/GHB, the Gerber LMF II. I hated Gerber Knives in the late 80's and early 90's. The reason is that the blades broke to easily. I am hard on a knife, so either it breaks and I hate it, or it doesn't and I love it.

So even though Gerbers were not cheap, I considered them POS blades (except the origional LMF) and after a bad experience I wrote them off.

A friend of mine is a Gerber freak and I noticed ,that to me, the blades seemed better made. So when the LMF II came out I was impressed. Impressed enough to lift my ban on Gerber blades.

I like the combo edge (as I talked about above) and I find that the shorter overall length makes this a practical knife that does small and large chores easy. IMHO this is a perfect length for a tool knife. It does everything well except for the chopping power of the larger blades.

The blade and hammer pommel are electrically isolated so if you need to you could chop a live wire (one sniper in Iraq used this knife to do such a thing). Not plan A, but a plan none the less!

The steel is easy to sharpen and it is extremely well ballanced.

Overall it has passed all my tests and it reminds me of an updated version of the 'USAF pilot survival knife' expecially in its size and handiness.

So there you have it, my fixed blade arsenal. Thanks for reading!

Ramblings on keeping electronics working in cold weather...

2008-12-08T00:38:00.001-05:00

I just got back from a parade up here in the mountains of NC my little was in. It was rather chilly, overcast, 5mph breeze, and 30F. I know for most of you in the Northern part of the country this is considered a heat wave, but for us in the south when that is the HIGH, that is 'dry' blizzard conditions

So when standing on a street waiting for your little angel to hurry the heck up (the float she was on was 3rd from the last ) your camera batteries are even less cold tolerant than you... So you don't want to miss that all important 15 secs of "Hey Daddy!!!!!" you were capturing for posterity with a cold 'graveyard dead' camera battery.

There are actually 2 solutions to this problem but are dependent on the battery type.

1. If your device is powered by AA's then simply switch them out to Energizers Lithium AA batteries. These batteries work very well in the cold. ALL my gear in my BOB/GHB has lithiums in them (if available), because these don't leak like alkalines, and their shelf life is greater! Only downside is MORE expensive, but what is more expensive the cost of the batteries??? Or the item being useless when you need it???

2. Hot Hands 2 hand warmers...I came up with this technique on a camping trip in the Natahala National Forest. Our ham radios were powered by rechargeable NiMh batteries, but when subjected to below freezing temps, the batteries couldn't take it and they would shut down. Cold and rechargeable batteries don't mix in my experience, so some way was need to keep the battery warm so we could use the darn things! We had a crap load of hot hand hand warmers so stuck these in the radio pouches to keep our radios working. They work EXTREMELY well at this and we got through the trip. No fumes and no fuel or mess. Thin enough to fit in pouches or be temporarily taped/rubber banded to the back of cameras,camcorders, GPS units, ham radios, etc. They also do not get too hot (130F) but you should make sure that your electronics don't super heat by monitoring them while using the hot hands.

Just something you need to consider when working outside in the cold and expect your electronics to do the same...

That is what I used to get the video camera to record those 'precious moments' today!

73

later,
ZA

Zombie Axe's "Check Six Ring"

2008-12-08T00:24:00.004-05:00

Back in my early school days I read an interesting book. It took place in the late 1800's but I don't remember much of anything other than the central character was young boy and somehow befriended a benevolent river boat gambler. The gambler had one of the coolest things to check behind his back while playing card so NO bad guys could get the jump on him. The cool thing was a "highly mirror polished ring" so he could see what was going on without turning around. I reckon he had to keep an eye on the players so they wouldn't cheat and keep an eye on his rear (called "check six" by military folks) so he wouldn't get jumped! I always thought the idea of a mirror ring was very neat and a worthwhile idea.

In my high school days i had a cool pair of sunglasses which were mirrored on the inside edges to allow you to "check six". I loved those things and the reflective ring became a distant memory.

Enter to a few weeks ago, I discovered Kip Kay's awesome HOW TO videos and REALLY got interested when he showed this little 1"x1" mirrors that people use in craft projectsm
, but was using them to bounce a laser beam for a home brewed security system. I thought, "wow next time I locate some of those I will hafta get some!"

Now flash forward to today. I was checking out a VERY good dollar store called "Mighty Dollar". They had bags of these little mirrors for , you guessed it, a dollar. I bought several bags for projects I have been wanting to do and lots of other goodies :)

When I got home, I thought about the gamblers ring and boy now I got the mirror, how can I make it handy???

I went messing around in the tool room and found some copper fittings from a plumbing job I did years ago... and it dawned on me, that I was a pretty good solderer back in the copper pipe days :)

A 3/4" coupling made a good ring after cutting a piece off. A 1/2" coupling cut into, pulled apart, pounded flat made a good base to support the mirror on the copper ring. All I had to do was solder the two together. After a little engineering and some blow torch time, my little project came together just fine.

I made 1, then made another using a more streamlined approach. My wife was astounded I could make jewelry (I am in trouble now ;) )and thought it was a cool idea.

In the pics I am using a piece of tape to hold the mirrors onto the copper plate. The one I will be testing out has it attached with an adhesive silicone glue. I am planning on painting these in a "skin tone" color to blend in with the hand better.

Ok Ok, you ask, "WTF is that for???????????????????????????" Fair enough, the 'ZA Check Six Ring' is to discreetly observe WTF is going on behind you. Observe things overhead while looking down. Place on a table to observe whatever.

I really do not know if there is a market for this or not, or heck, even a practical use for it. A fictional river boat gambler, thought something similar was a good idea, so maybe there is a use??? It's a cool idea if I do so so myself :)

Thanks for reading!!!

Later,
ZA

Ramblings on gates and limiting access...

2008-11-27T19:00:00.013-05:00

Limiting access is a great way to secure things. Many criminals simply drive around the neighborhood and look for an easy mark. I have studied break ins in my AO and have noticed that the places that limit the getaway car from being able to pull up to the front door and load up the goodies were usually safe. I have advised neighbors to do such and some have taken my advice, some have ignored it and others only understood 'half' of what I recommended. Electric gates are nice but I will not be covering them in this article.

To take retreat security seriously you need to use the ONION method. IOW you need many layers. A gate or a fence is only ONE layer in a well thought out security plan.

IMHO a gate is one of the first PHYSICAL barriers a potential threat could come up against. Gates and fences are designed to keep something in, something out, or BOTH.

One family in the neighborhood lost a loved one a few years back. She was an elderly lady who knew everything that was going on which was a deterent in itself. While she was alive she had many visitors so a gate was not an option for her. However, when she passed away the family wished to limit access to anyone wanting to 'snoop around' because there were no longer EYES watching the place.

A large pennant gate (triangular) was thought to be a solution but costs over $600 to fabricate. I offered them a simple solution of the chain gate. Basically 40' of 3/8ths chain secured between two posts or trees at a natural choke point. You have to be careful with using a too heavy chain or you will have to be superman to lock it.

Basically we secured a light pole 3' down in about 160 lbs of concrete. Setting the pole was tricky as we had to dig into a bank to place the pole so we wouldn't impede the flow of runoff water in the side ditches. Instead of opting for a second pole we used a handy oak tree to secure the chain. The oak is where the family placed a keyed padlock to get in and out as needed. On the light pole 4 large screw eyes were place so the chain could go through and not be 'walked up and off of' the pole. The chain needed to also be secured back upon itself and it only made sense to use a lock to do so. This lock is one of the combination locks that the combination lock can be changed at will, so you can let service folks in and then change the combination, thus giving them temporary access. Also a solar powered halogen motion detector night light is placed strategically to BLIND the driver of a car or truck at night. The light does not blind the trespasser into hitting the gate, but to disorient them and give the family time to react. This also works as a visual burglar alarm. So far there have been no vehicles or break-ins at this property as it is a PITA to back out of there and this gate removed access to the cul de sac that folks used before. If you make things hard, folks will not even bother. Criminals like EASY targets and most 'case' the location and even visit it before they ever take anything...

One of the folks in my neighborhood before I moved to my current AO had some crooks break into their home after they established a pattern that the bad guys could set a watch to! One day as the homeowner left, 10 minutes later, the bad guys broke in and pillaged the house. This house had an alarm system but the crooks knew they had a few minutes to smash and grab. They backed the getaway car up to the door, kicked in the door, and grabbed the good stuff (as per elderly next door neighbor's eyewitness testimony). The homeowner invited me over to see the damage.

I tell you, this made a BIG IMPRESSION on me and I designed the security of home with the lessons learned from this neighbor’s incident. The neighbor upgraded his door and security and installed a gate. The gate will NOT stop any vehicle as one night a friend came by and pulled the posts to the ground by driving through this gate with a BMW. The gate or cable across the driveway suffered more damage than the BMW:eek: It is VERY effective for stopping friends knocking on your door though, especially in the rain!!! So if you place a gate, design it to stop whatever you put it up for or at least go down FIGHTING!!!

When I got a hankering to write this up, I decided I needed some pictures. Most of these were taken in fairly rural areas within a few miles of each other. A lot of my ideas to limit access came from ones similar to the ones below.

In placing an access limiting device, you need to first decide what you intend to stop. Cars, trucks, four wheelers, motorcycles, people and animals all require different things to stop them. A gate that works great to limit trucks may not work well for motorcycles.

Most gates unless they are attached to a fence are designed to stop vehicles. A gate will limit access until it is unlocked to allow someone to drive through. A lot of times you cannot find the PERFECT choke point to place a gate but a fence isn't what you want either. To limit vehicles you place posts 3 foot or higher (spaced so a vehicle cannot pass between) so one cannot simply drive around but can still walk to the trail.

Another idea is a variation of this method is to place posts further apart and string a thick cable between as to prevent vehicles from driving between the widely spaced posts.

Using natural 'choke points' such as spaces between trees in the forest, buildings, large rocks, hills, etc. can be the EASY way to secure your road.

If one can wait long enough, you can simply plant trees or bushes that will grow INTO a natural barrier.

Some gates can be fabricated from steel and nothing short of a tank can defeat them. Make sure your gate is your weakest point, or folks wishing to compromise your defenses will simply BYPASS and go for the EASIER point of entry.

Drainage Ditches, creeks, streams, and rivers can provide a good barrier, especially if they are deep enough. You can also add trees, fences, rocks and other barriers to increase the potential for success! Just add a gate at the bridge or culvert and you are good to go!

There are lots of other methods for homestead/retreat security but stopping them from coming down your driveway is one of the first steps. I think everyone should have a gate if you have the property to do it.

Also keep in mind that having to get out of your vehicle WTSHTF is a perfect AMBUSH point for the bad guys. If you have ever read FerFAL's blog (www.ferfal.blogspot.com) on surviving the conditions in Argentina, you know one of the main methods of ambush used by the bad guys is getting you when you leave your home. A gate can make you vulnerable as well. Better have someone watching your six at home ready to unleash havoc on your enemies. So design your gate where you or someone else can cover it if things go bad!

73
later,
ZA

Ramblings on becoming a "Thrivalist"...

2008-11-24T19:48:00.002-05:00

First off some definitions:

Survive:
intransitive verb
1 : to remain alive or in existence : live on
2 : to continue to function or prosper
transitive verb
1 : to remain alive after the death of
2 : to continue to exist or live after
3 : to continue to function or prosper despite : withstand

Thrive:
1 : to grow vigorously : flourish
2 : to gain in wealth or possessions : prosper
3 : to progress toward or realize a goal despite or because of circumstances —often used with on

I have always viewed survivalism as going out in the woods (by choice or circumstance) living there for a week (or longer) with just the things you have with you. Also my concept of survival is that you did enough to 'get by'. Nothing wrong with that but would you prefer to survive or thrive???

Surviving and thriving are not necessarily about minimal and maximum gear, but rather about know how!

Is the only way you know how to start a fire by using a match or lighter and burning paper? Sounds to me like you are surviving, but not after the supplies run out!

Or can you use a bow drill, fire piston, magnifing glass and use materials you find in nature to start and keep the fire going! Sounds like you are THRIVING there!

Know how to go through the wrecked airplane and scavenge all the honey roasted peanuts from the wreckage??? SURVIVING!!!!

Know how to run a trot line, fish, setup snares, find edible plants and how to cook and preserve those food for the long term??? Sounds like you are THRIVING to me!!!

WTSHTF and you are sitting in your home with the lights out, freezing because you ran out of Pine Mountain Logs, starving because the Taco Bell's power is out as well, and hear a bump in the dark but can't see WTF it is... you are surviving... but NOT for long!

or are you...

WTSHTF you are sitting in your easy chair reading a good book by the firelight in your light disciplined home (aka blackout curtains) listening to the shortwave when your intusion system silently alerts you there are visitors coming down your road. You quickly set down your WARM cup of joe, don your gear and weapon, notify your team mates to be ready and get into position! Sounds like you are BOTH SURVIVING and THRIVING!

So my friends, are you merely gonna survive TSHTF or are you gonna THRIVE during it???

What you learn and practice NOW will determine if you THRIVE or just 'get by' if you live long enough during TSHTF!

Don't you deserve to THRIVE???

Become a "THRIVALIST"

Later,
ZA

Ramblings on the Optimus Nova + backpacking stove...

2008-11-23T20:01:00.006-05:00

My EOD bag configured as a "Cook Kit".

Inside the EOD bag, with fuel, stove, pots and instant food/beverages.

When I first turned on the Optimus Nova + backpacking stove from preheat to fuel throttle, it reminded me a small jet engine with the afterburners on!

I have had some pretty extravagent meals when I have gone camping before. Most of my meals have been cooked over dual burner Coleman type, white gas and propane stoves. I have even cooked foods over the campfire and in dutch ovens. However, these stoves are big an bulky when one hikes into wild backpacking style!

So when I got into backpack camping I needed something strong,small,powerful and RELIABLE! This was also going to get double use as a GHB and work/travel stove.

I read a lot of reviews and most of them were very favorable to the Optimus stoves. I am a big fan of MSR stuff, but I liked the heavy duty pot supports of the Optimus Nova and I also liked the Nova's all metal parts...

Some of the folks issues with the Nova is that it is constructed of brass which weighs more, but makes a more durable and lasting stove In my opinion.

The Nova+ will burn just about any petroluem liquid. Gas can be used, but do you really want all those additives winding up in your chow??? During an emergency though all bets are off. I burn the highly filtered Premium Coleman fuel that comes in a quart plastic bottle and that, so far is the only fuel I have tried.

When you purchase the Optimus Nova + it comes in a nice zippered ditty bag. In it you will find a small repair kit (O rings,fuel filter and grease for the washers inside the pump), the Nova + and the pump. All you need is to purchase a fuel bottle (250 ml used in this test) and your fuel. Fuel bottles range in size from the small one (quarter liter) to the large (one liter) size.

The small one is good for your GHB/BOB and lasts over 2 hours of good hot cooking. I like the large liter size for week long camping trips.

To use the Nova + you will need all the items I mentioned above. Assembly is very easy. Remove the plug from the fuel bottle, insert the pump, screw it in hand tight, pressurize the bottle with about 25-40 strokes, open the pot holder legs, straighten the fuel hose, insert fuel hose into fuel pump quick connect, open fuel hose to release a small amount of fuel then shut off, light the fuel to preheat the burner, when the flame dies down turn back up the flame and it should burn a blue flame.

The Nova + works as advertised and the capability of cleaning the fuel jet nozzle during use with the included tool makes it very easy to maintain. I really like how the fuel valve control is located AWAY from the hot burner. When you get done cooking you simply flip the fuel bottle over and it purges the air and the fuel from the fuel line and prevents fuel spills. Then you disconnect the fuel bottle quick connect, install the dust cover on the quick connect, wait for the Nova+ to cool down, pack it up and be on your way!

When the weather turns cold, I sometimes take along the Nova+ in a EOD bag along with a small bottle of fuel, a cooking pot and some dehydrated soup (cup of soup) hot cocoa, instant and ground coffee. When I bring the ground coffee I also tote my French Press coffee mug to make some awesome coffee in the sticks. When I carry my "cook kit" it is not really for emergercies, it is for having hot liquids. When you work outside all day long, it is nice to have a warm cup of something.

Today I took these pictures while boiling some water for hot chocolate today. It took about 6 minutes after the burner was preheated to boil 16 ounces of water. When backpacking or using the stove with the cook kit, I tend to stick with dehydrated foods and instant beverages to limit cleanup. IOW I just boil water and stick with food products that only require adding hot water (Mountain House, Cup of Soup, Instant Coffee, etc.) since all I want is something hot. I don't want to spend the time to clean those noodles stuck to the bottom of the pot!!!

So far the Nova+ is one of the fastest burners I have used to boil water! I like when I get a hankering to eat, I can get something fixed to chow on in under 15 minutes. Fast food indeed!

The Nova+ is also a part of my GHB/BOB and Stranded Bag. A stove can be useful to melt snow for use as drinking water and of course cooking food, heating water, and warming MRE packets in hot water. So there are many uses for a stove so small in your BOB and you can find many uses for it in wilderness camping, making hot chocolate while the kids are playing in the snow right on site, and anywhere else you need a stove!

73
Later,
ZA

Ramblings on Get Home and 'Stranded Bags'

2008-11-02T20:49:00.005-05:00

Thought I'd share some of my GHB, Escape & Evasion, and "Stranded Bag". My primary focus is a bag that will get me back home or help me survive a situation where I may be stranded for a few days.

This bag is no where near complete and is a little heavier than I'd like but not bad for what all is in there. Weighs in under 30lbs which is no sweat for me to hump as I regularly hump a 40lb bag on some of my excusions. I still need to give it a shakedown cruise!

Some things I omitted for OPSEC reasons and some are items I need to add (nagelene bottle and cup THANKS Diesel for the link) and some platypus water bags.

I work primarly outside and at work I keep in a patrol bag alot of work related clothing including cold weather gear. Should I need to get back home I will rob the items I need from my other bags (mainly clothing) and get back. First I have to get back to where I will keep this bag from wherever my work truck is, then a short hike to a private storage building I maintain in the town I work in, and then hopefully ride a bike back home (WX permitting). All this is from the scenario that my vehicle does nt work and I can't get a ride home for whatever reason. Walking is the worst case scenario so my bag revolves around it. Riding the bike home is next to the worst, and driving home is definately plan 'A' However, hope for the best, plan for the worst!

What I am referring to as a "Stranded Bag" is sometimes I have been snowed away from home and I have to set up house wherever. It is rare it has happened, but it has often enough to be annoying. Also, my work truck SUCKS in the snow, and I have been up in the mountains and stuck before. One of these days if I get stuck and can't get out I can camp out until help arrives. This bag will stay in my personal vehicle unless the WX conditions warrant it as I have enough stuff in my work truck to make it through 'standard emergencies'.

So without further ado, my BAG

Spec Ops T.H.E Pack treated with Camp Dry with 2 M-16 Mag pouches for additional capacity.

Contents list:

T.H.E. Pack

Tools
one technician screwdriver
one versa driver pocket tool
one you dig it mini shovel
one Gerber LMF2 knife
one cold steel voyager lock back serrated blade knife
one knife sharpener
one small diamond stone
one Gerber saw
one multipurpose saw (uses reciprocating saw blades one for wood and one for
metal)

General
Kenwood THF6A radio
seven LED keychain lights(smaller than light sticks, reusable, can be switched of, and are brighter)
one Energizer LED headlamp
six AAA batteries for headlamp
one CR123A battery holder that holds four batteries for EDC flashlight
8X21 monocular
one pair Bushnell binoculars
signal mirror
three Air burst flares
one bright orange rainfly (also double as signal marker)
para cord
two rolls mason twine high visibility
2 oz WD-40 spray can
one small tube superglue
one whistle

Medical Hygiene
Adventure Medical Kit
Adventure Medical Kit blister kit
Adventure Medical Kit pocket medic
One EMT shear
Benadryl
one purell hand sanitizer
One mole foam
insect repellant wipes
sawyer sun block
one small bar of soap
one small bottle shampoo
one small toothpaste/toothbrush
one floss
two chaptstick
twelve eyeglass cleaners (also can double as fire starter)
one 40 wipe container antibacterial wipes
one roll tp vacuum packed
ear plugs

clothing
sewing kit
one snug pack poncho designed to fit over backpacks
one 9'x12' 3 mill thick drop cloth for improvised shelter
one disposable emergency poncho
one survival blanket
one change of clothes
Tilley hat
one pair mechanics gloves

Fire
one butane lighter
one peanut lighter
three small boxes of matches
one match safe of strike anywhere matches
one Kershaw fire steel
one magnesium fire starter
water proof fire sticks for fire making
magnifying glass

Water purification/gathering
one MSR EX water filter
** two platypus bags
various sized aloksak bags food grade to gather and store water and protect
items that need waterproofing
sponge to gather dew in arid environments
hydration system not shown
coffee filters to help remove sediment

Food
one Optimums nova + multifuel stove
one bottle 250 ml fuel for stove good for 2 1/2 hours cooking
one MSR cook set
P38 can opener
six power bars high protein
one package homemade beef jerky
three Mountain House meals
three MRE's
seven tasters choice packets of instant coffee (dollar store special)
one liter water bottle
**Nagalene Water bottle

Navigation
one silva compass
**maps of local area
GPS V in work bag easily switched to carry bag

Also added:

Pen,Pencil and notepad
Wire for snares and small fishing kit
Small 'airplane sized bottle' of vodka for wound cleansing, sleep aid, pain killer, sterilizer, etc.
Contractor sized trash bags
Towel
Bandanna

Thought not part of this bag, I carry these items everyday (EDC)
One Kershaw folder
One SAK multitool
One Zippo lighter
One Peanut Ligher
One micro grappling hook (use it for telecom work to snag overhead wiring)
One survival bracelet (www.survivalstraps.com) with about 15-18' paracord
Blackhawk Gladius Led light
Pocket Widgy Tool (mini pry bar)

Also in my work bag:
Insulated coveralls (prefer them to insulated underwear)
2 waterproof GoreTex Jackets
Various Sweaters/Fleece
Extra clothes
Camelbak
Mre's

73

later,
ZA

Ramblings and Observations of the fuel shortage in Western North Carolina...

2008-09-27T17:50:00.003-05:00

This was written over a period of several days so sorry if my train of thought gets derailed!!!

Once again prepping pays off!

The pipeline that supplies WNC with fuel has not be running @ full capacity since Hurricane Ike slammed into the Texas coast 2 weeks ago. Gas supplies have been lacking in our area since then.

It is kind of spooky seeing all those pumps with bags over the nozzles. You immediately know which stations have fuel and those that don't.

The ones that do look like a 40 car pileup on the interstate as motorists jockey for pump position.

The ones with NO fuel look pretty barren with usually only the employee's vehicles in the parking lot. There is diesel for sale about anywhere that carries it in abundant supply.

My personal vehicle is by choice a gas sipper, so I can drive 6 days a week on 12 gallons of gas. The family vehicle doesn't do that well, but it is close to 30 mpg.

If it wouldn't be for my work vehicle (10 mpg gas powered 25 gallon tank Truck) I wouldn't even notice this crisis outside of observing it as a spectator.

My employer has me to refuel from gas stations via a fuel card. Other than what is in the tank, that is all I can store. Some smart managers in Asheville that work for the same company, have hashed out deals to deliver and fuel work trucks at the place of employment. My managers, unfortunately , don't think that far ahead, and I have to spend an hour every other day to fight the masses to jockey for position at the pump...

The folks in line at the pumps have been suprisingly civil, but that is not the case everywhere. A few towns over, a man pulled a gun on another man becuase he beat him to the pump. Waiting in a line with a bunch of angry people, the smallest thing can make someone go off the deep end! Be on a high level of alert while waiting to fuel up (or anytime) as ANYTHING can happen!

Watching the Charlotte, NC news last night, there was alot of heated verbal exchanges going on there. Not suprising really as Charlotte is a madhouse when things are going right!!!

I honestly feel sorry for those that are passing through North Carolina on their way to home or vacation that get stranded in our state. One fellar was stuck in Charlotte on his way back to Rhode Island just waiting to get some gas to continue his journe
.

Here is how I have been making out so far. Luckily the golden S&P rule of keeping your gas tank half full is an great way to give you options. When you are on empty your choices of where to get fuel is limited to your immediate area. With the 1/2 tank trigger, if you can not find fuel there, you can drive on to the next town.

To prevent folks from taking too much gas and to give everyone a fair shot, many gas stations will limit your fuel purchase to 10 gallons. Most average gas tanks hold from 12 to 20 gallons... Well within the half tank trigger/ 10 gallon limit!

Remember how people were stealing gas when it rose to $3 a gallon??? Well I expect those type people will be even more desperate when there is NO Gas to be had. I have locking gas caps on all my vehicles as well as a fuel tank patch kit in case someone decides to go the "poke a hole" route.

As I mentioned before, half a tank is when you should be your trigger to fill up. Many of the so called "officials" and "experts" say to wait until you are BELOW a quarter tank before you refuel... So you will not just top off all the time... That is stupid thinking!!! When one refuels and tops off a 3/4 full 12 gallon tank... That is 3 gallons... When one fills up a 1/4 full tank... That is 9 gallons!!! Doesn't make much sense to me either!

I do understand that folks filling up all the time and getting 20 extra gallons makes for limited supplies to be even scarcer. However, I don't want to be the guy with the empty tank when the last of the fuel is pumped out and I am still on empty pumping nothing but air in my tank! Dang work truck!!!

For my personal vehicles I do not hafta participate in the get the gas race. So in the evenings I smile with glee as I dodge the traffic jams created by desperate people and head home to the sticks...

Just today I had to work up in the mountains. They are bad off up there as well but all the stations were empty in my town of employment. I figured my best bet was to head up the Interstate and not be a part of the roving pack of thristy vehicles. Tried a truck stop a few miles up... No joy... They bagged their pumps like all the others. Decided my next stop would be the way I was going anyways... Wouldn't you know it... A nice sized truck stop with... GAS!!! And no lines!!! So I pulled in, pumped my fuel and was on my way in 10 minutes! Lucky me!

In my experience, the larger truck stops that cater mostly to truckers almost ALWAYS have fuel. It may have something to do with them being a larger volume seller of fuel and a good agreement with their supplier. Also these truck stops have plenty of room to snake your way in line much safer than waiting on the road!!!

I have not seen many folks buying up extra fuel, but on the front page of the Charlotte Observer there was a fellar filling up four 5-6 gallon gas cans, but three of them were kerosene blue ones (If he has a kerosene heater, I hope he doesn't forget what he put in there... his arse, not mine!!!)...

I have also witnessed that large gas cans (5+ gallon size) are in short supply... Get your stuff before everyone else has the SAME idea!!! WTSHTF is no time to get your gear order form filled out!!!

I have enough fuel to ride this out for now, but I probably don't have enough to satisfy my mental comfort level. Alot of S&P prepping involves you deciding on a prep level that is in your comfort zone. Then a situation arises (like this gas shortage) where you 'were' comfortable, but realize that you would be better of with a higher level of that prep...

So when things settle down and supplies get back to normal, I will restock what I used, and add a little more capacity for the next time this happens...

Thanks for reading, 73!Later,ZA

Ramblings on acceptable risks

2008-08-28T21:11:00.003-05:00

I got an email from a reader the other day about taking a good paying job in DC. "Eric" asked me what I thought about taking the job. Here is my reply:

Thanks Eric for the email,

Life is about deciding acceptable risks. Which risks you are willing to take and if those risks will reward you for taking them. I can think of the example of the "contractor" in Iraq... he takes great risks in carrying out his duties... but he makes quite a bit of money... for the period he has agreed to...

Some jobs are not that dramatic, but all carry a ratio of "risk to reward". Not trying to preach or anything... just trying to put it in perspective...

I gather from your email that you currently living close to DC... so you may not be "shocked" by the condition/situation like someone from the rural South... So if you are a hardened "veteran" of the area and can stand it... Then go for it! If I scanned your email wrong... and you are from an area unlike DC... then I would avoid it!

If I did take a job in DC... you had better believe I would have some serious S&P gear (within legal limits of course) for about every contigency I could think of... especially terrorist related!

You do not need a firearm to survive... it just makes things easier if you can... Remember that thing between your ears is your greatest weapon... equip it with all the upgrades it will hold!!!

I can not tell you what to do... just offer you some guidance. If you think that DC is the bull's eye for a terrorist attack... then you need to ask yourself, "is it worth the risk?"

You can die tragically at any job in any place... there are NO guarentees in life that something is a surefire SAFE thing to be doing!!!

I personally would run like heck from that area... but it not just from possible terrorist attacks... it is the anti-gun, political, crime/social matters, and the lack of wide open spaces that keep me away...

As for the probability of a terrorist attack (like the Jericho scenario)... it can possibly happen... remember that it is not a matter of 'if'... it's a matter of 'when'...

I am not bashing any of your "prophets"... but I don't remember how many "chicken littles" I have heard over the years... Most like to set dates or timelines... which go by without anything happening... We know the "sky is gonna fall" but we don't know when... unless those people are the ones that are gonna make it fall!!!

Like I said not trying to bash any decent folk... just be leary of "date setters".

I hope it gave you something to think about and it was helpful in some way.Have a great day and good luck in what ever you decide...

Keep us posted!
later,
ZA

Rabid Racoon

2008-08-23T20:37:00.002-05:00

A post from a long ago post posted on the Rubicon which *I* wrote...

*Rabid Racoon*

By: ZombieAxe

14 October 2003

I Went down to my folks place this evening after work to get some "woods" time. I had planned this before I left work so I brought along my H&K USP and Blachhawk Flap holster rig and packed it SECURELY in the lock box.

After work the WX was a little drizzly but nothing major. It had been awhile since I had walked along the entire property line, and things were grown up. I also took along my folk's German Shepard who adores me as long as Dad is ain't around (then I am second place :) ).

The rain was picking up a little and I ALMOST did not finish walking the entire property but I went on as the tree canopy was keeping most of the rain off of me. As we were walking a trail in behind the homeplace, the Shepard came close but not in contact with a gray looking cat that appeared to be dead... fearing that the animal might have died of some disease (mainly I was thinking Rabies), I told the shep to stay clear of the animal. As I got closer I told Shep to go the house (she is a highly intelligent dog) and she obediently went there.

As I got within 10' of the "CAT" I noticed that IT was not dead, even though many flies were swarming around it and it was a VERY skinny, but full sized racoon!!! It struck me as odd that a racoon would be sleeping in the middle of a path, in the open and in DAYLIGHT as they are nocturnal creatures.

I immediately drew the H&K and aimed at its skull as it became aroused. It had a weird air about him as he didn't show fear and looked like it was getting up to head in my direction. Not waiting for its next move, I shot once striking it the skull, and then again to which the racoon flipped over on its back and its rear legs were kicking into the air, so to end its miserable life I shot it a third time :( It was dead.

After I put up the dog, it was getting dark, so tomorrow I will call the county animal control folks to come get Rocky Racoon and see if it indeed had rabies. It had all the signs of Rabies,except it didn't have the "foaming at the mouth", but the racoon could have been too dehydrated to have that sign. The racoon was very near death...

It pays to be armed ANYTIME you are out and about. Sometimes the threats are not what you expect. I was expecting running into the 2 legged pests that sometime frequent the outer edges of the farm, but instead I ran into diseased animal that might have been a handful if I had not been armed.

Only thing I would have done differently, is also brought along my Ruger 22/45 which I had in the truck but FORGOT :( to dispatch the animal...

Come to think of it, thats the first case I can think of that I didn't need that much gun... The point being that I was armed! Threats come in all shapes and sizes and UNEXPECTEDLY... Be prepared :) 73!

Later,
ZombieAxe

2008-08-16T14:24:00.003-05:00

Operating a Ham Radio Station on a Remote Island...

Last year, a couple of my friends and I discussed where we were going to go the next year on our yearly trip. The idea of going to a remote island off the North Carolina coast won out. I decided to turn the trip into what Ham Radio Operators call a DXpedition. A DXpedition is where Ham Radio Operators usually operate from a remote island or rare grid square or so on. The idea is so other Ham Radio Operators will be able to work your station and get credit for various awards. The DXpeditions that you read about mostly have a support team; we would have to be our own support team. We also decided to turn our DXpedition into a Special Event Station (to get a 1X1 callsign for 2 weeks), and IOTA (Islands On The Air) event. Before I mislead you, I want you all to know that this was not a 24-hour a day operation as Hams go on in QST magazine (a magazine for Hams published by the American Radio Relay League). It was a few hours a day (usually 4) as this was a vacation also.

After the idea was hatched, I had to figure out what I wanted to do and how to do it. As for communication equipment, I had that already covered. I brought along the ICOM IC-706MKIIG compact HF rig that would be my #1 radio. An Automatic Antenna Tuner would also be required, but I had that base covered as well in a LDG AT-11MP.

My home antenna is a portable one and while it does well, I was going to need something larger. I acquired a G5RV antenna at a Hamfest. G5RV antennas work VERY well! Anyone who has been at the beach before knows that there are not many trees to hang your antenna from so a portable mast was also going to be required. I found what I was looking for in an MFJ-1910 33’ fiberglass telescoping mast.

I was also planning on working mostly digital modes (PSK31/MFSK16) so I had to have a laptop, which I did, along with the appropriate 12V DC power adapter.

Now that I had the station equipment covered, I needed to power it. I have some wet deep cycle batteries. But after our last trip in the woods, I wasn’t really satisfied with the special conditions that I had to consider when transporting them. I mean, they can leak acid and really make a mess of things IF the case bursts open. On a trip where you might encounter some dicey 4X4ing conditions you do not want to worry about your lead acid batteries spilling their guts on you other gear.

I became seduced by the prospect of acquiring some AGM batteries. These AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat) are very rugged and even if you poke a hole in the side of one, the bad stuff will stay inside which is perfect for my needs. Another plus was that the AGM batteries had a quicker recharge turnaround time (1 hour according to the specs) than a regular wet cell deep cycle.

I found what I was looking for at Bass Pro Shops for $119 for 79 amp hours. Pricey but money well spent in my opinion.

Batteries do not recharge themselves, unfortunately, so I had to come up with equipment that would fit the bill. I have an 1100W AC/DC (DC at 90 amps) 2-cycle gas generator that would do nicely for topping off the batteries.

It worked well but was a little gas hungry. It would run about an hour at full load before needing the tank refilled.

I also brought along two 15 watt solar panels for a total of 30 watts of solar power. The solar power was intended to keep my truck battery charged for the VHF operations and satellite radio entertainment. I did not use the solar for that purpose, so it went to extend the run time of the AGM deep cycle battery.

Here lately, I have found that those 1”X 1” 8 foot long boards really come in handy on camping trips. They are small enough to easily carry 8 of them and strong enough to use for tent poles and other camp needs. They will also work well for firewood should you not want to bring them back. I made a quick and dirty solar panel rack using 8 four-foot pieces of those 1X1’s and a few galvanized decking screws. Forgive my sloppy carpentry work. This was made in a matter of minutes. It worked beautifully and my only change would be to make a permanent version with a fold up capabilities.

Shelter wise, I opted for Cabela’s truck tent. This tent attaches to the rear of a truck with a camper shell or a SUV. This allows you to have both a hardened shelter (truck) and a tent shelter all in one. Not a bad concept and it worked well for the trip. If you are going to get one of these, be aware that unlike many tents on the market today, the truck tent does not have ventilation under the rain fly, so condensation can be an issue. I was able to use the tailgate of my truck as an operating position for the ham station, which gave the portable setup a solid operating surface. In other words, I didn’t have to worry about knocking the tailgate over as I would have a “camp table” and everything was above the sand that seemed to be everywhere.

Food was packed in coolers that were shielded by reflective heat barrier insulation (it looks like bubble wrap sandwiched between 2 thick layers of tinfoil) and also had a foam cooler type insulation custom fitted inside to keep it colder longer.

Also, I used homemade block ice along with dry ice to keep my food frozen longer than it would have been in a regular cooler. The dry ice kept the block ice frozen longer.

I also froze ½ liter Deer Park bottles to keep the food cold and provide me with good cold water when needed. I brought back most of the block ice I had made.

Water containers such as jerry cans take up space in this type of situation when you want to leave with less than you brought. On a previous trip, a friend had shown me 5 gallons of water in two 2-½ gallon containers. What impressed me was how nice they stacked. Once consumed, the cardboard and plastic containers could be easily burned. These wouldn’t be ideal for long term storage but seem to work well for situations where you have to slash and burn. I brought 40 gallons with me and it worked great!

Now since you have an idea of what we had to bring, I guess I should tell you why. A little history lesson is in order. Portsmouth Island was once a large port town in the 1800’s. Sea faring ships would unload their cargo on Portsmouth Island, to which the people on Portsmouth would then transport the cargo across the shallow sound to the mainland. After a storm cut a deep inlet directly to the mainland, most of Portsmouth’s economy went to fishing. After a few large storms in the 1900’s, people started moving away from Portsmouth and onto the mainland. In the early 70’s, the last permanent resident of Portsmouth Village moved to the mainland and Portsmouth is now a ghost town along the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Today, the only folks that come to Portsmouth are surf fishermen and Hams crazy enough to brave the elements to setup a station along the island.

There is NO power and only limited potable water and toilets near the ferry landing but they would be 15 miles away from our center of operations. During high tide, the beach road would be impassable for a few hours. I was able to talk to a late arrival into our camp from 12 miles away. That comes in very handy when there are NO landmarks, just sand, sky and ocean.

Cell phone coverage was a little spotty but doable. A large dune in our immediate camping area made a good platform to get into a cellular repeater. I also would get some tropospheric ducting on my wireless email PDA at night but it was spotty at best. To me this was a perfect environment to test out my comm. gear and make notes of what worked and what did not work.

The 33’ MFJ-1910 telescopic mast failed, but I fixed it to keep us on the air. Instead of 33’ it became a 27’ mast.

My idea of keeping us 24/7 on the APRS network didn’t exactly work as I planned, but we were on a few hours a day. Considering that we were over 70 miles away, we still did very well to get into the APRS node. I can say that the HF station I ran, ran perfectly once I started transmitting.

I worked many DX countries and many states. I often got compliments on my signal and I was impressed, as many were, about my operating conditions.

One of my favorite comments was, “so all you guys have to do is provide the radios and antennas and the rest is provided on the island???” As I said before, we had to bring everything!

When on a DXpedition, it pays to have a contact on the mainland SOMEWHERE. RadioRay provided that crucial link, and we even proved that you could correct a T-shirt order over HF! RadioRay was also willing to provide traffic handling should we had needed to pass traffic.

We had an awesome time and learned a lot of valuable info in other areas as well as communications! Sure you can test your gear at home, but to really test your gear you have to take it to extreme levels to figure out what does and does not work! It only works if you “know” it does, not if you “think” it does. 73

Later,
ZombieAxe

Ramblings on the Camp Chef Outdoor Propane Oven

2008-08-03T13:31:00.003-05:00

The Camp Chef Out Door Propane Oven

Camp Chef Oven with lid up and oven door open.

The Oven Burner.

One of the two stove top burners.

This is a review of the Camp Chef Outdoor Propane Oven. I am not an expert chef but I am no stranger in the Kitchen. This review will not cover the stove top burners as my intentions were to test the baking abilities of the oven part.

My overall impressions of the CC oven are that it is a well built unit and it is very efficient in its use of propane.

My main purpose in acquiring the CC oven was to have an alternate means of baking bread and other items if and when the commercial power is down. If you are setup to make bread when the power is on and have no way of doing so when the power goes out for whatever reason, you are severely limited in what you can do with those bulk grains.

I followed a great recipe for your basic whole wheat bread from http://www.simplylivingsmart.com/ that has become a family favorite. My wife and I decided to hedge our bets by making one loaf in the CC oven and the other two in the regular electric oven.

First of all for those of you that have never cooked with a camp style propane oven, you must monitor the temperature closely. The CC oven comes with a oven thermometer and that is your only indication of the actual temperature inside the oven. I was trying to maintain a temp of 350 deg F since that is what the recipe called for. Once I lit the oven (it has piezo electric ignitors) I decided to go with the HIGH setting to preheat. After the temp got to around 250 F I turned it to MID and at 300F I turned it to LOW. I probably could have turned it to LOW after the temp climbed to 250F and it would have climbed slowly to 350F. Once at 350F I had to open the oven door every 5 minutes or so to drop the the temp back down. I did this to familiarize myself with the oven characterisitics. Once the loaf of bread was placed in the oven the temp pretty much stayed on 350F with the lowest setting on the knob with very few adjustments.

After 40 minutes I had a loaf of bread that was a little darker on the bottom than I like but it will be a simple matter of adjusting the cooking times to get it perfect!

Some things of note about the CC oven:

First of all I had to turn my bread pan (10"X4.5"X3") sideways as if not placed perfectly on the wire racks it can turn sideways. Not a big deal but something to be aware of. A bigger pan could easily overcome this.

I used a one pound propane tank (this is located on the back) to bake with. Which IMHO seems to be adequate for my baking needs. I DO plan on adding the bulk tank adapter for use with twenty pound or larger tanks for use during extended power outages or a lengthy SHTF scenario.

Inside Oven Dimensions are 10"Wx16"Lx8"H, Oven Burner is 3500 BTU's

Overall Dimensions are 12"Wx21"Lx16"H weight 35 pounds.

Range Burners 5300 BTU's.

Overall I think this is a great item for using emergency food, using in a small cabin, boat or motor home. I find that it really fits a need in my Preparedness plans.

I hope you found this review helpful. Thanks for reading!

Later,

ZombieAxe

(ZA)

Getting ready to bake.

In goes the bread!

Out comes the finished product... um um good!

Ramblings on food storage...

2008-06-22T08:40:00.003-05:00

Hopefully you are storing up preps in the event of one day, that the grocery store shelves are empty...

Katrina was a disaster that PROVED that you have to fend for your self when soceity breaks down...

Having your own food storage/prep items when the ballon goes up, means you will not be part of the masses scrambling to fight for the last loaf of bread. A loaf of bread doesn't last forever either...

Give a man a loaf of bread and he will eat for a day... Teach a man to make his own bread and he will hunger no more! I don't like hunger so I learn the things I need to do, to keep my family and I fed!

Lets look @ what it takes to make bread WTSHTF...

First of all you need wheat. A lot of it, if you want a lot of bread. Wheat stores well so it makes it handy to keep on hand. To store it use 5 gallon buckets, mylar bags, and O2 absorbers.

You will also need a recipe and an ingredients list, those other ingredients you will also want to store in bulk.

To turn wheat into flour, you will need a grain mill. An electric one is nice, but a hand operated one is better for when the power fails... I prefer both...

Once you have followed your recipe, you need to bake it... If the lights are out and the oven don't work, you will need another source to bake it. We like this offering from Walmart: http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=7857646

There are tons of other things you need to store besides the ingredients to make bread, but making your own bread makes alot of food more enjoyable... Without bread, a PB&J sandwich is just a mess!!!

Another thing, don't wait until the SHTF until you begin to make your bread, do it NOW!!! There is nothing better than HOMEMADE bread... Nice knowing you are only eating the stuff you put in the bread and not all that other junk that keeps it "FRESHER".

IOW store the foods you eat everyday and you will NEVER have to throw out good food gone bad...

There is alot of stuff you need to bake your own bread... acquire it now, learn how to use it and incorporate it, into your daily food routine!!!

Same goes for any food or prep item!

Later,
ZombieAxe

Long Hiatus...

2008-06-22T08:20:00.003-05:00

I have been a bad blogger... it was be almost a year since my last entry...

A lot of things have happened since that last entry. I lost my Grandmother to a short fight to cancer. One of my star up and coming female German Shepherds puppy was poisoned by some antifreeze and had to be put to sleep...

Of course in life things always happen for a reason and we peon little human beings will never be able to fully comprehend the reason... To paraphrase that slogan, "Life Happens".

Not all of it has been bad, but deaths of loved ones have a way of dimming the rest of life's many blessings...

The new addition to the family will be having his first birthday soon and it is a pure joy to interact with. The older sibling is truly an angel (but don't most parents think that way about their children???).

Also have been updating some of my work skills, by taking evening classes. After succesful completion of the class 6 0f the 8 students qualified by independent testing to get a higher paying job should one come open. So it is nice to have options.

Also I have taken several preparedness related courses http://www.readyfortheworst.com/ (Rawles Gets You Ready of the SurvivalBlog fame). Received some training with Skywarn for learning about spotting severe weather. As you can see I have been very busy...

Later,
ZombieAxe

Ramblings on the best internet website for cool gear you may have never heard of...

2007-07-29T16:18:00.000-05:00

I have always loved analog watches and a few months ago, I was in the market for a new watch. My trusty Luminox was having a hard time staying on my wrist due to faulty watch pins and I was growing weary of constant repairs.

I was researching the Marathon T-SAR which is an quartz version of self winding Marathon G-SAR. In my ignorance, I figured that self winding watches were a thing of the past (other than the Seiko Kinetic and Citizen Eco-Drives which are different movements). Like I said it was an ignorant assumption due to lack of knowledge of the watch world. I really liked the T-SAR but the self winding automatic movement of the G-SAR really intrigued me as I had never had one.

For those of you not familiar with the Marathon Watch company they are currently the only TRITIUM illuminated watches issued by the US Government. I really like government issue stuff and this watch is one of the best built watches I have ever had the honor of wearing!

Trying to find out about the G-SAR was a little daunting. I read of its existence on a watch fourm and saw the mention of http://www.countycomm.com/ . I quickly surfed my way over there and found that they had some Marathon G-SARs in stock. I ordered it and in 2 days it had arrived via UPS. Great service and awesome watches!!!

The story might have ended there, but as I was looking around their website, I found out that the watches were the most highest priced things on their website (still the cheapest place for them on the web). As I looked at all County Comm had for sale, I noticed that there were MANY items that I never knew existed and they were very inexpensive. Also some of these items are great for your bug out gear!

I would like to comment on some of my favorites I have purchased:

These little jewels carry 4 AA or 4 CR123A batteries. I purchased the CR123A verisons for my tactical light as it is always nice to carry a few extra Lithiums so you will not be in the dark. Great idea and a good design. IMHO these make the SureFire Spare Carriers obsolete *IF* you carry one of the newer LED lights.

This is a good start for a bug out bag (BOB). Mine is used more for a "Tactical Toolbag". In other words it is a BOB for my weapons and any items that I would use in a self defense situation. Spare mags, batteries, cleaning tools, small survival kit, etc. It has served me very well in this role for some time. Keep the big items in the center and the smaller items in the outer pockets for ready access. Later in another entry I will delve into BOB's.

This has to be one of the best button cell LEDs on the market! Plenty bright enough and with its rotating clip it makes it quite handy. From hat bills, to watch bands to belt loops it stays handy. My nephew took one on a Scouting trip and used it for over a week. Needless to say... I had to buy another for he "forgot to give it back". Kids love them and so do adults!!! It doesn't have the momentary switch like the Photon Micro-light, but instead has a on/off slide switch that is plenty good enough. I mean button cell LEDs are not really supposed to be "tactical" are they??? Momentary is what I want on my tactical flashlight not my button cell LED...

A Zippo lighter is a very reliable lighter, as long as you keep it fueled and dry. The peanut lighter solves most of these problems. It is very compact (under 2 inches) and the fuel does not evaporate.It also seems to be water tight (swimming in the pool for an hour with it on purpose didn't seem to hurt it)! This is a great fire starting option for your BOB as well as your other methods. If you smoke (I don't) it will become your best friend. CC also has other lighters and fire starting options for your BOB as well!!!

Here is a tool kit for your BOB that offer big tool performance in a TINY package! Heck it is handy to carry in your pocket. Carry one in your pocket at Children's Birthday Parties and Christmas (for adding batteries to kid's toys) and you will be a hero. Doesn't take up much room, but is a lifesaver when you need it.

A Widgy Bar is a small prying tool that comes in very handy when you need to pry up molding, pull small nails, pry up the corner of a wood box (think ammo crate). I carry the micro-Widgy on my keychain and have used it several times for small prying jobs. If you work in a field that requires you to use tools, then this will come in handy someday. I don't use mine everyday, but when I do, I am glad I had it with me.

There are many things at County Comm that deserve mention here, but I write this as a primer to see what they have to offer. Some things you may find very handy for your BOB and in my expereince EVERYDAY use! I am in NO way connected with County Comm other than being a very satisfied customer. Now if I could only afford the Marathon C-SAR... 73

Later,
ZA

PS So you don't have to scroll up to the top of the page to get the link here it is again: www.countycomm.com

Ramblings on Fatherhood...

2007-07-20T20:48:00.000-05:00

I can remember how I used to not want to be a Father many years ago. I figured it was something that I would screw up and the responsibilty was too great. The concept of marriage didn’t bother me when I married my wife (I look at that as a life long deal) as I knew what I was getting into. But raising a child… now that is something that was SCARY to me…
I tried to delay as long as I could so my wife and I could do some traveling and have fun… but her biological clock was ticking and I was running out of excuses…

It seemed as if we couldn’t have offspring for we tried many different times when I was willing to accept my fate… but after 5 years of trying, in a hotel on Waikkiki Beach that EPT had a plus in the window. Well I was getting excited but quite unsure of how I was gonna become a Father… Then 9 months later out popped the most beautiful little infant in the world. I realized in retrospect that as a child grows, so does the father.

Luckily for us the Almighty doesn’t give us full grown kids, but babies. Both the Father and Mother are infants as well in learning how to cope with their new bundle of joy. As the child grows, so does the parenting if you want to actually do it.

I think the world needs more TRUE Mothers and Fathers, those that put their children’s interest and well being ahead of theirs. Sometimes you don’t want to deal with having to interact with your children, but that attention means more to them than ANYTHING else you can do for them!

Just this week I added (with mostly Mrs. ZA’s and God’s help) another beautiful, perfect child to this planet.

I have come a long way from being that reluctant Dad, but realize that many Fathers to be have the same anxeity and same doubts as to their parenting ability. That seems to me, the way that all Fathers start out, and the ones who truly love their children will grow into some pretty awesome Fathers!!!

God Bless and 73!

Later,
ZombieAxe

Ramblings on Illumination Tools

2007-06-23T14:44:00.000-05:00

Other than a good pocket knife or multi-tool I find that a "tactical flashlight" is one of my must used everyday carry items.

When I write these entries, I like to think back from my first experiences with illumination tools. It helps me to remember some seldom thought of memories and gives me insight as to why I choose what I choose.

Back in the 70's the standard flashlight was the ones that were packaged with those (iirc) Rayo-vac Black Kat batteries. These flashlights were metal, silver,ribbed and were either two 'D' or 'C' battery powered. It always seemed one showed up yearly in my birthday present inventory. It really didn't make a difference if you already had several, you would get more and welcome them. Part of the reason you were glad to get them, is because they were unreliable, so you may have five but only two or three would work correctly.

Looking back I can believe how little light they produced, but being a kid, it sure beat total darkness and I was happy to have it to make sure they was really not a monster under my bed.

I don't believe my flashlight choice changed until I found myself at Fort Sill, Oklahoma in boot camp. Suddenly I had a USGI angle head flaslight (2D), a PT flashlight with wand for those 0430 runs, and a Camoflague Mini-Mag (2AA) with red and blue filters.

The Mini-Mag light is what impressed me the most. No it wasn't much brighter than the 2D cell lights, but it was much easier to carry. I found myself carrying this flashlight with me in my civilian life too, since it was so handy.

Those first impressions of the Mini-mag lights sold me on Brinkman Flashlights and I purchased a 3D and 5D maglite. While these were no where as handy as the mini-mag lights, they were considerbly brighter! When something goes bump in the night, you can bump it back with a maglite!!!

While the 3D and 5D were some of the brightest flashlights I owned, I wanted something brighter. I experimented with both corded and cordless spotlights and while very very bright they were never handy as the little mini-mag flashlight.

A quick detour since we are on the subject of cordless spotlights. In my experince it doesn't make much difference what kind of cordless spotlight you get, they seem to be made at the same factories in China. The ones I prefer are the ones for sale at my local Lowe's Hardware store for twenty dollars. Everyone wants the biggest and best but I assure you a one million candlepower spotlight is more than adequate for most users. Over time that sixty dollar spotlight will wear out just as quick as a twenty dollar one with the same use.

For preparedness minded folks, illumination and lots of it allows you to assess storm damage at night and other times when a portable bright light is needed. I have used my spotlights to survey the road to spot hazards before work the next day to see if I had to cut my way out.

Now back to smaller illumination tools... My first real tactical light was a little Brinkman xeon bulb powered by two CR123A lithium batteries. The cost was about twenty dollars at the local Wal-mart and rank right up there with Surefire's two lithium cell lights in brightness. I carried two Brinkman Lithium xenons (not at the same time) for about a year before I purchased my first Surefire. The Brinkmans are very impressive and today are over four years old. My wife actually prefers the Brinkmans to Surefires mainly because she doesn't like the Tactical light switch of the Surefires.

My next light I briefly mentioned from before is a Surefire Centurion C2 (2 CR123A lithiums). It is built extremely well and was designed for the law enforcement/military market. This was the flashlight that I carried for many years with my CCW weapon and currently resides on my night side table.

I also have a Surefie Z2 but prefer the C2 over it because of the belt clip. Other than a different case and rubberized grip(Z2), the C2 and Z2 perform the same.

Often these tactical flashlights produce to much light when all you need is a little LED to find the keyhole. Blinding yourself with your own tactical light can be a problem if that is what you are using to find that keyhole!

Before I ever heard the term and practice of carrying a "soft light", I was carrying a button cell battery LED on my keychain. No one invented the concept, they just coined the term "soft light". For those of us who carried tactical lights, we already knew that it would ruin our night vision if you used it on something mundane.

$190 is a lot of money to spend on a flashlight, but the Surefire Aviator A2 xenon/LED combo cost that. Luckily I got it on sale for $120 and couldn't have been happier at the time. Surefire had come up with a solution to the soft light/tactical problem. The Surefire Aviator had both a bright (not as bright as the other two CR123A lights)xenon and 3 LED bulbs ( I chose white LEDs). You could lock out the bright light for use in the cockpit (to read maps/instruments) and use the xenon bulb with LEDs blazing to inspect your aircraft prior to take off. The Surefire Aviator was designed for a pilot's use both inside and outside the cockpit, but alot of folks found that the A2 worked well for gun users. I used mine both for CCW and work use. It served me very well, but I still kept a keychain LED with me for a backup.

Then that darn Blackhawk company came up with the Gladius. At first glance the Blackhawk Gladius is your typical Tactical flashlight. It is when you notice the features that set it apart. First of all the Gladius uses a white LED, no xenon bulbs to burn out. IMHO up until the Gladius came along, purely LED tactical flashlights never threw their light very far.

I purchased the Gladius for $140 from http://www.lapolicegear.com/ Which was a special down from their regular price of $190.

When I received the Gladius, I thought it was broke, but found out that the battery cap/switch must be tight or the Gladius will not shine. The switch takes a little getting used to, but makes perfect sense after using it for awhile.

There are 4 modes to the Gladius. 1 a lock out mode to prevent accidental activation. 2 a programble dimmer mode where you can set the brightness to whatever you wish and dim or brighten as needed. I setup mode 2 to be dim since I can flip the switch to mode four and get full brightness. I find mode two my most used mode as I can use the exact amount of light I need. The switch acts like an on/off switch and dimmer in this mode and allows you to use it hands free if needed.3 is the strobe mode. This mode will disorient an attacker and hopefully buy you more time to accomplish your goals. I like the strobe mode and have tested it, but have never used it in a self defense situation. 4 is full power mode. Push in the switch and you are throwing out all 90 lumens of the Gladius's LED. Blackhawk refers to them as channels and in reverse order, I begin with the lockout mode as 1 because it makes more sense to me.

Some other features of the Gladius is that when the two CR123A's batteries get low they will blink. More frequent flashing while the light is on means less time is left. There is also a high temperature cut off safety feature. If you forget to turn off the Gladius it will power down if it gets too hot.

Currently the Blackhawk Gladius is my everyday carry light. I use it for work (white LED lights does't change the colors of color coded wiring), when my little one drops something under the table in a dark restaurant, finding a keyhole, using it to find my way around if the power goes out at night and as a tool in my tactical toolbox should I ever find myself in that situation.

I often get asked, "why do you carry a flashlight with you at all times???" The answer is, "so I will have it with me when it gets dark!" Often times you find yourself in situations where you need a flashlight even in daytime. What if you are in a building without windows at lunch time and the power goes out? Sure you can get by without a flashlight during daylight hours 90% of the time, but that other 10% is what bites you in the rear!

If you carry a firearm for protection, then you MUST carry a tactical light. You can easily blind an opponent and give yourself some valuable time to react. Unlike pepper spray, if you shine your light into someone’s eyes that you think is going to attack you, and it turns out it was an innocent person, then it is no harm done (other than maybe some harsh words about blinding them).

In conclusion, illumination is a very necessary tool for the survival and preparedness minded individual. It is also a must have item that you should have if you carry a concealed handgun. ZombieAxe says, “if you don’t carry an illumination tool, then you ain’t none too bright!!!”

Later,
ZombieAxe

Ramblings on the .45 ACP & 1911

2007-06-09T08:58:00.000-05:00

The .45 ACP has been with us for around a century and has established itself as one of the top combat/defensive rounds in history.

I love the .45 round as well as the firearms used to deploy it. It wasn't until I started shooting a 1911 that I pretty much standardized on the .45 ACP.

The Full Metal Jacketed .45 ACP round makes a good manstopper to, if that is all you can have. For instance the Geneva Convention forbids the use of expanding bullets (what we would call hollow points). This was not a problem when the United States fielded the 1911A1 in .45 ACP, but when the US military switched to the Beretta M9 in 9mm Parabellum this was a problem. Now this is not a 9mm vs. .45 debate, it is a stopping power debate. If the 9mm is able to be used with expanding bullets, then it is a good threat stopper, but this is not allowed for military use.The 9mm Full Metal Jacket has the problem of poking holes through a target without tranferring stopping power to the target. The .45 ACP is a better fight stopper in Full Metal Jacket than 9mm FMJ, however the .45 ACP works even better with expanding bullets. There are cases where both have failed to stopped a threat or have done so easily with a single bullet. The general idea and logic is that if you can only have one type of bullet, go larger! I also like the 9mm, but when my tail is on the line make mine a .45 ACP please!!!

The best round, you as a reader can chose, is the one you feel confident in using. I have heard of folks being killed with a .25 ACP, and still attacking someone after being shot with a .44 magnum. Just because a .45 is what ole ZA chose doesn't mean it is right for you. The most important thing is shot placement. Being able to place your shots where they will stop a bad guy from taking your life or your familys is what it is all about.

All the sidearms I have ever shot , the ones in .45 ACP are the ones I enjoyed most and have shot the best with. Glock, H&K, Kimber and Rock Island Armory (best value for an entry level 1911) are what I shoot in .45 ACP.

For those of you wanting to try a 1911, the Rock Island Armory 1911 (made in the Phillipines) is probably one of the cheapest ways to see if the 1911 is for you. Sure it dings up your brass (for those that reload) and the sights are terrible, but it is accurate and reliable. One of these days I will upgrade my Rock Island 1911 with an ambi safety, better sights, and an enlarged ejection port, but for now she shoots fine.

Kimbers are some real nice 1911's. I really like the Kimber Warrior. It has all of Kimbers strengths and none of weaknesses of the series II firing pin safety. Shoots like a dream, eats everything it is fed, very relaible, and LOOKS GREAT! I love this 1911 and it does everything I want a pistol to do!

Without a good magazine, your semi-auto weapon becomes a single shot derringer. I only trust ONE brand of magazine in my 1911's. That would be Wilson Combat 47D (any of the 47 series are good). Sure you can get cheaper mags, but when your life is on the line and your magazine fails, those $5 gunshow special magazines will not be looking like such a good idea. I say, "buy once, cry never again". This applies to all my purchasing decisions as I hate to buy an item twice. Wilson Combat 47D magazines are an investment in fail-safe gear!

Thanks for reading!

Have a great weekend and 73!

Later,

ZombieAxe