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

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,

ZA

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

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...

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

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...

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