Prep update

Well I guess it's time I sat down and review what I've been up to. For planning, I have been working on the punchlist of survival categories. I'm almost done with data security, and I'll put a very detailed post up soon enough. Since I'm an I.T. professional, it's the easiest one for me to bang out, that provides the most amount of information to you guys.

I also have been working on some woodworking information. What too keep an eye out for in the flea markets for old tools, and how they were used. I'm a "Normite" so a lot of this is new to me, so I need to digest it first before I can distill it and pass it on.

I'm up to about two weeks of stored food, not including the dehydrated stuff. I also have about a weeks worth of water, with my kaydyn filter I can get another 100 gallons so I'm all set there. I definitely need to pick up the pace with the food storage. I really want to have at least three months of food stored before the winter. I'm still trying to figure out how I'm going to heat the house this winter, $5 a gallon oil is going to hurt a LOT.

I'm happy with the progress of my vehicle preps. I have a big toolbox with come-alongs, tow straps, tire repair kits, basic tools, etc. I need more stuff, mainly a 12v air compressor and a cheap socket set. I also would like a small inverter so I could charge the cellphone or run my laptop. I probably will have to get tires to pass inspection, so if I can find the cash I want to get a 2" lift kit, and get more aggressive tires for my Jeep. I'd like to toss them on deep-dish rims, so I'll be hunting craigslist and junkyards for them. I'm hoping a $20 bribe will let the tires slide a little while, my sticker is up this month. I need to grab spare spark plugs at some point too. Then a spare alternator from a junkyard, water pump, spare belts... it never ends.

I have 10 gallons of fuel stored for now, I'd like to get at least 15 gallons more stored before the winter. I also bought 6 more bottles of 2 stroke oil so my chainsaw has plenty. I do need more chain oil, so that's something to get, but I had all my chains professionally sharpened, so I'm ready to rumble.

This tax holiday I'll be buying a generator, I'm probably going with the 3500 watt one because my needs are so small. One fridge/freezer, a few lights and two computers and a projector. I plan on buying some marine batteries and an inverter and running the generator to charge them while running the fridge, then using the batteries for the lights and computers. I don't see how I'll get the $ for the batteries this year, but who knows? I bought 2 mega millions tickets! Don't worry Mayberry, if it hits I'll hook you up :)

I've been shooting a lot, but it shows. I can now put my rounds through the 7 ring on a 25 yard target (most are in the black). When I started, I was having trouble keeping them on the paper. The second purchase for the tax holiday is a .22LR pistol so I can reduce the amount of cash I'm spending on ammunition.

Right now I have the following in my ammo locker:
50 rounds of #7 1/2 12 gauge target load
45 rounds of 12 gauge slugs
100 rounds of .45ACP 230gr. FMJ
~75 rounds of .45ACP 230gr. JHP
50 or so rounds of .45 200gr. semi wadcutters for practice
~ 500 rounds of various .22LR

I need some buckshot, and I'll use the #7 1/2 shot for trap practice. I'll need some goose hunting and duck hunting loads for my shotgun, and some turkey loads too for giggles. But that is way down the road, the buckshot is pretty high on the list right now. Also loading up on slugs is important since I don't have a battle rifle yet. I've been getting 50 rounds of .45 JHP's every other week once I found some cheap enough. Once I have 200 rounds stored of the JHP I'll be happy.

To increase my knowledge, I've gotten three books that are survival-related. "How to survive in the woods", "The ABC's of Reloading" and "Square foot Gardening". A diverse reading list to be sure. I'll write reviews on all of them soon.

The last few weeks I have not been able to exercise as mush as I should have. I am losing weight from cutting back on my portions and not eating crap every day for lunch. I need to start a regular exercise program. No excuses!

I did pick up a few "barter items" recently, and to be honest it's a mistake. I need to stock up on food, so no more of that! I picked up safety pins, needles, and some travel bottles of hand sanitizer. I also grabbed some rolls of aluminum foil for use/trade. I grabbed a big ass box of #10 common nails at lowes, but I don't feel so guilty about that. I'll use them around the shop, or for house repairs in addition to trade stock. That reminds me I should buy a roll of tar paper and galvanized roofing nails.

Well this post was longer than intended. But it helped me figure out what I need to do. Things have been quiet on the financial front. Oil is dropping like I figured it would before the winter. Seems like everyone has their finger in the air waiting to see which way the wind is blowing before they hit the panic! button or not. One item that is of note is that jobless claims are up by 7k. That's never good.

I'm watching to see how much stock the Federal Reserve buys of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Then again it's Friday, or bank-closing-day. We should start a weekly pool of how many banks fail, we can bet cans of beans instead of money.