ATTENTION K-MART SHOPPERS
*note: BP, got the very generous donation. Many thanks!
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I grew up shopping at
K-Mart ( as little shopping as we did ).
It was a pretty cool place. And I
didn’t move out of California for good until the early nineties so we didn’t
have Wal-Marts around to compete with K-Mart.
The last year there I could drive down the mountain and over to Carson
City in Nevada and shop at a Wally, but it wasn’t a Super Center. No food, so just like a K-Mart copy. I wasn’t impressed. But once I moved to Oklahoma, Wal-Mart became
the new shopping standard, and I never again heard the K-Mart call to a Blue
Light Special. I tried to shop there a few
times once I moved here to Elko, but they simply must stop embarrassing
themselves and close already. And yet,
Wal-Mart is now in the same position as K-Mart was twenty-five years ago. They are starting to suck, won’t admit it,
won’t change and won’t have the good grace to just declare bankruptcy and try
to stop being a blight on society. For
now, we are stuck with the pukes ( I try to help them into financial collapse
by not shopping there anymore. I cherry
pick a half dozen items and go to Kroger and Amazon for everything else ).
*
Everything you buy there
sucks. As in abysmal quality. Some things you can’t screw up, like a bag of
flour or a can of shortening ( knock on wood, in case they can indeed screw it
up like Chinese contaminated baby food ).
Most everything else, why yes, yes they can. Why don’t I blame the products companies for
the quality issue? Because Wally insists
on wholesale prices below the cost of production and companies must cut costs
to have a market presence. The companies
making the stuff suck, but Wally sucks so much more by blatantly lying to us
and pushing inferior product. Because it
is by no means any longer about giving us the lowest prices ( the lowest prices
have emphatically NOT been at Wal-Mart for some years now ), but about Wally
losing money from this crap economy and doing anything they can to survive, at
the customers expense. Well, I was just
reading another pandemic book ( I get a lot free at the web site I’ve already
told you about twice and you ignored me ) which wasn’t too bad-at least the guy
is a writer rather than a hack-but at the beginning our intrepid hero goes to
Wal-Mart to stock up for the apocalypse he alone gets a heads up on a day in
advance ( or something like that-I didn’t say the plot was great, just the
writing. It is “Infection, a
post-apocalyptic survival novel, Sympatico Syndrome book 1 by M.P. McDonald ),
and I couldn’t help but howl with laughter.
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He’s going to try to
survive the zombie apocalypse with WAL-MART EQUIPMENT!!!???!!! You have got to be friggin kidding me! Okay,
granted, the author bought all his gear years ago before the crap quality
paradigm started reigning supreme. They
actually used to have great stuff, and all the stuff you’d ever need. I wrote an article long ago ( the Bison
e-mail newsletter ) on how Wal-Mart could offer you ALL the prepper gear you
needed ( they even had the Mini-14. I
don’t think at the time they carried any AR’s.
Perhaps you could have ordered one? ).
But that was a simpler time, when Lee-Enfields were affordable, along
with basic living expenses. And those
times were over a decade ago. Now, you
cannot trust your life to anything from Wal-Mart except for their food. Let me go through the novels shopping trip,
just so you can share in the humor with me.
We ignore all the smart shopping such as flour and sugar and cooking oil
and beef jerky ( we also ignore plot holes ).
It was his second and third cart full that was so hilarious.
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First, he emptied a end
rack of candles. Glass candles. Glass, dude.
They won’t survive the trip up to your Wisconsin ( Minnesota,
wherever. One of those areas. He has a island on a lake ) retreat. Okay, whatever. At least they will burn, if not long due to
crap wick, and hopefully your fingers won’t be full of glass shards. Tarps, in case the roof leaks, or to cover
equipment. Soon you’ll have leaks and
the grommets will rip. The mosquito
repellant will probably just attract them.
You want to trust the quality on a water purification tablet? The utility knives are probably cheap Chinese
crap, which lately don’t have a proper angle for sharpening. You’ll need to grind it again to be done
properly. The ropes will of course work,
but sub-optimally. Don’t put too much
weight on them. The stakes will bend or
shatter. Netting will easily rip. The lanterns will be extra low-lumens and the
wiring will break soon. The flashlights,
if they even work, will keep shorting out.
Batteries will have less charge.
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The kerosene will burn
just fine, but I wonder how good the container is. The solar oven construction materials? I’m sure the tinfoil is extra thin, the tape
and glue won’t hold for crap. If you buy
anything other than cast iron ( can you put substandard ore in iron, causing it
to rust easier, or be brittle or bend? ) frying pans the Teflon will easily
chip, the rivets will fail the handle and the thing won’t lay flat on the
stove. The fishing gear should all be as
equally substandard. Fishing line easily
tangled, hooks bending, bobbers snapping at the glue line. The raft and tent are just asking for leaks
and you can’t have enough patching material when the whole thing is failing
along all seams. The axes should have
substandard metal, with weak wood handle, and need sharpening immediately. These are all the items I copied from the
book. I didn’t add any on my own. But can’t you just visualize the comedy of
errors ensuing from trying to use any of this crap?
*
Some readers try to accuse
me of buying too inexpensive of gear.
What I try to do is find the cheapest gear that has enough quality to
give you a valid return on investment. I
NEVER advocate the cheapest, regardless of quality. That is simply false economics. If everything you buy is free, as in this
novel as the credit card debt is soon to be irrelevant due to worldwide
collapse, you STILL don’t get crap quality because the tool is completely
useless in a very short time.
END ( today's related link http://amzn.to/2xSwB4o )
* By the by, all my writing is copyrighted. For the obtuse out there
If one day BIC starts making shoddy disposable stuff, it will mean that the only stuff worth acquiering (in function and sturdiness) will be too expensive to lose or break. Thus defeating the BIC approach.
ReplyDeleteThis is actually very sovietic : what is available is crap, the good stuff is either too expensive or unavailable (except if you're high in the Party hierarchy).
At this stage, one has to wonder if it's not better to go full DIY. In another post I shall try to list some possibilities.
The good thing about the quality of merchandise now is, cottage industry stuff is becoming viable again. Both in money and time.
DeleteAx iron : not possible to do it easily yourself, unless you become a blacksmith (or have access to one). Access to good wood for the handle should be possible, but it takes some experience to differentiate the different essences and where/how to obtain them.
ReplyDeleteRaft : something cobbled together from wood, possibly with added empty plastic containers to increase buoyancy.
Tent : not so easy to sew together, if we consider that textiles are just as shoddy as anything made with them. If you don't have access to quality textile, then for a few days a plastic tarp will have to do, until you build your own shantytown mansion with corrugated iron or fiberglass roof.
Fishing line : specialty stores might still carry them (per internet). A blacksmith is important to get you the right kind of steel for hooks, or make one yourself. Small-scale metallurgy, especially based on reclaiming useable metal from the "pot metal" abominations the stores sell us, might become an important cottage industry.
Bobbers can be made out of common materials like corck, I believe, and it's a hobby in itself.
I can see how a lot of this stuff allows them to stay safe on the island, reducing the need to go salvaging. Too bad nothing will work and they wasted their time. This crap doesn't work one night camping.
DeleteHoly Crap Batman!!!
ReplyDeleteMore donations????
You're a millionaire in Africa!!!
Plus, you can buy an AK here for $50-$100. And AIDS is nearly free.
DeleteCooking : in Europe there are still a lot of old enameled pans and pots, it is true that supermerkets don't offer anything serious anymore. Specialty stores still carry good stuff. I use only raw iron pans, which have no coating at all, and one has to use them in a way that prevents corrosion. Namely, you keep them oiled/fat when not in use. They're more expesnive but not prohibitively so. In a hurry, why not use surplus aluminium stuff (aluminium is not that great, but I guess it's BTN)
ReplyDeleteKerosen is great in energy density but it requires a serious stove, often expensive and/or hard to find. Wood offers more flexibility, and is a much better long-term solution (you will find lots of things to burn in your cast-iron stove, or improvised fireplace, rocket-stove etc.)
Flashlights can be slaughtered down to their LEDs, I have done it on several occasions. I often found the chinese flashlights have crappy switches, so you just bypass them, and then you remove a battery when you need to interrupt the circuit.
Candles can be homemade, but you can also make oil lamps for instance, the thing is to find a wick (cotton shoelaces are a possibility, especially if they have broken and are not fit for any other purpose)
Iron cookware isn't more expensive, given its lifespan.
DeleteWater purification tablet? The Merril Marauders dropped like flies when they used these, whereas the primitive chinese soldiers wer just fined because they plainly boiled jungle water to make tea, thus destroying the pathogens. Boil the water, it's the only way to be sure.
ReplyDeleteUtility knives, this is a nice project for a beginner blacksmith if Mora Knives ver goes fully chinese. You can make some subsitutue knives from broken saw blades and a grinding stone.
If we have to do them ourselves, again the metallurgy aspect becomes more important again.
And wood/coal, too, since I guess you won't find many propane ovens around to heat the metal... (especially if money is a problem, although some people jury-rig a furnace from large coffe cans and concrete)
Ropes : for what purposes ? I guess you can double on the crappy nylon stuff anyway, to be sure. Mountain climbing is not a great *survival* pasttime, methinks...
I've never owned purification tablets. Seems a waste. Boiling is my go-to, filter secondary, powder bleach last resort only.
DeleteI'm trying out a new ad style at the top of the page. Better? Worse? Also, today is the first time returning to a mere 1k words. Better? Worse? Any feedback appreciated.
ReplyDeleteKeeping the top of the page brief and it works, don't let it get too long though.
DeleteI think the 1k words works too, and as long as you don't go too much shorter it is fine. Personally I wouldn't stress about it if you have more to say on a single subject going up to double would be fine, but it does need to be more than 750 words to feel like a whole article.
Short subjects I couldn't stretch out into 1.5 or 2k work great on 1k. But shorter? Might as well say nothing at all. Thanks.
DeleteTis true, one must pick and choose at Wally's.
ReplyDeleteThe other week I picked up some rubbing compound at Discount Auto, told the dude I wanted the best shit. He sold me some McGuire's which cost $18 for the bottle ( expensive crap ! )
The other day I happened to walk past the auto detail section at Walmart. Saw that they sold the same brand and size...only $8.99 , fug me ! Nine bucks cheaper !
Goes to show some deals can be had at Wally's.
Right now , single shot Remington 22lr bolts for $99.
Pick and choose...
I had a bike tube failure last week ( the valve, not the rubber ). Brand name Green Goo. They last for 9-12 months usually. This one-2. From Wally. Brand name there means watered down quality ( ps-the tube was years and years old, prior to my embargo buying their crapiest crap ). Now, the .22 I might consider, seeing as how all gun companies have lesser quality anyway.
Delete>>Right now , single shot Remington 22lr bolts for $99.
Delete>>Pick and choose...
That's interesting !
Now, if you had only one firearm to purchase for 99 $ and if we consider the price of ammunition of no concern (it isn't, but we will focus on function only) would you rather pick up the single-shot 12ga shotgun or the single-shot .22LR ?
I'd go with the 22. Quieter, no recoil. Good for ambushes or if injured/small stature. Shot placement.
DeleteWally stuff now is hit or miss as far as quality. I was told by someone that knows what he's talking about to not purchase a firearm from Wally as the quality is diminished. I've seen Henry lever 30/30 for less than $500 and they go for much higher everywhere else. Same with a Remington 700 for about $500. These guns do not meet the manufacturers highest standards so rather than melting them down Wally buys them at a discount. The manuf need a swift kick in the nutz for doing this.
DeleteWe still buy a fair amount of stuff at Wally but the list is more and more narrow as I get more accustomed to Kroger. We go thru about 4 11 oz cans of Great Value brand chicken breast meat per month. I also like the GV spam. We get all our frozen vegetables there as they still sell them in 16oz bags for about a buck. Paper towels and toilet paper are also from Wally as the price is much better than Kroger.
If you pay attention to detail it is possible to get almost all your yearly household necessity's from Wally and Kroger. Thrown in the Dollar store and there ya are.
Current on going experiment:
6 months ago I bought all new garmentry entirely, underwear, socks, shorts, and t-shirts. Threw all the old stuff out.
For the past year I have been washing my garments with, for a full size load, 1 cup of white vonegar and 4 tsps of baking powder (box not can) can never remember which is which, powder or soda. No other laundry chemicals have been used on this new garmentry. Oh yeah, new towels too. I do 3 loads per week all on the same day.
Since the new garments, I have noticed a dramatic DECREASE in lint in the lint screen in the dryer. At least a 90% reduction in the amount of lint.
Before, with old garments and a long term history of laundry detergent, laundry rinse, the amount of dryer lint was astounding amount of lint.
Clearly, the laundry chemical manuf's are producing products that are destroying the garments.
BTW, the vinegar baking soda approach is much less expensive too.
I remember one You-Tube video showing Wally generic spam with failing top seals. No weight on top, just sitting on the shelf. Kroger generic spam has no issues over many years. But, no longer there-I believe just brand name. Same with shortening at Kroger-no more generic. Nice info on the clothes-why spend $6 a bottle on detergent if it is killing them. Course, I'm also a believer in line drying. My last Wally gun, about 2006, rusted pretty easy-and that was way back. Plus all the plastic parts.
DeleteI’m in the PRK, and can remember when we only had K-Mart. Then again, I can also remember when we had Gemco (Remember them?) K-Mart as I recall wasn’t too bad in the day, and they even sold firearms back then.
ReplyDeleteI think that for many, Walmart is a convenience shopping place. Where else can you go where you can find everything from food to outdoor supplies, and even automotive accessories and services. I recall back when I was trying to pay off my student loan. I swung by the local Walmart and picked up an $80 tent along with a port-potti, and headed for the local campground. It sucked (recreational camping is fun, necessity camping isn’t) but that’s all behind me now. Of course now I’m out of work. $o much for that degree.
But in closing, of course you are right. It’s gotten to the point where I just factor in the added cost of everything ahead of time (Ex: I think that I will need item A for so long of use, but item A only lasts half as long as intended use, so set aside funds to purchase two item A’s, or purchase two item A’s right up front).
As far as Amazon goes, I’m becoming increasingly wary of Giving Mr Bezos any of my money as well.
Amazon will eventually go the way of K-Mart, and Netflix/Facebook will also fail. When the next derivatives implosion occurs, all that stock market manipulation backfires. Amazon allows customer feedback, which is mostly honest ( for e-books, not so much ). I can usually find out if the item has quality. Usually-but not guaranteed. I don't think you are really supporting Bezos as much as reported. His company doesn't make a profit. His salary might be high but his stock will eventually be worth dingus.
Delete“Amazon allows customer feedback, which is mostly honest ( for e-books, not so much ).”
DeleteThese days you have to be wary of even the positive, verified purchase reviews Jim. It’s common now for the vendors of such products to post such glowing reviews under a pseudonym, but easy to spot them after clicking on the reviewers name and seeing that it’s often the only review that they have.
As far as Bezos goes, I’ll admit that there’s a bias. I’m still a little pissed about the IMDB message boards being closed back in February (Recall that Amazon owns IMDB). My other concern is that when one corporation monopolizes, seldom does any good come from it (Microsuck Winblows anyone?). I’ve noticed that once that happens, these bastards almost always become more forthright with their political views, which almost always invariably lean towards the lefty, commie, side of the political spectrum. After all, if you don’t like it, where else are you going to shop?
I'm not absolving Amazon of all sin. But right now they are staying competitive, so there is that.
DeleteLove the new, shorter articles. All meat and no fat. Keep it up.
ReplyDeleteYou all have NO idea how hard it is not to pursue minute details ad nausium :) No, I'll just focus that into my booklets, don't worry.
DeleteOn a different note, After last nights horrific shooting by the 64 year old white guy in Vegas using at some times full automatic bursts,best get your guns and ammo in full Condition RED!
ReplyDeleteWithin hours the DemoRats where calling Trump's gun rights policies into question, (no mention of Obammy's response to the Gay club shooting by a Fag Musslum)
I hope this was not a false flag attack on Gun's (lets not forget Nevada has some of the last loose gun control laws in the USofA)
Could be a false flag attack. Hard to see how the SWAT so easily found and silenced the shooter. AND, Republicans are just as bad on gun control as Democrats. BUT! Sandy Hook, Orlando, Colorado-no gun control. We need to ask ourselves why this is going to be different. Not saying you shouldn't panic buy. Why not, just as good a reason as any. Just saying, will it really be different this time? If it was a real lone nut-for the first time ever-perhaps the whole point was to kill the cop, who might have screwed with him. I'd also make a joke about hating country music, but it'd probably too soon.
DeleteI read that the shooter was found because the firealarm in his room gave him away.
DeleteI seriously doubt he was alone & funny he was found dead having committed suicide.
Okay, you poke your head out a window. Fire full auto out of a drum mag. Calmly walk away. The casino security is still on the phone to the cops. The SWAT team hasn't even been activated or en route. Even if the SWAT team was watching the show, how hard would it be to fire, then leave ( with a fake ID showing you as the payee of another room on another floor, facing the other way ). All this crap fails the smell test. Why just fire, then pull the trigger on yourself? Unless you had ass cancer and just wanted to make a statement? So, where is the suicide note? You'll remember the cop killer in Dallas got away. In real life, with real crimes, that happens. With false flag "lone gunmen" it fits a TV screenplay plot.
DeleteThe cops used an explosive charge to force the hotel room door open (those things are sturdy). He offed himself at approximately the same time. Obviously he had mental issues since he considered himself a high-stakes professional gambler. He had also previously sued the same casino (or maybe one adjacent?). His neighbors described him as "aggressively unfriendly", and if you look at the totality of his life circumstances, you can see signs of psych problems.
DeleteBack to China-Mart...About two weeks ago, I came across an "illegal" campsite. The guy had been there awhile with his el-cheapo Wal-Mart tent hidden among the trees and vegetation. He had an el-cheapo blue tarp strung up over the tent to keep the sun off. He had bed sheets and blankets in earth-tone colors strung around the tarp/tent perimeter. The tarp and sheets/blankets showed signs of UV damage, but the tent underneath was still fine (as far as I could tell, I didn't go in!).
Peace out
When I get suicide by the cops, after I'm charged with sniping at Hilary in her wheelchair when she is on campaign in three years, remember that I'm very angry but a wuse, hate leaving the perimeter and am content to wait for the apocalypse for my revenge. They will of course claim otherwise. Here is my official disclaimer.
DeleteDid the guy kill himself before or after he shot the crowd?
DeleteToo many things don't work in this scenario.
The main thing being, he had very little experience with guns to have pulled all of the details out like he supposedly did. And of course the big question, why?
This guy can be irritating ( unlike myself, of course ) and has his hobby horses, but it seems whatever he covers he does THE best job of ( found him during the ebola fright ).
Deletehttps://raconteurreport.blogspot.com/
Sorry, forgot ( duh-no coffee yet ). I bring him up as he has covered the Vegas shooting rather well.
DeleteWalmart food is horrible and I wouldn't trust my life to that, either. Sugar, cooking oil, flour maybe.
ReplyDeleteTheir cast iron is crap. Not the drop-forged, single piece of metal type anymore, but a Chinese pig iron with the handle spot-welded on and ground to match up. Much better to dig through a Goodwill stack of pans.
I don't trust their food, for the most part, either. Kroger has everything I need edible, cheaper.
DeleteSpeaking of cast iron, though: Isn't it counterintuitive in the ole Apocalypse? They need to be kept oiled and oil/fat might be hard to come by. I know the Oregon Trail women used cast iron - did they keep them in the corn meal sack with the bacon?
ReplyDeleteYes, good call on the surplus oil. Stainless steel is great, but pricy and riveted. Kind of a hard choice for longevity.
DeleteThanks, enjoyed the shopping list. You are right on on this one!
ReplyDeleteDo you know "who" I mean when I say hill billy survival expert?