Friday, February 28, 2020

panic every day


PANIC EVERY DAY
Never panic about an emergency currently unfolding. But, do panic every day. Just make sure the panic is about a future emergency. Yes, I know this isn't really copacetic. You are supposed to always have plans, spreadsheets. Mathematically formulated probability charts and military staff levels of contingencies. No, I just panic. I just do it early enough it almost looks like a well thought out plan. For instance, a year or three ago when India suddenly forced everyone to turn in the large currency notes. That had already happened in the US, but it was never as rushed as in India.
*
But I read that and I said, damn, I'm not getting stuck with any hundred dollar bills. So in the next week ( or whatever-I don't recall details ) I converted all my stashes of cash to twenties. Yes, I know it is advised to get plenty of fives and tens in case merchants of an illegal nature cannot make change. But, one emergency at a time. So, what do I hear today? China is burning cash ( “contagious! I'm from the government and I'm here to help” ). The “new” cash will have a mark on it after the Beer Virus is contained, to denote safe cash.
*
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out this is a control mechanism to either go cashless or to do a currency reset. And you would be forgiven for immediately worrying that the US might want to do the same. But I don't have to panic. I already did, when it was an issue in India. My cash is already in low denominations and buried. I don't worry if the US goes all digital, because I already am well stocked. I also know the Black Market will still take the old Greenbacks as it is limited and won't be subject to inflation ( if another set of bills is introduced, freezing the old supply ).
*
I panicked six months prior to the Nevada Red Flag laws going into effect. The 80% Project didn't work out as I had envisioned, in a large part because I was rushed slightly. I understand I might have acted in haste, but in my defense I was going All In on ammunition for my old arsenal. I kept prioritizing that, because one in the hand is always better than two in the bush. All in all, I think I made it work okay, but that is just the exception to panicking years early proving the rule.
*
I panicked in the last global weather food issue. It wasn't early in its quantity, but I did already have a good stockpile and was only panicking insofar as to get extra while I could. If I had been unsuccessful, I would have thrown the ( now ex ) wife and her family under the bus and been just fine myself. But my point is, now I don't have to panic over the current crop shortages. You are panicking about current problems, but it is more about panicking early when no one else is. Just as today, twelve years ago most folks thought, meh, 'Murica #1, we'll never run out of food. I think I'm about the only one who panicked.
*
I started budget prioritizing over the counter meds years ago, just onsies and twosies each trip to the store. If Beer Virus had hit here before it did China, I'd have been okay on my supplies. That didn't stop me from buying more a few weeks ago, before anyone else panicked, but that was just topping off, not getting an initial supply. No, I don't have any masks. I never prioritized them. I'm being a good citizen and working from home. Supporting me is being patriotic LOL.
*
I did slip on my disposable battery supply. I do have plenty of rechargeables, so I let my guard down on the disposables. I had always kept a metric butt ton at the B-POD, being off grid, but as it became harder to shop at the Dollar Store ( the closest one hundreds of miles away ) I let my supply dwindle without paying enough attention to it. That almost met disaster, as my last trip I bought the last non-alkaline batts from Family Dollar ( the cheaper ones ), the supply NOT replenished from the two day before truck arriving.
*
I don't know if this was a one off for one store, or if batteries are already not coming from China. I suspect the supply is wiped out ( but please comment and tell me I'm full of it ), if only because batteries are probably one of the best early indicators of shortages brought on by panic. What is the first thing you think of as a hurricane is three states away? Gas tank? Or is it batteries? See what I mean? Our primal fear is darkness. And no, I'm not scared to buy the Chinese batteries at the dollar store. They work forever in low power devices ( total crap in high discharge ones ), like LED's.
*
Plus, the batteries I had leaking were Rayovac brand ten year batts, at an outrageous price ( at Wal-Mart, even ). The dollar store batteries never did that. Anyway, I already wrote the article on my battery happenings. If you aren't too good to read an extra article by subscribing to my e-mail newsletter, you would already have known weeks ago. If I was a hater, I'd say it served you right if they were out now. But I'm not like that! I would NEVER do a “told you so” dance when you failed to heed my advice. That was sarcasm, by the way. Just saying.
*
I panicked years before everyday grocery items started inching up in price. My freezer still has $1.75 hamburger in it, and good luck finding that price again. By the way, I came across three year old meat in the freezer ( I've since modified how we rotate, to avoid this issue. I am sacrificing one shelf, so that no packages ever get left behind accidentally again. I TRIED to rotate, but got greedy and kept trying to stuff more bargain meat in ). It is still edible ( with my plastic shopping bag storage method ), but you do have to trim a spot here and there that is freezer burned. Very little waste.
*
As you can see, not all of my panic items were early enough, nor did I stock deep enough at times. But in general, I think I've done pretty good with my informal program of deciding which stockpile items to choose next. Read the news, panic early. Next week, repeat. ALWAYS be panic buying, but in a smart manner. Beat the crowds as early as possible. Buy those cold meds when there are two cases of Beer Virus in the US, NOT after they let two cruise ships unload with contaminated passengers. Buy those batteries at the end of hurricane season, for next year, not as one is arriving. Buy food when no one else wants it ( like you used to be able to do with turkey, but no longer as all the “healthy” fake meat is made with that bird now. They might say sale, but it is still overpriced at the end of the holiday now ). And etcetera.
( .Y. )
( today's related Amazon link click HERE )
*
Please support Bison by buying through the Amazon links here ( or from http://bisonprepper.com/2.html or www.bisonbulk.blogspot.com ). Or PayPal www.paypal.me/jimd303 

*** Unless you are in extreme poverty, spend a buck a month here, by the above donation methods ( I get 4% of the Amazon sale, so you need to buy $25 worth for me to get my $1 ) or mail me some cash/check/money order or buy a book ( web site for free books, Amazon to pay just as a donation vehicle ).
*** My e-mail is: jimd303@reagan.com My address is: James M Dakin, 181 W Bullion Rd #12, Elko NV 89801-4184 ***E-Mail me if you want your name added to the weekly e-newsletter subscriber list.
*** Pay your author-no one works for free. I’m nice enough to publish for barely above Mere Book Money, so do your part.*** junk land under a grand **  Lord Bison** my bio & biblio***my web site is www.bisonprepper.com *** Wal-Mart wheat***Amazon Author Page***Screw the NRA, join the GOA HERE
* By the by, all my writing is copyrighted. For the obtuse out there

45 comments:

  1. I'm just staying at home and locking the gates.
    Hopefully the LOL doesn't bring it home, but if she does we got plenty of meds.
    Don't fear the beer virus , but do fear the neighbors ignorant attitude about staying informed...hope they don't aquire a dose of twenty two flu , thinking that we're a good place to shop for food...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Physiology Operations play list:
      Don't Fear The Reaper:
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oF7mP2LASCo
      Ride Of The Valkyries:
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30QzJKCUekQ
      Other suggestions?

      Delete
    2. Continued from above. How about some bagpipes?
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCtzAkwX894&list=PLq47HiSsAsgs6LpqtgXbJ24TrjVm1aw8S&index=5

      Delete
    3. Lone Bellow band doing TIME'S ALWAYS LEAVING.

      My favorite line in those lyrics:
      "I want time to spend the night,
      Time just wants to bang and go..."

      https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AeG3WqSzrm0

      Delete
    4. Doesn't really set a doomer tone. Or is it just me? Just seems a toe tapping tune doesn't scare the barn animals or the enemy.

      Delete
    5. Here you go https://youtu.be/Y26TQKczaaY

      Delete
    6. This is going to be the Anthem of the New World Order under Coronachan https://youtu.be/f_UFqw3vm0s

      Delete
    7. 2:25-damn, good one. Here is an alternate YouTube vid:
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Es3GQMOLHkk

      Delete
    8. And here's one recommended with the above, creepy synthesizer
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7f8TWRxTVPE

      Delete
    9. How did I forget The Terminator main theme?
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpMg1upld0w

      Delete
    10. Sounds of Silence- Simon & Garfunkel
      The Roaring Silence- Manfred Mann
      Bungle in the Jungle- CCR
      Schools Out - Alice Cooper

      Delete
    11. Sounds of silence-winning
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fWyzwo1xg0
      The others just didn't seem to have the foreboding vibe I'm looking for.

      Delete
    12. I'm an idiot, again. The Doors, The End
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VScSEXRwUqQ

      Delete
    13. The Rolling Stones, Paint It Black
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4irXQhgMqg

      Delete
    14. From anon()()-eerie Latin chanting. O Fortuna. From the movie "Excalibur"
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JNlOTccdck

      Delete
    15. Longer version of O Fortuna here:
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5b7tgkdFH0&feature=youtu.be

      Delete
    16. Large Marge contribution:
      Wolf Totem
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jM8dCGIm6yc&feature=youtu.be
      *
      Eerie chanting warrior dudes

      Delete
  2. Bison,
    You mention you offer a subscription news letter.
    How would one find out about subscribing?

    Asking for a friend.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Find my e-mail in the small print at the end of each article, drop me an e-mail asking to be added to the mailing list. Done.

      Delete
  3. Smaller denominated cash...long ago a doom porn writer (Rawls?) discussed possibility of FedGov simply issuing a new script only for CONUS distribution, iirc.
    A HUGE percent of US currency is actuall stuffed into mattrases from Delhi to Cairo to Lima. $100 bills are the lingua franca of international finance. Part of retirement plan for dirt people worldwide.
    By changing the printed bills the "foreign" currency could not flood back into CONUS and add to inflation problem. FedGovt could simultaneously "devalue" the foreign bills by 30%-40% or more and then destroy them (the currency, not the peeps).

    Lord Bison there was that guy named Bass in Dallas who several years ago went on a five cent (nickel) rampage. Said the coin had higher value for nickel metal content of the coin, whether it was true or not really doesn't matter. But, what if FedGovt prohibits $20 or $100 bills and/or reprints domestic script? Maybe having hundreds of rolls of US coins is better way to have stored cash.

    Paper currency are easy to reprint (ask Zimbabwe!) but I'll bet coins will be left "as is" due to difficulty replacing them in an economical manner. You take a hit but not so much if currency is rebranded and/or debased.

    Besides, in a 1000 years some guy checking out ancient habitation sites might dig up a load of pennies, nickels dimes and quarters. It'll be a 31st century "Sutton Hoo" discovery.

    You might consider encasing locks of your hair in liquid Lucite thus preserving some of your DNA like a bug in Baltic amber. That same carrot nosed, fanged toothed, 6 fingered, web-toed treasure hunting mutant digging in radioactive wasteland of former western USA might discover he is actually a direct descendent of yours.
    Something to plan ahead for. Just sayin'.
    Do it for the 'chilluns'!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Just our regular 10% a year inflation is going to make a coin stash problematic soon enough. But you are probably correct in that it won't be obsolete. The question is just, does inflation make it so? I never cared for the nickel argument. Nickel is an industrial metal, and doesn't that lose all profit if it needs to be smelted ( assuming high energy cost later )?

      Delete
    2. I had a friend in Poland and they took 3 zeros off their printed money 15 years ago. I asked him what they did with their coins and the answer was nothing their value was allowed to stand. I have $100 worth of the clad quarters as a back up plan.

      Delete
    3. Hmmm. Good to know-I'd never heard that. I guess I'm covered without realizing. NOL still has several hundred from the coin operated washer/dryer.

      Delete
  4. Tried and true batteries.

    AA alkalines:
    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MNV8E0C/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

    AA Rechargables:
    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HSHLC82/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

    For long term freezer meat storage, rinse meat with cold water, dry with paper towels, except for ground meats.

    Weigh a 1 lb gob of ground meat on a scale. Form into a smooth ball then place on sheet, pat flat. Cover with 2nd sheet, fold corners and sides under, slide into a fold over sandwich bag. Squeeze as flat as possible to fill the bag. Use a black sharpie to write todays date on the outside of the sandwich bag.

    3 days ago I used a package of ground beef dated 13 Nov 2018. Looked brand new.

    Parchment sheets here:
    https://www.amazon.com/Interfolded-Paper-Waxed-Senior-Sheets/dp/B00KLEOKOC/ref=pd_cp_328_2/144-5338075-8473814?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00KLEOKOC&pd_rd_r=dd5c5e4c-b2b3-4c88-b067-7062afd950a0&pd_rd_w=obQNr&pd_rd_wg=g5GQx&pf_rd_p=4853e837-f87a-46d4-be32-dcf86bff7a7c&pf_rd_r=AXDY2DHNB6B83DM2DKYD&psc=1&refRID=AXDY2DHNB6B83DM2DKYD

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Just found a 2016 hamburger. If I wasn't so cheap I'd be scared to try :)

      Delete
  5. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'd be at the same place with the parts cost. Aren't new BMW's crap now? Am I understanding the analogy correctly?

      Delete
    2. I never liked the cvpi compared to the 9c1 Caprice. Both cars have big enough gas tanks to drive a whole cop shift and both are better than a cop package Exploder (tippy and brick shaped SUV). Cops don't drive bmw for the same reason I don't: $80/hr German factory trained tech required to change a valve spring and parts are monopolized by the dealer network. Junkyard is my part source, with gaskets and sensors best new.
      If we must suffer with fracked gasoline, best to burn it quickly in a tribute to Mad Max.

      I dream of a 3000 pound lithium battery wall and a personal liquid salt thorium power reactor in the shed, so I can heat hairwashing water and hot tub water with electricity. Fischer-Tropsch refinery down the hill where nuke waste heat converts wood chips into synthetic Diesel. Oh yeah, in my mountaintop Idaho castle with 90 gall/minute artesian well water. All the local people have pledged their loyalty and live lives richer than currently. pdxr13

      Delete
    3. That's why my Wonder Jr. Mill , tried tested for defects then packed and stored along with the Corona as a backup.
      The wonder will more than last long enough to grind my stash of wheat. If not, then I've got the Corona...
      All long term prep items, should not be daily users.
      Just buy store bought flour till then.

      Delete
    4. pdx-classic on the sarcasm!
      *
      spud-no fresh ground flour for Tortilla Thursday? :)

      Delete
    5. Naw , I like Nacho Doritos under my taco Tuesday salad.

      Delete
    6. Demented Guy, The CL is definitely a sweet set up. The power bar attachment is worth it for positioning the wooden handle further out for more leverage.
      The plates last a very long time. I have the original set on a 1999 mill with once a week, sometimes every 2 weeks, use. You sound pretty with it, and not likely to run the plates against each other. The households of my immediate family standardized with these mills, and we are all just working class free thinkers. So no need to appologize for efficient tools that work.

      CL sells every part that goes into the mill. Over time I picked up a spare set of plates, the stainless hex head bolts that hold the fixed plate, square shaft key, etc. The small parts aren't going to wear out, mainly got to ensure against possible loss.
      With 20 plus years of dealing with these mills, I would recomend purchasing the replacement bearings. Very unlikely to ever be a problem, but I did replace a bearing once that I thought might be making a noise. It's reassuring to have a tool that can be completely maintained and will likely last past our lifetimes.

      Delete
  6. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know WHY they don't make cars like that, as standard, but it still pisses me off. I knew about the extra expense on BMW's-they were always a status car-but I've heard their quality has really taken a hit.

      Delete
    2. BMW might be cutting down the quality oftheir advertising. Chevy of Germania, now from China (if anything is from Other Places anymore).
      A really cool car would be a 7 or 5-series with a bad engine, otherwise good, upgraded to a 5.3L+ LS small block v8 Chevy with 6sp Getrag. LS v8 weighs less than stock 6 cylinder. Assuming car and engine are almost free, and you are handy. Otherwise, payoff time is near infinite.

      Delete
    3. Germany has disappointed me too many times to buy into the quality myth. Only they would design the cheapest way to manufacture battle rifles and then turn them into museum pieces

      Delete
  7. Harbor freight just put out a coupon for a 24 pack of either AA or AAA batt's for $1.99 a pack, been using them for 3 years
    No leaking and work great in the large glass garden lights.
    Those damn things I bought at Home Depot sure light up the stair case for the Old Lady.
    Also they have a coupon for Nitrile gloves at $6.00 for 100 pairs. Good to have around with the BEER virus.
    Strange thou no more coupons for their $179.00 solar outlay system. (China Made)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think we'll be seeing a LOT more like the solar outlay. I lust after many things from HF, but no way is it worth the drive up to Idaho.

      Delete
    2. HF is not where you buy solar-anything. Machete that you can upgrade fix at home for three bucks is HF.
      Morningstar is what you want for small solar installations. SunSaver 15L mppt, SureSine inverter, Relay Driver, with your favorite panels and batteries. Designed by Americans for the CIA in Africa, made by reliable not-communist Chinese on Formosa in the Republic of Taiwan. Manuals written originally in English by the engineers, not translated into the mother tongue by foreigh AI.
      They make M-14's with our tooling still, because .30 x 51 mm is good when the enemy needs killin, not just wounding. Never leave live enemy behind you.

      Delete
    3. HF has its place, just don't mistake them for one stop shopping.

      Delete
  8. Cattle. I was thinking about raising cattle.

    Do they require a special type of fertilizer? Do you have to water them often?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Perpetual motion fertilizer machines. No watering if grown east of the 100th meridian.

      Delete

COMMENTS HAVE BEEN CLOSED