Monday, March 14, 2016

compiled misc.


COMPILED MISC.

Every once in a great while, and I try not to do it all that often, I just throw together a bunch of random thoughts that are too short for dedicated articles.  I don’t try to make it a habit as that is not my writing style, instead preferring to deliver to my eagerly awaiting minions long drawn out excessively ponderous and unwieldy screeds, rants and missives.  Yet, some ideas are worthy of my award winning ( one out of one Lord Bison’s recommend it! ) publication and I would feel remiss for failing to share them.  So buckle up for safety, tie off your propeller beanie cap and let the magic begin.

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I don’t know how many of you have noticed, and I would wager not too many since it would be just like ya’all to ignore all the extra effort I’ve been putting in at my keyboard, but rather than the normal 500 word articles I’ve put out for the last like four years, I’ve been trying to bump that up to 600 to 800 words an article.  Not every single day but more often than not.  I know you claim long or short you will visit, read, buy through my Amazon links and even tithe 5% of you gross income to me, but I prefer long articles.  Both because as a reader of other blogs that is what I personally prefer also  because since you are all rather generous readers supporting me I feel I owe everyone as much effort as possible ( the opening line was sarcasm, for those new readers with a stick or a crucifix up their ass and prone to months long bouts of seriousness, melancholy and general unpleasant-to-be-aroundness ).  I loved doing the old monthly magazine but the last issue I lost my wonder and enjoyment with it, indicating its time was past, and have filled the void of my obsessive need to blather through the written word by extending the blog.  Why don’t I just do 500 words a day, seven days a week?  The same problem that has plagued me the last twenty years, coming up with subject matter.  And not just any subject matter but that which inspires me to great heights.  The writing is easy, the idea formation is not. 

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Duct tape.  Any more, duct tape blows gangrenous cancerous rabid monkey testicles.  Even the “Duck” brand isn’t all that great anymore.  There is always “Gorilla” brand that everyone raves about, but at $8 a roll ( or whatever its cost is now ) I have two rolls I haven’t even dared break the plastic on.  Priced like sticky gold, it seems a shame to use it.  Well, luckily, I’ve “rediscovered” electricians tape.  Twenty and thirty years ago, I didn’t care for it as an adhesive other than its originally intended purpose.  Duct tape, the wondrous material that indeed deserved to have books written about it, was oh so much better.  With duct tape being worse than useless anymore, electricians tape moves up in desirability.  I had my bike seat starting to rip ( as well as my Kindle reader protective cover-twenty friggin bucks and it doesn’t stand up all that well ) and since it was black, as is e-tape, I thought I’d try it.  Damn, it worked good!  So, after I lost a boot knife ( works as a belt knife as it is short enough to sit in the work truck with ), I took another one and wrapped e-tape around the bottom of the clip to keep it secured on my belt.  Worked like a champ.  Furthermore, when you buy those hard plastic cigarette cases for roll-your-own, the hinges for the lid suck-can you guess what tape works great to reinforce them? Hump you, duct tape!

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I love F. William Engdahl.  He is a great geopolitical writer.  Alas, his last book on China was crap, merely a rehash of his other books.  And his twice to thrice weekly blog writing ( go to my web page, bison prepper dot com, for the link ) is almost the same, four out of five articles mediocre and the last one brilliant.  I was almost afraid to spend $22 on another dud.  But even Stephen King turns out a crapfest every once in a great while and you still eagerly await his next one ( if you haven’t read FEW’s “ A Century Of War”, you are missing out in life ) and so I owed it to support one of my favorite non-fiction writers.  And, yes, his new book “The Lost Hegemon” is very well done.  I think it was overpriced for a history of Western intelligence using Muslim extremists for their own ends, but I can’t argue with the brilliant writing. 

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Some writing I am very disappointed with is that of the magazine “Survivalist”, usually available at retail magazine establishments for $8 an issue or $3 each with a subscription.  Issue #1 that I tried, four years ago, was pretty decent.  No great shakes but worth the money.  Which is why I subscribed.  And two issues into subscription, I was relatively pleased.  Then, like the old Popular Mechanics or Mother Earth News, it went from serious, informed writing to eye candy lowest common denominator crap.  Even Doug Bell who I love ( my 1990’s go-to guy for gun info, I’m forever indebted to him for freely sharing with me ) and who was the main reason I decided to support the publication, since the price was reasonable, was dropping off in relevance ( this last issue he had a whole half page of an article and new authors seemed to have taken his place ).  Very disappointing.

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Pipe tobacco.  As an addendum to the previous article on roll your own.  Evidently you can store this for years without it drying out.  Just stuff it in a Mason jar and securely fasten a lid in place.  No need to vacuum pack, and glass is much better than plastic.  I don’t know that you would gain any performance by placing an unopened bag in a Mason jar, but if you go that route you can buy the 6 ounce bags rather than the one pound units.  90 cents an ounce verses 76 cents.

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Remember me telling you about how the Romans used vinegar to render questionable water fit to drink while on campaign?  I finally found a source claiming to have rediscovered the formula.  It is four parts water to one part vinegar.  I wouldn’t propose storing commercial vinegar unless it states it is from a food source, such as apple cider.  Even then the cost is high.  But when you start making or bartering for homemade stuff ( the commercial stuff today is probably too harsh for such large amounts, being from chemical sources rather than fruit ), this is a good tidbit to keep in mind.

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I kept getting a paper catalog from CH Kadels (

www.chkadels.com ) but there never seemed to be anything I wanted in there.  But they seem to have gotten much better.  Their Tooblite ( the “forever” green glow stick ) is a few cents more than Amazon but there won’t be the shipping charge if you add it to something else you buy here.  Amazon sells each stick with the additional shipping.  Their Kukri is only $20.  They have a eight inch knife for only $2!  Okay, stainless steel, but still!  Look for the Wahoo Killer Filet Knife ( looks like a mini Mora knife, with the same kind of sheath ).  And speaking of Mora knives, theirs is only $10!!  Look for “Pro C Fixed Blade Bushcraft Knife”.  Shipping is only $8 under $25 total but even better just $10 for an order under $50.

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Okay, way more than enough for today.

END

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21 comments:

  1. "I wouldn’t propose storing commercial vinegar unless it states it is from a food source"

    Why ?

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    Replies
    1. In "The Knowledge", advice is given on distilling wood smoke for the same acid that is in vinegar. I assume commercial vinegar is using a similar chemical rather than natural fruit wine.

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    2. our chiropractor told us white vinegar is from coal and suggested it is okay for a cleaner but only vegetable vinegars for ingesting.

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    3. Damn, am I good or what? I was just going by paranoia rather than any real knowledge like this.

      Delete
  2. “Then, like the old Popular Mechanics or Mother Earth News, it went from serious, informed writing to eye candy lowest common denominator crap.”

    I know the feeling well James. I felt the same exact way about field and stream when gone were the old timers such as Ted Trueblood and Gene Hill, and in came the mangina's like the “deer professor” playing the feminist card. It used to be a good solid men's magazine, but it was clear in later years that it was no longer the manly magazine of my youth in the 70's and early 80's, and that it had long since gone down the road to political correctness along with everything else. I sure wish that I still had all those back issues from the old days.

    The vinegar would be a nice natural alternative, but it's probably just easier (Unless you can make your own relatively easy) to have some unscented bleach on hand. It only takes a few drops per gallon I believe?

    I've seen the CH Kadels site before. Looks just like the Budk site to me? I wonder if it's owned by the same people? You have to keep your eyes open James, but I know that Budk has so many free shipping offers a year. It might be the same with the CH Kadels site, but I never order from that one so I can't say?

    The kukri's are some bad ass choppers. You could probably head out into the woods with one of those and build a friggin log cabin with the thing! Much better than the little hand axes.

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    1. It almost looked to me like Sportsman's owns CHK. But it could be like one of those old timey drop ship companies ( they secretly use another company to warehouse and pack and ship, but under their name ).

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    2. Bleach turns into salt water over time if stored in liquid form. If stored in powder or block form (like from pool supply places) it lasts much longer, but is known to corrosively out gas over time, damaging goods stored near it. Electricity and salt water can be turned into bleach but I don't have the directions on that. Ultraviolet can penetrate and sterilize a couple of inches of water if given sufficient time and clean enough water (no cloudiness or floating debris for germs to hide under). This may be the way to go long term, combined with charcoal slow filters that you can make yourself.

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    3. @Anonymous, bleach is great while it lasts, but did you know that it actually goes bad? Nothing serious, it just turns into salt water.

      As to making your own vinegar, it is as simple as letting an open bottle of wine get old. The oxygen reacts with the alcohol (CH3CHOH) to produce the acetic acid (CH3COOH).

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    4. The Romans always had wine going bad, so there was no cost, just recycling.

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  3. As far as duct tape, I don’t have much of it and DON”T use it. I hate the stuff. I do repair work for people and people use it to cob things together and later bring the item to me to repair. I end up dealing with a sticky mess and also have to make the repair.


    As far as Survivalist magazines (or any magazines any more) they don’t offer much value to me. I find that the articles are just a quick look about a subject and doesn’t go into any real depth. I think this is for 2two reasons, first is they don’t have the time to do a lot of research and don’t have or want to use the room in the magazine to fully cover a subject. There could be more to this as most peoples eyes glass-over when you give them too much info, but this is just a guess. The second reason is (at least from my viewpoint) that I’ve outgrown or expanded my knowledge and or skills beyond what a magazine can put out as far as useful info. It’s just not worth the $9.00 they want for what I conceder less then complete info. So I seldom buy magazines any more, and with the net (blogs and U-Tube) I can find out much more info then a magazine has to offer.

    The Romans may have used vinegar to render questionable water fit to drink, but they had no knowledge of little critters growing in the water and that boiling it would have killed them rendering the water safe to drink. I see no reason to replicate the spiking of water with vinegar to make it safe when a pot and a fire will make it safe and it will still taste like water. And it cost less to boil it then it does to add vinegar. And we have water filters today that do the job great. And Wally-World sells a Sawyer filter for $20.00, no reason for anyone not to have a water filter.

    I’ve also read that the reason most northern European drank so much beer is because the brewing process (heating it to boiling) killed all the critters in it. They also had no knowledge of micro biology and that just boiling water would make it safe to drink. I also suspect that they liked the side-effects of beer?

    I think it was Ben Franklin that said “Beer is proof God loves us.”

    I want to get a Kukri soon (before Summer camping season) as a camp / bush craft tool. I do a lot of camping and want one to play with. Don’t really need it, but I want one. Have to look into getting a well made (non-China) one. I have a 1/4 inch 3-inch wide by 18-inches long piece of stainless steel that I may forge into one. But I’m not too sure how well it would take to being heated red hot and pounded into the shape I want and still hold an edge.
    Anyone have a suggestion on one at $100.00 or less if I don’t make one?

    I also just changed a leaf-spring on a truck for a friend and may use a piece of the old spring to make one.

    Problem is, I have so many projects and work is picking up for the Summer that time is not abundant so buying one will get me one faster. But the idea of making t myself is appealing. Buy one, make one, so many tough decisions…..


    Chuck Findlay

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    Replies
    1. Here is your link for a $25 gukri:
      http://www.bisonprepper.com/2.html
      Vinegar is a back-up option only. Dark camp, filters not available to everyone, etc.

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  4. http://www.bisonprepper.com/2.html

    Lots of words, but no real info or links...


    Chuck

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    1. The whole page is Amazon links, so you must have your Ad Block on. Try the direct Amazon page:
      http://www.amazon.com/Bud-17-BKSZ2103-Genuine-Gurkha/dp/B00F2ISW32/ref=as_sl_pc_ss_til?tag=bisonpress-20&linkCode=w01&linkId=LLTFNCWXREW4YN7G&creativeASIN=B00F2ISW32

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    2. I didn't see it at first either James because I also had that Damn ad block on. I wonder how many times I've missed various links because of it?

      But I looked at the knife, and it's made from thick high carbon steel. My advice to Chuck is that this is a good knife for the price. You can pay $80.00 for one but I really don't think that it's going to be all that much better? The only difference will be a better sheath (and it sounds like Chuck's a skilled guy so no biggie for him to make one) and it would come with a slightly sharper edge.

      I'd buy through your link James, but I already have a knife similar to this that I got from cheaper than dirt. It was made in some third world country from an auto leaf spring, and is high carbon steel. It cost $13.00, but this was a few years ago. Sheath sucks, but it hacks through 4” Eucalyptus branches like they're butter.

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    3. You just buy what you can when you can and I'll be happy. No pressure. Okay, some. But not a lot.

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    4. "You just buy what you can when you can and I'll be happy. No pressure. Okay, some. But not a lot."

      I already buy everything through your links James, so no worries there.

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    5. Cool, for that you are graced with the Best Minion Of The Day award. Sorry, expires at midnight.

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    6. Thank's for the direct link to the Kukri, I'm going to buy 2 of them. As soon as my son sees it, he's going to want one.

      I do have Adblock Plus on my comp. I love it as I get ZERO ads on U-Tube.

      Chuck Findlay

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  5. @JJ Grey, John D. Wheeler; Thanks for the input. Yes, I do recall hearing this mentioned with regards to bleach. The long term plan is the SODIS method. I just read something briefly on it, and in this article the author actually recommended PET 1 bottles no larger than 2 liters. The argument was that glass actually blocked some of the U.V. But I'd rather use glass and keep it in the sun a little longer to make up for it.

    http://www.patriotheadquarters.com/1-weird-water-purification-trick/

    Another method that is a variation on the solar still is to take two bottles, lay them on their side, and tape or otherwise secure them at the neck. One bottle is filled with water almost to the neck (but while it's on its side) but not so much that it can accidentally leak into the other bottle. The article below does not show either bottle being covered, but when I previously read about this method, the clean, empty bottle was covered with earth to create a more efficient solar still effect.

    http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-purify-water-in-the-wild-with-2-water-bottl/

    ReplyDelete
  6. Damn, I actually kind of like your "COMPILED MISC." essay format. Sometimes a mish-mash of quick, to-the-point info just hits the spot.

    Not every time, of course ... but please don't hesitate to do a few more more just like this in the months ahead.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You got this one because I finally had a bunch of notes on small ideas and they kept popping into mind to release into the wild. The idea part of my brain, I have no control over. Little bastard.

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