Wednesday, April 8, 2020

PEEv2c16


PEEv2c16
Wool
[ I have two more chapters to go, this one included, to finish up this book so I can add it to the Four Storage Plan book and print another Bison Book Batch. After that, I'll get back to whatever-probably Beer Virus related ]
I'm really not sure what is wrong with people. They bitch and moan they are hot and need air conditioning, getting a case of the vapors on the thought that the grid goes down and their precious hides might sweat. Ignoring the fact that throughout history more people live in warm climates. Who never had ice ( a luxury for rich Romans, but other than that... ) or AC. What they did have was a shelter built to the climate. Unlike now.
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Then, a few others go shopping at the Mega Chainsaw Store and buy the best $800 machine, complete with suit of chainmail and a first aid kit with blood clot and amputation kit. And plan on taking down the complete national forest so that they can burn twenty-three cords of wood a year, keeping their McYuppieScumMansion at a comfortable 93 F. Good God Forbid they learn to live in a much colder climate which incidentally is what they will be doing after the fracking natural gas stops flowing.
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Let us return to Nature, Red Of Tooth And Claw. Shudder! People actually live in earth sheltered homes or those under trees? What barbarism do you prattle on about? Why, 'Muricans live in tin boxes with an AC running up the power bill. To suggest otherwise is unpatriotic. And why can't I live like Charlie Sheen in Los Angeles, perpetually in Little Boy Britches shorts and tennis shoes? Because Charlie was making $2 million an episode and even with all those hookers and blow parties he could afford to live in a Mediterranean climate. Dumb Ass!
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I was used to living in 50 degrees, off grid. I lived in an RV, cold all winter, until I paid off the land and dug a pit for my shack ( no way was I digging a big ass hole by hand if the economy failed and I had to move down the road to the paid-off lot ). In the pit, it usually stayed fifty, even when minus zero outside, with just cooking and coffee heat. In the RV I had been on a strict propane budget and was never warm enough. But what kept me alive in the RV, and comfortable in the pit, was wool clothing. Without that, I couldn't have survived. Literally.
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I had no clue about cold weather. I THOUGHT I did, but cold in California and cold in Nevada are two very different things. And Nevada IS cold. You have Las Vegas, all the California pussies transplanted, who are too fragile and snowflake like to handle the cold. They live in the low desert. The High Desert, just north of Vegas and encompassing most of the rest of the state, is butt ass cold and high elevation. The good news is, it isn't 120 in the summer, and 85 in the winter like Vegas is. The bad news is, it is Mongolian cold and windy.
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Bad news to you idiots moving here thinking this is just like Vegas, even though if you look on your map, we share northern border longitude with Chicago, close enough. Good news for me, as most folks run away at the first taste of Jack Frosts nasty ass in their mouths. Your northern European ancestors are spinning in their graves. At least they knew about wool. A renewable resource, unlike your gas powered central heater. Not that natives here are much better, living here forty years and STILL not owning a piece of wool clothing.
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Wah! It itches! No friggin crap, Sherlock. Take a long sleeve cotton shirt and wear it UNDER the wool. You don't need wool right on your skin for it to work. Put the cotton beanie UNDER your wool cap. Sweet Baby Jesus! I figured this crap out on my own, because I was friggin COLD. Nothing focuses the mind as well as pain. And it isn't as if you need butt tons of money. ONE wool sweater-and it can be thrift store cheap because it won the Ugly Sweater Contest-can take the place of several cotton garments. Even a wool sweater under a synthetic coat really jacks up the heat.
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Wool is painfully hot, if used in mild weather. In severe weather, it is Hug A Boob blissful. A minion shared Russian Peasant wisdom as such: there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing. Amen, my Slavic brothers! Dressing for the climate. What a concept! Dirt grubbing peasants with bad teeth stepping in yak crap have more common sense than University educated Americans. If it is cold, wear cold weather clothing. Cotton is NOT cold weather rated. It can be used in CONJUNTION with wool, as can synthetics, but never without wool.
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Wool needs cold water and mild soap ( Woolite, dish soap, baby shampoo ) to clean. By hand is best, although the washer gentle cycle works. NEVER hang up to dry, except socks as they are a blend. Pure wool must be laid down flat to dry. Keep flipping and changing the towel underneath if you are in a hurry, and keep out of the sun. Plan ahead-this will take a few days. If you have cats, plan around them. They enjoy wool also.
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Wool might seem expensive. $15 for a pair of ragg wool mittens, $8 for a beanie, $30 for thick wool hunting pants. $50 for a new sweater, $120 for a jacket. I was lucky to get most of mine cheap, at the thrift store. $3 for thick sweaters. I got a navy long pea coat ( so dense it is like a Soviet Great Coat, heavy enough it is a chore to walk it around ) for free, from trash picking. I bought from Sportsman's Guide back when they were cheaper. But wool still carries a premium price. It is worth it. You'll never be uncomfortable in winter again. In the apocalypse, you'll stay alive in the winter.
( .Y. )
( today's related Amazon link click HERE )
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29 comments:

  1. Echo Six Whiskey Ret'dApril 8, 2020 at 7:59 AM

    Big believer in Wool, It will retain heat when wet, I have my original 100% wool watch cap from mid-70s' USMC days. When it gets real cold, I break it out. It retains heat better than the commercial caps. My mother knitted me some sweaters I still have and I have Pendleton and Irish wool sweaters that get regular use. For what you get in return, the prices are not bad at all.

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    1. Worth the price, you just need to survive the initial sticker shock.

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  2. Yes, yes, a thousand times yes! I got my first wool piece - a Pendelton overshirt - used, back in the late 1980's and still wear it to this day. (Of course with several decades of added girth since then, it just fits like a standard shirt now!) Now, I wear wool socks every day, wool blankets on the bed and stacks of wool sweaters. And a couple more Pendelton shirts along the way. NOTHING compares to the glory of wool!

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    1. Plus, if you use wool you love Gaia. Cotton uses up the soil and uses land you could grow food on. Feel bad for not having renewable wool?

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  3. Yes, Jim is right 100%, and has the best hair in the empire. I can attest to the weather extreme factors that can swing in deplorable lands. I slid off a mt. Road @ely nv. Steptoe range, in late may! from ice and snow banks across the roads like weather channel footage. My deer foray gear is packed deep like a prince's expedition just because I really don't want to be caught short in weather with cheesy kit.

    Minion shoppers should be alert for local retail clearance inventory blow out deals for desperate sales revenue measures during the coming suck economy.

    The thrifts will be hit by new poor but overlooked diamonds in the rough can be obtained. Spy for yard sales (immigrants in my a.o. always sell off decent merch for cash, take advantage of depression desperation sales) deutchse optik (spelling?) In sparks,nv. Has wool blankets and other doo dads. They have great jerry can and kero lantern deals as well, good people. Yeah, plan for the winter that is going to sneak up on our asses soon enough like a highly motivated and highly dedicated charlie in the wire.

    Just saying, stay frosiest

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    1. Good point. Our luck, this coming winter is a cherry on the dooky sundae.

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  4. Deutsche Optic, Yerington, Nv. Better accuracy, fixed. Also sportsman guide as appropriate. Go long.

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  5. News blurb of note; las vegas Review Journal web had story (kerkorian character story as an intro, but it goes deeper) of prison systems having potential for corona related unrest disruptions. (rumble in the jungle)

    There has been breakouts in other nations, we're not special as it happens here.

    Ely, Nv state penn. is a mere 2 hour 126 mile jaunt away from Elko, nv. Just saying.

    Study your terrain and happenings, things being Pre-Spicy and all.

    Stay frostier.

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    1. They don't have us worked up enough-better release all prisoners.

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    2. Shucks-thanks. I was hoping I'd waited long enough I wasn't repeating myself from an earlier PEE chapter.

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  6. Was looking at some pictures on your blog of the Bpod. Doesn’t look too bad for someone with no construction experience. I’m trying to get ideas for when I head out to my junk land. I’m looking for ideas on a good and simple way to do this. Common logic tells me that an item that can be buried as is, is going to be the easiest. Something like car, or a big wooden crate with a door. The roof will be above ground, and you can reinforce the structural integrity, and you’re only going to be very lightly covering over it. Ideally, I’d prefab something, and piece it together when I’m out there. I just want to know that once I get there, I know exactly what the plan is, and that I do not forget any important tools or materials.

    As someone that excavated some serious earth, any recommendations on size? That looks like a lot of work. I guess there would be a desired size, and a realistic size.

    This probably isn’t likely, but I want it to look nice enough that it would impress a female. Again, not likely, but I don’t want to limit my options. Who knows, at the rate things are going, a dude with a piece of crap land, and an earth sheltered plywood hovel, might be considered a catch a few years off :D

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    1. Did you consider the dome from starplates? You can figure out the lumber and bolts, chicken wire and cement ahead of time ( use cement soaked sheets rather than plywood, if needed ). If I had to dig again it would be ten by ten, with an 8x8 hovel inside. And a ladder down rather than earthen steps ( although I don't know how that will work with aging ). If I had the stamina for another twenty foot long hole I'd bury a RV with a roof over ( plastic sheet, foam insulation, another sheet, two inches of dirt ). And have at least one window bay built into the side. Without direct light in, it is depressing as hell staying too long in there.

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    2. I’m assuming that with the dome and star plates, you’re talking about above ground? I’ve decided that I’d like to go earth sheltered right off, even if it means having a smaller shelter. To be honest, I’ve thought of options as simple as cutting a door into large wooden shipping crate, and burying it into the side of hill. I’d reinforce it of course. I was thinking somewhere along the lines of digging down 4’ and covering over 2’ or 3’ mostly with straw, then very light earth. I would like it to be high enough for me to stand up in. But I know that the digging is probably going to be harder than I’m anticipating, so I’m trying to be realistic about my capabilities, as I’m about the same age as yourself.

      The other thing that I don’t even know yet, is if I can even do a dugout. Since I’ve never been to the land, there may not be enough of a bank for a dugout. In which case, I’ll dig straight down, and create a pithouse. Assuming the place that I build it isn’t totally flat (And it doesn’t appear to be on google earth) drainage shouldn’t be a problem.

      I only know one thing, and one thing only. It has to be simple!

      Fun stuff, isn’t it :D

      @Romans 14:11. Thanks. You may very well be right. Unfortunately, due to obligations, and lack of preparedness, I seriously doubt that I could get out there in less than a few months. No one saw this virus coming, and that the end would be coming so soon.

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    3. I was thinking more along your lines. Dig down four feet, pile up the dirt against and over the dome. Being cemented, it would hold up well ( plastic for extra water proofing ).

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    4. Ahh, thanks. It’s definitely worth looking into. I suppose the fast framer kit is another option. I hope Romans is wrong, and I still have time to get out there this year, because I’m definitely not ready yet. No one saw this coming. Even my brother that insisted that neither he or I would ever see a collapse in our lifetime, has now changed his tune.

      Before I can head out though, I have to rodent proof my old RV. I won’t be around to keep up with it, and they will ruin it. I also have to clean out the mess they made in my old Jeep, because I’ll probably be using it for the trip. It has a lot of problems, but fortunately, mechanically speaking, it has a low mile engine, and a new clutch.

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    5. Just remember, after a certain point it is better to just accept where you are and make it work. You don't want to jump from the frying pan into the fire.

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    6. I get what you’re saying Jim. But I basically have no choice but to get out to Nevada at some point. Two reasons. One is that where we are currently, we are 25 miles away from Stockton. I’m not sure if you’re familiar with Stockton, but it’s basically “The Oakland of the central valley”. Once unemployment goes up to 35%, it will no longer be safe to be here. The other reason is that my parents were irresponsible with their finances, and had no provisions in place, for when one of them passed on. Well, that’s what happened. My dad died, and my mother has been struggling ever since (Recall that I park my RV on their land) She knows that she needs to do a reverse mortgage, but keeps dragging her feet on it. As such, there’s a strong possibility that she will wait until it’s too late, and lose this place. I have to leave. If what Romans is saying comes to pass (No pun intended) and there’s a complete lock-down, then I’ll probably perish if things get real bad. But I’m thinking that the summer heat that will be showing up here real soon, will keep the virus at bay until this fall, possibly buying me some more time. At least that’s what I’m hoping for….

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    7. Okay, got it. Just beware, some years October here can see temps in the teens in the morning. And November usually has the coldest temps of the winter. We've been having mild winters, making me think we are in for a return to colder, as was the norm. And your location is a smidge colder than down here in the valley. Sorry if you repeated yourself-I forget a lot of minion details with time and numbers

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    8. No prob, and I totally get what you’re saying. That’s why I think I’m going to prefab something, to minimize the construction time once I get there, since I doubt I can even get there by June. It will be smaller than I want, no doubt. With that in mind, I think I’m going to semi-copy the Anderson WW2 shelter. No, it won’t be made from corrugated metal, because that stuff is expensive where I live. So it will be a square plywood version, with roughly the same dimensions. Ideally, it fits in the back of my mother’s truck. I haul it out there, excavate, cover over, and done. But that may not be an option, since if I borrow her truck, there will be a time limit on how long I can stay out there, since she uses it on a regular basis (The junk land is roughly a 7 hour drive from current residence, so not a hop, skip, and jump). I might have to prefabricate it in pieces, and screw it together once I get out there. I think that’s doable. At least I hope it is? Thanks. Donation sent. Not much, but hopefully it helps.

      Anderson Bomb Shelter

      “Six feet tall, 6.5 feet long, and 4.5 feet wide, the corrugated metal shelters were a snug fit for a family of six. They were buried four feet under owners' yards, their arched roofs covered with a layer of soil.”

      https://mashable.com/2015/07/24/wwii-backyard-bunkers/

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    9. Best of luck. Hope it goes according to plan. It will be worth it in the end.

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  7. "In the pit, it usually stayed fifty, even when minus zero outside, with just cooking and coffee heat."
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    No way. Unless you are doing a whole hell of a lot of cooking and coffee making.

    Yes, about 4' below the surface of the earth the temperature is consistent but when you dig a hole in the earth the bottom of the hole will be the same temperature of the outside air. 4' below the bottom of the hole the temp will once again be consistent. You either use ALL of the science rule or you use NONE of it.

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    1. The pit has the cabin in the middle, with a roof over it that goes over the edges of the hole. Insulated, plastic sheet, a couple of inches of dirt to protect the plastic from the sun. Walk down stairs for air intake, outtake other end in roof, to eliminate moisture.

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    2. The only pictures I bothered taking:
      https://jamesmdakin.blogspot.com/2012/09/b-pod.html

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  8. Heirloom wool apocalypse wear meant to last your lifetime...
    https://lrbushcraft.com/lester-river-bushcraft-100-wool-olive-green-boreal-shirt-anorak/
    High quality, but not flashy to attract attention.

    California/Elko guy,
    If you aren't leaving this week for Elko, there's no way you'll make it and get anything built in time before everything shuts down. I recommend taking your resources and figure on getting what you need now to make it work at the family property you're at now. My opinion only.
    Romans 14:11

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  9. "Dig down four feet, pile up the dirt against and over the dome. Being cemented, it would hold up well ( plastic for extra water proofing )"

    I'd be REALLY cautious about this approach. Keep in mind DRY soil weighs in around 2,000-2,500 pounds per cubic yard, which isnt all that much. Even if you could find "structural" blankets :-) to soak on concrete, I have my doubts it could hold significant weight. Now if you used the starplates with 2x6 lumber and throw a little extra bracing within the triangles AND some sort of sheathing like plywood or OSB and then waterproof it would probably hold up if you dont go too deep with the soil cover. I'm no engineer so take that with a grain of salt, but Ive been in the trades a loooong time now and I've seen A LOT of failed DIY projects. Just my 2 cents...

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    1. Sorry, building on prior discussions here. The cement blanket sheet goes on. Once dry, chicken wire and ferrocement. The sheet is to cut out the cost of the plywood. Something for the ferrocement to lay on top of. Does that sound better? PS-not being a smartass. I'm afro-engineering here.

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    2. I'll be honest, I have ZERO experience with ferro cement so I'm reluctant to chime in. In my experience anything concrete, supporting weight, is at least 4" thick when on-grade, and has reinforcing wire or rebar or both. not sure how thick you could lay it on to a chicken wire "cage" on a lumber frame. I've actually thought this was a good idea in general for an inexpensive, fire retardant hovel, just never thought about one being earth sheltered. I think I need to go a little down the rabbit hole on this one. I will say, its so crazy it just might work!

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