Low Budget Home Security

HOW TO INSTALL A LOW BUDGET HOME SECURITY SYSTEM

1. Go to a thrift store and buy a pair of man's used size 14-16 work boots.

2. Put them on your front porch, along with a copy of Guns & Ammo Magazine

3. Put a few big dog dishes next to the boots and magazines.

4. Leave a note on your door that reads:

Honey,
 I stepped out to get some more ammo. Be back in an hour.  I had to lock the dogs in the house,  they attacked the mailman this morning and messed him up bad.
Be right back.

My Favorite Kind of Business

 I have written a a post or two about government control over EVERY aspect of our lives so this was refreshing to see.

While camping last month we went to a small local grocery store for a few items we needed. When I saw this bottle of cane syrup and read the label I had to buy it..
 I like pure cane syrup and I especially like that the government had little control in making it. I tell you I have not had syrup this good since 'cane grindings' and 'syrup cooking' many years ago.
  If you can't read the small print I copied it onto the bottom of the picture.

Thanks and Welcome

Special welcome to two new followers.  Mohave Rat is a disabled veteran who has his own blog, also welcome to Rick Wickwire.

As always I strive to address all comments and questions. Hope you find my blog worth visiting, you are among friends.

Rehab Is A Good Thing

I was driving south of St Augustine the other day and saw this sign on an old Mack truck parked outside a B-B-Q joint.  

     Just had to share.

Memorial Day Closing Thought

Private Murphy's Law

Memorial Day

On this Memorial Day I want to encourage you to remember those who have died for our freedoms.





Thank you to all who left (and are still leaving) comments on the post  "Freedom is Never Free" Your kind words mean a lot to loved ones left behind.

Freedom is Never Free

Memorial to the seven Seabees KIA

This Memorial Day weekend we remember those who have died for our country. Many times we hear about the number of fallen troops in the history of our country but seldom do we put faces to those who have given all for our freedom. I am doing something I have never done before now, I am writing about some of those men who I am proud to have served with.
   Early during the Iraq War (2003-2004) I was deployed to Iraq with a Seabee unit, which is basically a Combat Engineer group for the Navy and Marine Corp. We were originally tasked with bridge, road and runway repair and construction but this was early in the war and the battle of Fallujah was raging in the Sunni Triangle and needless to say it was a bad neighborhood. Our battalion was attached to the MEG (Marine Engineer Group) and the MEF (Marine Expeditionary Force) and we were split up into smaller units / squads to work in convoy operations, base defense, force protection etc. I was first assigned to a Special Ops base in North Iraq working on force protection in a FOB (forward operating base) It was a lot of closely guarded ops and to this day if I pull the compound up on Google Earth the area is blurred out. Later our unit was sent to Ramadi to work with the MEG.
As I said earlier, in 2004 Anbar province was a bad area and little did we realize that when we boarded that DC-10 in Gulfport Mississippi that 7 of us on that one aircraft would not return alive. Apart from the seven KIA there were others of us to return in wheel chairs, stretchers or on crutches. Some of us had visible wounds and some not so visible but without a doubt we were all forever marked by our service.

On this Memorial Day weekend I will offer no details but rather honor to the seven men in my unit who made the ultimate sacrifice.

EO3 Christopher M. Dickerson

Eastman, GA.

KIA when his vehicle was hit by an IED, Anbar province, Iraq. 
33 years old, survived by wife and children.







EO2 Trace W. Dossett

Orlando, FL.
KIA,  hostile fire in Anbar province, Iraq.
37 years old survived by wife and 2 daughters. 







SW3 Ronald A. Ginther

Auburndale, FL.
KIA as a result of hostile fire in Anbar province, Iraq.
37 years old survived by wife and 2 children

BU2 Michael C. Anderson

Daytona, FL.
KIA as a result of hostile fire in Anbar province, Iraq.
36 years old, survived by wife and daughter.

BU2 Robert B. Jenkins

Stuart, FL.
Died as a result of hostile fire in Anbar province, Iraq.

35 years old, survived by wife.






SW2 Jason B. Dwelley

Apopka, FL.
KIA when his vehicle was hit by an IED, Anbar province, Iraq.
31 years old.






 
CM3 Scott R. McHugh

Boca Raton, FL.
KIA as a result of hostile fire in Anbar province, Iraq.
Died 3 days past his 33rd birthday. His mother's care 
package had not arrived before he was killed.





"When I die, I desire no better winding sheet than the Stars and Stripes, and no softer pillow than the Constitution of my country." -- Andrew Johnson

PS, I have always had a policy of responding to all comments and questions. I will not do so on this post unless I really feel the need to. Please feel free however to show your support and respect for our fallen and their loved ones.

Hard Post To Write

I have been working on a post for Memorial Day, it has been in the draft stage for weeks now. I have struggled about how much information to publish. If this does not make sense it will when you see the post, it is something I have never written about before now. I think I will post it later today.
Hope you all have a good holiday and remember the sacrifice of those KIA and MIA

I would also like to welcome a new follower,  Joseph Romero he writes from Texas, stop by and say hi.

You Wanna Know What Really Ticks Me Off ?

Sometimes I get so upset I feel like I will pop a blood vessel.
I saw the other day where the Department of the Interior is offering free passes to military veterans for national parks starting May 19th (Armed Forces Day)  While some may say "cool" I want to grab them by the throat and yell "It's a NATIONAL PARK, it belongs to everyone, you can't charge us in the first place"
 You see I think everyone should be allowed free access. I tell you this stuff has to stop. Next thing you know they will be charging us a fee to go onto our own private property, we wouldn't  stand for that would we................wait a minute, my bad, they already do that it's called property taxes. If we don't pay the government a fee every year for an 'annual pass' we can't have and use our property.
Sigh..............sniff..........................................................
 Now I feel like a neutered, whipped puppy. Sorry for unloading on you all, I will try and be more civil in the future.
I will go take my medications now.

You Just Never Know......

Out front of the arena

  Have you ever had one of those days when it ended quite different than you planned, this last weekend I had one of those days.

On the field during practice

The day started out busy, lots of family stuff going on but early afternoon I decided to attend a meeting of  CVMA (Combat Vets Assn.) At the meeting they discussed that the local arena  AFL football team had a game and it was military appreciation night and they had been asked to ride their bikes in the opening festivities .
I decided I would tag along, unsure they could even use me or my bike but nevertheless I went to check it out.
   I had ridden my newest project bike which I had written about  a few days ago, turned out they were looking for 20 motorcycles to transport cheerleaders on to the field and 5 extra to carry the US flag and flags from the different armed force branches. I told them I did not have a passenger seat but I would be happy to carry a flag if needed so my old retro/military style Harley was chosen to carry the US flag.

Staged under stadium before opening event

We arrived a few hours before the game in order to practice the parade and riding on to the field.

 The opening ceremony went down fine. The first 20 motorcycles carried the cheerleaders and the flag bikes followed up behind. We rode on to the field and paraded around in formation before letting the dancers off so they could do their opening routine.




 After we exited the field and were staged under the stadium seating 3 ladies with clipboards (they were in charge of entertainment) approached me and said they really liked the look of my motorcycle and would I please ride it for them in the half time show, it would entail following 2 Army Hummers with cheerleaders aboard, I would be carrying the lead dancer. I reiterated the lack of passenger seat but after practice I found if I sat up on the tank some she would be able to ride on the back part of the seat, we were however unable to practice on the field because the game had already started but after much 'talking it through' I had it sorted out. The other bikes were taken outside and I remained under the stadium awaiting half time 






 I staged behind the Hummers while the cheerleaders practiced their routine one last time.
As half time approached we all loaded up and waited.











  The music started playing and the the crowd was excited, I could hear them and the music despite the lack of mufflers on my old Shovelhead Harley, they had specifically asked I rev the engine as I entered, It was a loud place I can assure you. The two Hummers followed by myself  pulled on to the field and stopped  near the right sideline allowing all dancers to jump off and do their dance routine.
After the cheerleaders did their routine, (a tribute to the armed forces) they remounted the vehicles and we carried them around the field one last time to wave to the crowd. (shown in last photo)



All told  not too bad a day I guess, beats getting shot at.  Maybe I will do something more interesting next week.

Garden Time

The garden is in full swing,  We have been picking 2 or 3 lbs of beans per day for the past month and eating them or putting them up for later. We like to pick them before they get very long and tough. They seem to produce longer this way. Right now we pick every other day.

 The tomatoes are doing well, they don't seem to be turning ripe as quick as I think they should but at least the bugs are leaving them alone.

 The squash and zucchini (not shown ) are good. I like to eat them steamed as well as chopped up raw on a salad, again, picked before they get too big. The crook neck squash here will be ready tomorrow I'm sure.

 The small tomatoes are doing very well, and the bushes are loaded with them, most still green but a few turning like this one. We have been eating these for the last 3-4 weeks.

Bell peppers are doing great, we eat  them raw on salads as well as stuffed and baked in the oven.




The potatoes vines are starting to wilt so I may test dig a hill soon. I also have cucumbers running a muck but those we pick about 4" long.... I may have to start throwing them at cars to get rid of them.

Not Good # 35

It' not a good idea to let the the 'not so bright one' in your camping party be in charge of cutting the firewood.

Good Things To remember (Survival)

A few days ago I did a post about TEOTWAWKI  and would you be able to handle it then I received an email from a fellow combat vet about lessons learned from experiences. I have changed and modified the list as I think it applies to TEOTWAWKI  as well. Some of it is funny and some is serious but it is all truth and is stuff to think about before the time comes because then it is too late.

1, Once you are in a fight it's way too late to wonder if it was a good idea
2, NEVER get into a fight without more ammunition than the other guy. 

3,  Cover your Buddy, so he can be around to cover for you.
4, Decisions made by someone above you in the chain-of-command will seldom
    be in your best interest. (this goes for your job also)
5, Sometimes, being right and lucky still is not enough. 

6, If everything is as clear as a bell, and everything is going exactly as
    planned, you're about to be surprised.
7, Loud, sudden noises in a helicopter WILL get your undivided attention. 

8, If the rear echelon troops are really happy, the front line troops  

    probably do not have what they need. ( this also applies to your job)
9, Happiness is a belt-fed weapon.
10, Having all your body parts intact and functioning at the end of the day
      beats the alternative.
11, If you are allergic to lead, it is best to avoid a war zone.
12, It is a bad thing to run out of fuel, ammo, and ideas all at the same time

13, The further you venture into hostile territory, the louder strange engine noises become.   

14, Medals are OK, but having your body and all your friends in one piece at
      the end of the day is better.   

15, Being shot hurts.   

16, There is only one rule in war: When you win, you get to make up the rules.  

17, C-4 can make a dull day fun.  

18, There is no such thing as a fair fight,  only  ones where you win or lose.  

19, Nobody cares what you did yesterday or what you are going to do
      tomorrow. What is important is what you are doing NOW to solve our problem.   

20, Always make sure someone has a P-38. (can opener)    

21, Praying may not help . . . but it never hurts.      

Greetings

I would like to welcome two new friends to my humble blog, tffnguy he is from Texas and has a wide interest in topics. Also Frosty ThaClown he has site, American Made Blogger . Please be sure to stop by and give a read.
I like having a wide varied collection of ideas and thus the reason I strive to respond to all comments and question.

Am I The Only One Who Finds This Strange ?

I saw this van the other day and I wonder if it strikes any else as strange?
It touts made in the USA and is on a Japanese import van ?????

My guess he (or she) is a liberal as well with this kind of logic.

Survival Handguns, My Thoughts.

I like revolvers, I think it goes back to watching westerns as a kid but they do have a lot of advantages as well.
A little while ago I was reading Brigid, she had done a guest post  with some advice for newer shooters, especially women and commented how a revolver is an excellent choice for a first handgun. I agree, I am not saying you can't learn a semi auto pistol I just think it takes less to 'sort out' if you know what I mean.
I am not trying to start an argument here but it dawned on me there are people out there who are fairly new to shooting or who are preppers and wondering what kind of guns would be good for them so I will list my reasons for liking them.

First I should point I am referring to good quality revolvers, S&W, Ruger, Colt etc. they can be found for excellent prices if you look around at used models, in fact I think all mine I bought were used so they can be found if you look. 
First I will list the disadvantages I see of revolvers, most only hold 6 shots (some 5) and are a little slower to reload. They also tend to be bulkier and harder to conceal than a semi auto especially if they are a big caliber.
Now for the advantages I see,
 I mentioned most hold only 6 shots, to me this is not an issue because semi auto pistols you usually wait till it is empty to reload but with a revolver I can swing the cylinder out and by partially pushing the ejector rod I can lift out the spent cases and replace them thus leaving me with a full cylinder. Apart from target shooting I have never had a NEED to shoot more than 6 shots in rapid succession and I maintain if you ever find yourself in that situation you have bigger problems than your handgun can solve. Another reason I like revolvers is they tend to be more forgiving to dirt and grime and lack of cleaning which could be important in a survival situation. 

 I mentioned earlier they are (in my opinion) a good first gun choice, the reason for this is there is less to think about if you find yourself in a high stress situation, this is very important because you draw it, pull the trigger and it shoots (double action guns of course) You do not have to worry about removing the safety, wondering if one is in the chamber or racking the slide or wondering if the slide is all the way home.  The magazine release button never gets accidentally pushed thus causing a jamb (I have had this happen quite a few times) In the case of a misfire you keep squeezing the trigger till it goes bang, no need to tap, slap, rack to clear a jamb. I have never had a revolver jamb with factory ammo. The only jambs I have had (very rare) are with very hot hand loads and the primer bulged thus causing a jamb.
This leads me to another reason I love revolvers, I do like to reload my ammo, it saves me a lot of money and I don't have to crawl around on the ground looking for all my brass. I also cast my own bullets which saves a lot of money as well and revolvers love cast bullets. I do reload for my 45 and 9mm but they don't feed cast bullets quite as well as ball ammo and this could be important in a survival situation where you would only have access to cast bullets. In a survival situation reloading components may be hard to get but as long as I had primers I could cast bullets and pack the cases full of black powder and have a good functioning weapon, I don't think most semi autos would feed that well with black powder. In a good strong revolver like a Ruger you could devise all kinds of loads which may be necessary in a survival situation and it would function and with some of the long barrels guns you can even hunt quite effectually with them.
There may be a day coming when reloads are all you can find and I can tell you from experience semi auto pistols are not that fond of cast bullets, dented cases, slightly bulged cases, dis-formed lead, weak loads etc, all of which are possible if you don't have the best to work with. I could take a less than perfect re-loaded round and even if I had to force it into the cylinder of a revolver it would almost always fire without jamming. This is just some of my thoughts on handguns.

OK I know I have opened a can of worms and probably started an argument (it's not the first time) I am not against semi autos, in fact I love my 1911 and others however I would never want to be without a revolver as well, especially in a survival situation which will be a less than perfect world.

Not Good # 34

Seeing as it was mothers day yesterday I thought I would include this one.          Not a good time to fall asleep.

Happy and Sad Mothers Day

I want to wish all you mothers a happy mothers day. Those who have mothers still living I hope you treat them good today. I hurt for my kids today as their mother was lost to cancer 7 years ago.

TEOTWAWKI, What I Want.

After yesterdays post even I was depressed. I tried to point out what could happen and maybe cause some to rethink their ideas.
I hope the worst does not happen, in fact I hope for the best. I would really like for us to elect true patriots who value and defend the constitution and who would overturn all the social programs except to those who are truly in need.
Personally I think they should do away with corporate tax. Corporations don't pay tax anyway they just collect it from us and pass it along to the government, what it would do however is start a stampede of business trying to get into the United States and people would have to go into hiding to avoid getting a job. Manufacturing would be back in force and government revenue would be maxed out from all the growth and spending. I would like to see the federal government loose all power except that over the military and maybe the interstate highways everything else would be controlled by the state, this is basically what the founding fathers envisioned anyway, If this would happen you would have 50 different states to move to in order to find the one that allowed you to have the freedom you desired. People who wanted tight controls over their lives would gravitate to certain locations while others would move to less restrictive states, this is the way it used to be and to a small degree it still is but the federal government can over ride the states.



I know all this may be a pipe dream and maybe it could never happen but I do see some young people speaking out so maybe there is hope. I don't really think the occupy movement is anywhere near the majority of the young people they just get the most media coverage. It took us generations to get into this mess and it may take generations to get us out. It will have to be done in small steps and that would be better than TWOTWAWKI situation as I have tried to point out. I tend to think anything is possible. In the 70's the USSR was the big bad wolf who wanted to control the world and nobody really saw a solution to them but now they are not a real threat so nothing is ever beyond hope. We just need to vote out any self-serving politicians and replace them with true patriots....one at a time.  Anyway, that is what I hope for.

TEOTWAWKI, Can You Handle it ?

My good friend  Stephen did a post the other day showing a picture of a girl doing laundry during the great  depression. My first thought was she was how different people are today, I doubt any of us would be ironing, we would just be content to have clean clothes.
I had done a post a while back on what maybe to expect from TEOTWAWKI (you can read it here ) and was reminded a few days ago when Patrice over at Rural Revolution had a piece called "Be Careful What You Wish For" , she did a good job of making us think of what may be to come. I think one thing that is underestimated in a survival situation will be mental stress. There are people who get stressed out now if their hair is the wrong color or their favorite restaurant is out of chicken strips or their car has a flat tire or their boss wants them to work on Saturday. If you get stressed out now do you think you could really handle TEOTWAWKI.
We can learn a lot from history, when we read about WWI and WWII or the great depression, or communist Russia or Cuba we need to take note. We can speculate about what may happen but one thing is an undeniable fact, we cannot sustain our current level of spending in this country, if it keeps up we will have a collapse. The biggest difference between then and now is we have an entitlement class today who will not  accept their need to work on their own to survive neither will there be any means for them to survive, they will resort to riots, looting, killing and stealing to get what they want.
Martial law will almost be a certainty in most city's and towns, rural areas will for the most part have to set up some kind of similar structure among themselves using existing police forces.
 After Katrina, New Orleans had the government to bail them out....who will bail the whole country out ?????
You think things can get stressful now just wait till you have to deal with what could happen in TEOTWAWKI.

 Everything you enjoy now to make you and your children's life enjoyable will be gone.
All fast food places will cease to exist, there will be no grocery store or mall. Food will be bartered on the black market. You will not be eating, frozen pizza or Little Debbie cakes, you will not have to choose between Coke, Pepsi or store brand soda because there will be none of them. You will not pick up your kids favorite cereal. You will not be buying paper towels, toilet paper or toothpaste. You will not get a new car when you need it, either you fix what you have or ride a bike or walk. (also see Cuba, all their cars are from the 1950's) Gas will be scarce or non-existent, there will be no Sunday drives, date nights with the wife or running the kids to their games. There will be no birthday celebration at your favorite restaurant. You will not swing by Dunkin Donuts for a coffee and snack. There will be no taking the family out for ice cream on a warm summer evening. You will not be going to the movies anymore, you will not relax with a stroll on the beach or the city park.
There will be no cell phones or internet. If they do still exist you wont use them for fear of being traced.
If you have to bug out forget everything you left behind including you home. If you bug in or live in the country be prepared to feed the people who find out you have food or be prepared to defend yourself against them, this also means there will be no trips to Wal Mart to pick up a box of 12 gauge or 9mm ammo. There will be no gun stores either. Your paper money will be worthless along with your coins unless they have silver or gold content. (also see Germany during the great depression)

You will probably have no electricity so expect no heat or A/C. learn to sleep while you are hot or cold  while listening to you child cry because they are hungry. You will grieve because you cant provide for your family like you have in the past. You will cry because you will never know what happened to your mother, father, aunt, grand child, sister or brother.

You won't kick your feet up on a Sunday afternoon and watch sports, the stadiums will be growing weeds in the field, the stands will be silent. If there is TV or radio it will be propaganda or information from the government  telling you where to get a ride to the nearest "survival camp" or when they will be delivering beans and rice to your city (but there will only be enough to feed a small percentage of the population so you can fight for it)
OK, I can hear some say "I am a prepper I can stock up on food and lie low, I can wait it out"  I say good for you, you will be pleased when the bottom falls out and the earth is purged of all the less than desirable people. You should be pleased that all the dregs and leaches of society are gone, I understand that reasoning and I agree we can't keep up our giveaway society. What will you do however when you wife is sick and needs antibiotics to stay alive, what will you do if your child or even yourself gets diabetes and needs insulin to live, how will your family cope without you. What will you do when your son or daughter or grandchild is crying because they are dying from an infection, will you help hold them down while someone amputates their arm or leg. What will you do when your young children or older parents or yourself have teeth that are rotten and causing extreme pain? will you be able to pull it for them or let someone else try, will you hold your hands over your ears to block out the screams? Will you give in to your spouse crying and begging you to take your terminally sick grandchild to the FEMA camp to turn yourself in with the slight hope they will get some kind of treatment? Will you be able to look into your child or wife's eyes for the rest of your life and see the pain of the tough decisions you had to make?
Does any of this seem far-fetched ?  Think over the last 5 or 10 years, how many times have either you or someone in your family had to go to a hospital or doctor to get life saving treatment or medicine? I dare say the stress will drive many to suicide and rest assured the pain and suffering you endure will be long forgotten in the years to come much like the much of the suffering experienced by civilizations past. I hope and pray it does not take total collapse to set us back on the right path. I have seen pain and suffering in war torn countries and I hope we never see that type of suffering here. My point here is to hopefully get some to think how we need to solve our problems as quickly as possible but I don't know if it's possible..... We have and generations to cause all this and it may take generations to solve it. 

Welcome to Camp FEMA, we're here to help.

TEOTWAWKI may be the 'reset button' our country needs but it will come at a very high cost and it will leave those of us who survive rubbing our heads wondering if it is or was worth it. I for one don't want to see it come to that.