Random Thoughts

Coffee Cans for Storage. The plastic kind that just about every coffee brand has switched to in the past few years. There are a number of food items that I do not want to store in glass canning jars or five gallon buckets. Glass jars get nixed because of the potential for breakage when moving, and buckets get nixed because I do not want to buy such a quantity of that I can fill a five gallon bucket. The solution I have found is to buy the one gallon mylar food grade bags and pack them inside plastic coffee cans that I would otherwise discard. Between home and office I get about two of these each month. An added bonus is that six of the cans fit into the same size box as six number 10 cans. This size of storage container is ideal for spices, seasoning/gravy/sauce packets, and drink mixes such as Kool Aid. Once full and the mylar bag is sealed, pop on the lid and seal with 100% silicone.

Test Your Tools and Equipment. I bought a sight adjustment tool for one of my rifles a few months ago and filed it away with my other gear. I assumed that when I needed it, it would serve its intended purpose. Big mistake. The other day I was boresighting the rifle and needed to make a sight adjustment, so I dug out the adjustment tool. The tool has a hole through which the sight is supposed to drift under pressure from a thumbscrew. The hole was not big enough. This would have been a major problem in the field, but luckily enough I was sighting in at home. I got out my set of drills and enlarged the hole. From now on I will test every tool and piece of equipment as I acquire it.

Thoughts on Plumbing. Most preppers have a plan for providing water and eliminating waste during a grid down situation. The specifics don't really matter, as situations vary for acquisition of potable water and elimination of human waste, and each must plan according to his or her needs and what resources are available. For those of us on public systems, more preparation may be needed than immediately comes to mind. When the grid goes down and public water pressure drops, it is a simple matter to isolate one's plumbing system from public water: just shut off the main water valve coming into the building or onto the property. But what about sewage? Even with the public water supply being off, people can still pour water down the drain and flush their toilets. And if the grid is down, the pumps that move the sewage through the public system and/or process the waste are likely to be down as well. If one is at the top of a hill, I suppose there may be no problems. However, sewage might back up in other areas. Aside from the water traps in the drains, how does one shut off the sewer system that is connected to the house? I am thinking that one answer may be to have drain seals ready to install in each sink, bathtub, laundry room, toilet, and floor drain in the house. If anyone has any other ideas on this, let me know.

Politics. I am thinking about this week's Retarded Politician of the week. Congressman Fortney "Pete" Stark has come up with a hare-brained scheme to tax the exchange of currencies, so that everyone who trades a U.S. dollar for a Canadian one would pay a tax of 0.005% on the transaction. I am not making the next part up: It's for the children. Oh, and to provide health care in other countries, and to fight climate change. On the other hand, Senator Lindsey Graham has pretty much stated that he will vote to confirm Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court because Obama won the election and is entitled to have his choice provided Kagan is "qualified." Does this idiot remember Robert Bork? He was qualified, but shot down by the Demojackals because he is a conservative. At least Stark is consistent with the "progressive" whack-jobs in his party. Thus I am leaning towards Senator Grahamnesty for a repeat. Who knows, maybe some other elected shithead will catch my attention.

Is it too late for Tom Vilsack to try and get his job back as Iowa governor? It appears that with all the hullabaloo from the racist camps of Jesse Jackson and the NAACP that Vilsack may soon be unemployed for firing Department of Agriculture employee Shirley Sherrod. Through her own statements at a NAACP gathering Ms. Sherrod cast the USDA in a bad light, which should be grounds enough for firing. It is in the private employment sector. Gub'mint business is different, somehow, especially when race is involved.