10:00 – We’re continuing to get a flurry of kit orders. As of this morning, we’ve already done 80% of the revenue we did in all of October 2015. I don’t worry about sales numbers too much. We’ll probably end up having a record for October this year, but on the other hand we could end up not selling a single kit for the rest of the month. Things even out, so I don’t worry about it.
We didn’t expect to get much done today because the guys showed up this morning to start pouring concrete. They tell me it’s going to take almost 50 yards (~ 38 cubic meters) to do the driveway, so we’ll have several concrete mixers showing up. The second one is pouring its load as I write this. We expected Colin to be barking berserkly all day long at all the activity out front. He did bark when the guys showed up, but then he apparently decided that if they were okay with us he didn’t need to bark constantly at them. That’s a first for him.
Like everyone, I can think back to things I thought about doing, didn’t do, and later regretted not doing. The one that immediately comes to mind for me was 25 years ago or so, when Barbara and I were in a Walmart and I noticed a stack of crates of SKS carbines in cosmoline and cans of 7.62×39 ball ammunition for them. The carbines were $29.95 each, as were the ammo cans. Three cents a round. At the time, standing there looking at the stacks, I thought seriously about buying a hundred carbines and a hundred cans of ammunition for them. That would have been $6,000 total, and those items would be worth at least ten times that much now. But I didn’t even mention it to Barbara, because I knew she’d freak at the idea of buying a hundred military rifles and a hundred thousand rounds of ammunition. So I walked out without buying even one. I wish now that I’d bought at least a crate of each, if not the whole pile.
Don’t let that happen to you. I don’t really expect anything catastrophically bad to happen over the next few months, but I wouldn’t be surprised if something did happen. Things are really on edge right now, and it wouldn’t take much of a spark to set off the powder keg. If you haven’t done so already, making at least minimal preparations for bad times should be a high priority. If things do turn to shit, you really don’t want to be sitting there wishing you’d bought and done things that are no longer options for you.
Rule 1 for firearms and ammunition. Have some of each (preferably matching).
Rule 2 for firearms and ammunition. Don’t shoot Denis.
Rule 3 for firearms and ammunition. Buy ’em cheap, stack ’em deep.
RBT appears to have violated Rule 3. My similar regret was not the cheap SKS’es, but the Swiss K31 rifles that could be had in bulk for under 50 bucks each. I would have bought a crateful, and a palletload of ammunition had I had the funds at the time.
“Some Deutsche Bank Clients Unable To Access Cash Due To “IT Outage””
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-10-02/some-deutsche-bank-clients-unable-access-cash-due-it-outage
Uh oh. Got Cash ?
About five years ago I saw SKS carbines, in grease, in the crates, $99 each in quantity 10, at a gun show. Wow … what UGLY old rifles I thought.
You have to be careful with SKSs, both in terms of where they were manufactured and how well cared for they are. The ones Walmart had were either East German or Czech manufactured, which was good, and the bore of the one on display wasn’t pitted. Of course I have no way of knowing if the crated ones in cosmoline were similar or if they’d cherry-picked a display sample.
The one big thing I regret was turning down Steve Jobs offer of exclusive distribution rights to Apple products for Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas, when I met him in 1977 at the West Coast Computer Fair. We were talking about his new Apple II computer and I mentioned I was moving to Oklahoma in the next month. He became excited and wrote up an offer for me if I would commit to distributing Apple products in the 3 state area. Hey, I was a young geek programmer, I knew nothing about retail. Decided not to follow up. Been kicking myself ever since …
No regrets. Ever. I made the right decision at the time, and nothing I do or say will change that now.
If nothing else, I’ve learned that there are opportunities I should not pass on, and I don’t, because of what I learned then.
Uh oh. Got Cash ?
I’ve just realized that I may have gotten myself in trouble. I moved both of my bank accounts to Wells Fargo two years ago to get a personal loan to finish my game room addition. Well, the old saying “Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket” is coming to mind. Three years ago, my father in law had seven different bank accounts in four different banks. My wife explained that as those people who lived through the Great Depression learned to have multiple accounts at different banks as the banks were somewhat randomly closed. She is going to get him down to three banks with four accounts but it will take time as he has automated things.
I think that I need another bank account at a different bank.
Back then, banks were independent. Nowadays, if one fails they all fail. It’s systemic.
Wells Fargo. During the short time I did business with them they never took anything from me they weren’t entitled to, but I’ve wondered for more than 30 years how they have managed to stay in business from what I’ve observed of their practices.
Regrets…I’ve had a few…cue up Frankie…
Yes, I realize I have to wear big boy pants now and MOVE ON, etc., etc., but I regret that I didn’t pay more attention and buckle down with the math and science and languages in high skool.
I regret that didn’t go on to college immediately (though they were all fucked up back then, too) and major in classics, and then on to grad skool for the MA and PhD and a thirty-year gig as a prof at a decent university somewhere. I’d be retired now, with a nice pension (if not robbed or otherwise lost) plus SS and probably a “professor emiritus.”
I regret my forty years of rampant and violent substance abuse, of course.
And so on. LOTS of regrets and fuckups.
But here we are in Anno Domini MMXVI. Got to cowboy up, get on the stick, haul some ass. Do whatchya gotta do.
Overcast here, some rain overnight, RHEL drone interview in about an hour, via WebEx and a couple of manglers at Global Foundry. Light a joss stick for the old bastard….
Zero Hedge is worried …
“Again, Deutsche Bank is just the tip of the iceberg. Throughout Europe banks are imploding in Spain, Italy and elsewhere.
This is going to create a REAL mess for the markets. The EU’s banking system is THREE times the size of the US’s. And unlike the US where the banks have recapitalized, EU banks continue to sport leverage ratios of 26 to 1, 30 to 1 and even higher.
SOMETHING BIG is coming to the markets. This all feels a LOT like 2008.”
Quick, get over to Drudge (http://www.drudgereport.com/), he just put up side by side photos of Slick Willey and his “love child” at the same age. You couldn’t have a more spitting image.
https://www.facebook.com/Danney-Williams-Clinton-1704956276415563/
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3819671/Man-claiming-Bill-Clinton-s-illegitimate-son-prostitute-continues-campaign-former-president-recognize-him.html
The above links have even more photos and the supposed DNA test never happened.
What I have learned from my missed opportunities is that just because I don’t know how to do something, do retail, run ATMs, manage Self Storage, I no longer pass up the opportunity, I either learn how or hire someone who does know how. Wish I had learned that 45 years ago …
WRT Wells Fargo: my MIL had her identity stolen and accounts set up in her name that she knew nothing about. This bag of worms call for tar, feather, and a rail up a lot of bankers asses.
In addition my wife’s sister and BIL had their identities stolen and bogus accounts set up. Their mortgage was even recreated 3-times. My BIL is an account representative for JP Morgan Chase. He has no idea how to get out of this mess.
RE: Banks
I had everything in Bank of America till 2008. Then moved my personal accounts to a regional bank, and my business accounts to two other regionals. Several banks refused my ATM accounts because of the large volume of deposits and high value withdrawals they were afraid of running afoul the Feds money laundering regulations. Had to make a presentation to the board of one bank explaining the ATM business model to get grudging approval. The way it works is, several deposits each day and a couple of LARGE cash withdrawals each week.
I’m writing an emergency action plan for the family. Basically splitting into two sections: significant increase in terrorist activities and outright SHTF. Focus is what to do (bugging-in) including secure the house, inventories, moving “stuff” into readiness postures to include BOB, etc. While my Google-fu is decent, still struggling on how to organize the actions without getting into the how-to; have separate documentation sets for those. Any suggestions for websites I can study or plagerize?
Thanks,
Dennis
In addition my wife’s sister and BIL had their identities stolen and bogus accounts set up. Their mortgage was even recreated 3-times. My BIL is an account representative for JP Morgan Chase. He has no idea how to get out of this mess.
I am betting that a few class action lawyers know. They may sue Wells Fargo into the ground.
Zero Hedge is worried …
“Again, Deutsche Bank is just the tip of the iceberg. Throughout Europe banks are imploding in Spain, Italy and elsewhere.
This is going to create a REAL mess for the markets. The EU’s banking system is THREE times the size of the US’s. And unlike the US where the banks have recapitalized, EU banks continue to sport leverage ratios of 26 to 1, 30 to 1 and even higher.
SOMETHING BIG is coming to the markets. This all feels a LOT like 2008.”
I hate Presidential election years.
Quick, get over to Drudge
If Larry Klinton had a son…
Larry probably has chillunz all over the world. He’s a serial rapist and ol’ yeller houn’ dawg from WAY BACK, chip off the old block. Much of his activity was with hookers and other drug users, too. His serial adultery continues to this day, as word is out that he’s been busy with at least three other dollymops while his wife has been campaigning. He’s a fucking psycho who can’t control his impulses and has been his entire life. She’s a hateful and vicious and spiteful bitch who can’t control hers, either, and hers are far more dangerous; she’s likely to get us into World War IV. With nukes.
“I am betting that a few class action lawyers know. They may sue Wells Fargo into the ground.”
Already in the works, but as usual it will be the lawyers that get the bulk of any settlement.
My dad was in banking, credit, and finance (one of the Executive VPs for Chase when he retired) . I have many many stories, but I’ll sum it all up by saying that I have only done business with Credit Unions for 45+ years. However, Credit Unions have their own set of problems but it easier to do due diligence to ensure you are dealing with a Credit Union that has a stable foundation. It is important though to attend the member meetings and vote.
@Dennis: Having written several business continuance plans, I can tell you the hardest part is defining the trigger conditions. At what point do you initiate the plan? After the power has been down for 24 hrs, 48 hrs, a week? Along with what other trigger indicators. In business, declaring a “disaster” WILL cost millions and disrupt operations. Pretty much the same issues with declaring a SHTF condition. We don’t want to do it, we want to “wait just one more day” to see if things get better. But you have to set hard and fast conditions for declaring a SHTF emergency and put actions in place. For a bug-in, it’s not nearly as traumatic as bugging-out. My advice, set trigger conditions / events and stick to the plan. Sure you may feel silly if you go to DEFCON ONE and things get better the next day but better silly than the alternative. Look for bank runs / closures, loss of access to ATMs and deposits, power shortages, fuel rationing, empty shelves at groceries, reports of looting or riots (usually both). And DON’T TRUST THE MEDIA !!! Get eyewitness reports.
“Look for bank runs / closures, loss of access to ATMs and deposits, power shortages, fuel rationing, empty shelves at groceries, reports of looting or riots (usually both). And DON’T TRUST THE MEDIA !!! Get eyewitness reports.”
This means LISTENING to the radios (scanners, mostly) and developing meatspace CONTACTS. With radio listening at about a 3-1 ratio to talking on them. Hell, even the local AM radio stations will have stuff. If we have net access, foreign nooz sites will probably report more accurately than our own, sad to say.
Dave – yes, listening to AM and amateur radio, even CB.
YES … meatspace is invaluable, especially OTR drivers who see a LOT. Get to know the local LEO and listen to him / her. You will have advanced warning when SHTF.
…defining the trigger conditions…
Good points; for my local area (central AL) I think power outages will be my main concerns. Rioting, to a lesser extent, too, but not much in my immediate area. Regardless, meatspace and waveform surveillance will have to be how I get my info. Don’t trust corporate news a bit…
Thanks all!
Dennis
From the old civil defense poster:
When you receive warning that an attack is imminent, immediately take the following actions:
1. Seat yourself upright in a sturdy chair.
2. Bend forward, placing your head as far as possible between your knees.
3. Wrap both arms tightly around your thighs.
4. Kiss your ass goodbye.
Let’s see, here, Franklin County, VT, it would be local AM radio stations, amateur radio guys, police/EMS scanner freqs, and CB. Some of that airwaves intel would be coming from across the lake in the Vampire State towns. And I can get the chatter from the Champlain Islands EMS people and some of the Vampire State. Also the Quebec border area.
I’d also do motorized recons around the AO here, and eventually, if we’re SHTF, via bicycle and on foot. We also might be on horseback some of the time.
I should look into the sheriff’s department and PD for any potential relationships, too.
I also need to quit using the word “also” repeatedly, and also proofread my chit so I also don’t sound like a dummy with a limited vocabulary.
“Kiss your ass goodbye.”
We were told back there in skool that if the Soviets nuked Boston, peeps in Albany would get 2nd-degree burns. Which pretty much settled it for us in, say, Framingham (20 miles west of Beantown).
Just finished the WebEx phone interview for the RHEL drone job back at the old IBM plantation; guy from Global Foundry asking me random CLI questions for stuff I may not have ever had to deal with, but could easily look up if so required, once again. Whereas I could do the same to him. While they insist they’re BASIC CLI stuff that ANY low-level drone could do. Every site is different and has different reqs and responsibilities; you learn what needs to be done and the CLI stuff becomes muscle memory and when you don’t do it every day for a while, you forget it.
I was given to understand it was gonna be the same old rack-and-stack 3/4 time-inside-the-data-centers chit I did before, but maybe not. Although that’s what the recruiter and I understood to be the case. Whatever, I don’t really GAF at this point; whatever chit they need me to do, I could ramp up and do in short order. If they’re not interested, fuck ’em. Still got the Fed job tentative offer so we’ll see how that goes.
If nothing by T-Day, I’ll go back to what I was doing, which I’m continuing to do anyway.
I deeply sympathize, swabbies and deck apes:
https://westernrifleshooters.wordpress.com/2016/10/02/day-by-day-85/
My USCG dad (when it was still part of the Navy; my Navy destroyer uncle (‘Nam); and my maternal Navy grandpa (North Africa, WWII) must be spinning in their graves.
Community commo:
https://brushbeater.wordpress.com/2016/10/03/community-networking/
Good info and links.
I hope it goes the way you want it to.
As to nukes, at sea level a cubic foot of air masses about 0.08 pounds. At 20 miles, you have more than four tons of mass per square foot shielding you. That’s equivalent to about 56 feet of concrete. Also, air absorbs infrared, so you’re not likely to suffer any of the immediate effects (blast, overpressure, initial gamma, heat, etc.) of even a high-yield burst.
This means LISTENING to the radios (scanners, mostly) and developing meatspace CONTACTS.
I currently live in my Mother’s basement. I feel safe here. Please don’t make me go out and meet people. I’m delicate. With the rising murder rate in Vegas, I’m not coming out. I’m digging deeper. Maybe I’ll take that course “Deconstructing Masculinity” at The University of Redlands CA. It’s got to be online for basement dwellers, right?
You’re one of the few of us who doesn’t have a limited vocabulary. Several of us, most notably yours truly are frequently reduced to drawing pictures to communicate.
Just finished the WebEx phone interview for the RHEL drone job back at the old IBM plantation; guy from Global Foundry asking me random CLI questions for stuff I may not have ever had to deal with, but could easily look up if so required, once again.
I’m guessing IBM is still on RHEL 6 if RHEL 7 isn’t Common Criteria certified. RHEL 6 hasn’t changed much in ages.
In another professional lifetime, I wrote the functional parts of the NetClient for RHEL Linux VPN. I’m the person to thank/blame for that package, everything except the GUI in /opt/agns/bin.
I currently live in my Mother’s basement. I feel safe here. Please don’t make me go out and meet people. I’m delicate. With the rising murder rate in Vegas, I’m not coming out.
You need to move to WA or OR. Safer than Vegas (well, in theory), legal weed highs, and you can fill out your vote-by-mail ballot sitting on the couch in the basement, bong in one hand, pencil in the other.
“Maybe I’ll take that course “Deconstructing Masculinity” at The University of Redlands CA. It’s got to be online for basement dwellers, right?”
And IIRC, it specifically mentions deconstructing its “toxicity.” In other words, being a male is in itself toxic. Fuckwits.
“I’m guessing IBM is still on RHEL 6 if RHEL 7 isn’t Common Criteria certified. RHEL 6 hasn’t changed much in ages.”
They had just gotten a RHEL 6.0 server rack cluster to build (and add to existing clusters) when we got laid off; dunno offhand what either IBM or Global Foundry are on now and may not ever find out. Whatever. Yeah, RHEL 6 and its downstream machines haven’t changed a lot since they came out. 7 seems to be much more GUI-available, though. Of course you can still install whatever kind of server from minimal to whatever.
“…you can fill out your vote-by-mail ballot sitting on the couch in the basement, bong in one hand, pencil in the other.”
What? Can’t do it all online??? Bummer, man. I wouldn’t wanna have to change my plaid flannel jammies, though apparently peeps go shopping in them or in bathrobes now in this country.
Yeah, RHEL 6 and its downstream machines haven’t changed a lot since they came out. 7 seems to be much more GUI-available, though.
RHEL 7 non-GUI tools can be a little quirky. Plus IBM is a member of the Common Criteria mafia so they’ll push RHEL 6 on the Z-series to big customers and gummint.
“Nice little Ubuntu server you have here. It would be a shame if something happened to it …”
What? Can’t do it all online??? Bummer, man. I wouldn’t wanna have to change my plaid flannel jammies, though apparently peeps go shopping in them or in bathrobes now in this country.
No online voting. Paper allows Perkins Coie to find “ballots in car trunks” in the event of close elections like they did in 2008 for Senator Stuart Smalley in Minnesota and Governor Christine Gregoire in WA State.
Guess who was Doh-bama’s campaign law firm?
Retroactive good luck with the interview, OFD.
We were told essentially the same, a decade later. Never occurred to me to question the oracular wisdom from the NYT and TV news, not until one of the ROTC instructors laid out nuclear effects charts against topo maps. Between curvature of the earth, mountains, and the atmosphere, anything short of the tzar bomba at high altitude would have limited direct effects on people. (EMP is another matter, but the common wisdom discussed people dying of radiation rather than from infrastructure destruction.)
Well there’s your mistake right there. Interpretive dance is the way you want to go, my good fellow.
“…find “ballots in car trunks” in the event of close elections…”
Yeah, I get that, but gee, can’t the voting machines be hacked six ways from Sunday by nefarious Russian and Chicom hackers in the pay of Prince Vlad and/or the Larry and Killary Klinton Foundation, too? Ballots in car trunks, going out back doors in cardboard boxes, hanging chads, etc., etc., so messy! IIRC, various interested parties have been pushing HARD for online voting…
““Nice little Ubuntu server you have here. It would be a shame if something happened to it …””
At one point before we got dumped, there was scuttlebutt concerning Ubuntu servers becoming the next great thing for Big Blue, but I never heard about it again. Earlier my colleague/supervisor wanted to mess around with installing CentOS servers but was brought up short by higher manglers and the lawyers to stick with RHEL, period.
He has also told me recently that Global Foundry is supposedly a good place to work but the remaining survivors at IBM up here are “not happy.”
I did not get a good vibe from that web/phone interview, however, and meanwhile the Fed contractors are all over me here today with the phone calls and pending offer tomorrow officially. Next step is the fingerprint card, which I’ve done before up here for them, but this is…wait for it…HOMELAND SECURITY…so I gotta do it again. Interestingly they only had our last address on file and we’ve been here four years now.
I’m guessing, however, that our tax issues will blow this one up and I’ll be back to doing other stuff full-time for possible alternative revenue sources; chances are good that I’m outta the corporate IT world forever.
@Dennis, there are some fairly involved templates on the CDC website, look under business continuity.
Also Ready.gov for basics. Their financial prep sheet covers stuff a lot of folks overlook.
WRT triggers, the truism is that by the time you think it’s time to go, it’s already too late. Reality is, if you are paying attention, it’s probably still earlier than 90%. This played out very publicly with the Hurricane Rita evac. Lots of late leavers were stuck in traffic when the hurricane hit.
Also wrt triggers, reading thru the alpha pager traffic from 9-11 (available on wikileaks) you can see several companies activating their plans. “Plan Charlie is ACTIVE. Conference call to discuss options at xxxx on yyyyyy.” If you have any personal involvement, I DON’T recommend reading thru that traffic. It’s like watching a bomb explode in super slow motion, and knowing what happens, it’s excruciating. You can also see the .gov response, including FBI, Treasury, and local EMgmt. Secret Service was a big user of Skytel paging.
I use an organizing technique I call my 5/15/30 list, or my 5 minute list for short. I describe it here
http://www.ttgnet.com/journal/2016/04/18/monday-18-april-2016/
Far down in the comments, do a find for “lanyard”
nick
Nick, good list. Gonna benchmark that one…
Thanks for all the help, everyone…trying to think thru all the possible scenarios and “keeping it simple” seem to be on opposite ends of the spectrum. Great learning opportunity, though there doesn’t seem to be a shortage of those in today’s world.
Gonna finish these updates and hopefully have a rough draft ready for a sit-down-and-review with the wife in a few days. This’ll be fun…
Got a list for tonight in Haiti ?
Pick up your 2 rocks, and your stick, and flee….
n
Flee where? Higher ground??
I have a stout sassafras stick that I wish I could share with
some decent guy or gal in Haiti, tonight.
Waterproof matchbox, a little candle,
a few bottles of clean water…
A FLASHLIGHT to find kids or neighbors…
A nice little lockblade knife, some stout cord…
Wow, Bill Clinton’s son is fairly articulate:
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1820842054826984&id=1704956276415563
“The Week I Became a Target”
http://blog.dilbert.com/post/151301555066/the-week-i-became-a-target
“This weekend I got “shadowbanned” on Twitter. It lasted until my followers noticed and protested. Shadowbanning prevents my followers from seeing my tweets and replies, but in a way that is not obvious until you do some digging.”
“Why did I get shadowbanned?”
“Beats me.”
“But it was probably because I asked people to tweet me examples of Clinton supporters being violent against peaceful Trump supporters in public. I got a lot of them. It was chilling.”
What is wrong with the Clinton supporters ? They are acting like animals. A bunch of poo throwing chimps.
They tell me it’s going to take almost 50 yards (~ 38 cubic meters) to do the driveway, so we’ll have several concrete mixers showing up.
BTW, the trucks that built my addition were 10 cubic yards per cement truck. It took two of them for us.
“What is wrong with the Clinton supporters ? They are acting like animals. A bunch of poo throwing chimps.”
Don’t disparage the chimps, they are near the top of the evolutionary ladder compared to Clinton jock straps (supporters).
Actually, I suspect I’m closer genetically to a chimp than a modern human. I see that chimps typically use different hands for different tasks, as I do. That’s extraordinarily uncommon in modern humans.
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20160930-the-mystery-of-why-left-handers-are-so-much-rarer
Mrs. OFD is also sinister.
I’m a NORMAL rightie but I CAN occasionally do different chit with both hands at the same time.
Actually, I suspect I’m closer genetically to a chimp than a modern human. I see that chimps typically use different hands for different tasks, as I do. That’s extraordinarily uncommon in modern humans.
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20160930-the-mystery-of-why-left-handers-are-so-much-rarer
You and my Dad both. When he moves on to the better place, me and my right handed bros will be getting a bunch of left handed guns. But he can shoot a right handed gun just fine also.
“What is wrong with the Clinton supporters ? They are acting like animals. A bunch of poo throwing chimps.”
Don’t disparage the chimps, they are near the top of the evolutionary ladder compared to Clinton jock straps (supporters).
Sorry dude. I was not thinking. Again.
I have a stout sassafras stick that I wish I could share with
some decent guy or gal in Haiti, tonight.
Waterproof matchbox, a little candle,
a few bottles of clean water…
A FLASHLIGHT to find kids or neighbors…
A nice little lockblade knife, some stout cord…
My church has built and is sponsoring a 200 kid orphanage in Haiti, way out in the sticks. You would not believe the abject poverty of that place. We have a team going into Haiti just about every other month, half medical and dental, half normals. The people come from miles around. Our team was going last Thursday ? but was canceled due to the hurricane.
The Clinton Crime Family got involved financially with Haiti relief, too, and guess where the bulk of the money went? Per SOP with these grifters, thieves, and lying, murderous parasites.
@lynn said: “Sorry dude. I was not thinking. Again.”
That’s okay @lynn. I know you really didn’t intend to do a microaggression on chimps. I could have been more diplomatic in my interpretation 😉
BTW, this Business Insider article probably describes most of us here on @RBT’s Daynotes Journal: http://www.businessinsider.de/intelligent-people-tend-to-be-messy-stay-awake-longer-and-swear-more-2016-8