07:19 – Wow. Fourteen years since islam attacked this country and we’ve done nothing about it except make life harder for Americans. I don’t even blame this lack of action on Barack Hussein Obama II, who’s done exactly what one might have expected him to do, just from his name. But Bush had seven years to do something, and he did nothing either. Except make life harder for Americans.
Nearly all of my time this week was devoted to working on science kit stuff, but I did manage to get a few items that might be useful in the future. Here’s what I did to prep this week:
- I bought two hundred feet of clothesline and a pack of 100 clothespins. Very cheap now, possibly very important later.
- Colin convinced me to order five 2-pound boxes of Alpo Variety Snaps dog treats for him.
- While I was at it, I ordered a few bottles of Bertolli pasta sauces in what amount to canning jars. I got a couple jars each of Italian Sausage Garlic sauce and Five Cheese sauce, just to try, and four jars of Mushroom Alfredo sauce, which we already know we like. I also ordered two bottles each of KC Masterpiece Barbecue Sauce in Original and Hickory Smoke flavors, a couple jars of Smucker’s Strawberry Jam, a stainless steel flour sifter, and an oven thermometer.
- We did pick up a few long-term storage foods at Costco last weekend, including 22 pounds of assorted pasta and a few minor items like 12 gallons (45 liters) of bottled water, six large jars of applesauce, a can of Gatorade lemon/lime drink mix, and a couple large boxes of Ritz crackers.
So, what precisely did you do to prepare this week? Tell me about it in the comments.
Good morning Robert,
NEVER FORGET, NEVER FORGIVE
Everyone needs to keep their awareness up today. There have been many calls for violence on this anniversary, both locally and abroad. In Houston, it’s currently pouring down rain, flooding, and thundering. That will probably keep anything local down as the one thing hippies hate is a bath.
Watching the data range of VHF on my SDR, and there is a lot more data activity right now than there was yesterday. Very strong signal at 138.000, new signals at 137.625 and 137.000, as well as others not so strong. Now 138 has faded, so maybe a satellite pass that I just got lucky to see.
Prepping,
Let the rain top off my storage. Did some cleaning and organizing. Got the seeds out for my fall planting. Put some parts up for sale that should fund a purchase better suited to my needs.
Reviewed the kids’ school’s plans and procedures (not in detail yet) and they amount to locking the doors and hiding. There is some disturbing wording about when and if they will release the kids to me in the event of an emergency. Some of it is straight off net conspiracy sites. The review was suggested by my CERT/FEMA enewsletter. Get signed up for their weekly preparedness letter. It occasionally has good stuff in it. (FEMA is bi-polar–incompetent political management vs lots of down to earth and competent people, programs, and resources from the boots on the ground.)
Learning/familiarization class with the local constabulary continues. Interesting discussion, and some candid conversation. That is a big part of what I was hoping for when I signed up, so I’m well pleased.
Messing around with radios continues. Messing with Toughbooks for use with radios continues.
Added some food to the shelves, tried some new canned veg. Lima beans with bacon aren’t the disgusting mess caricatured whenever the subject comes up, but we wouldn’t eat them by preference. I’m trying foods, especially veg, that we don’t normally eat. I’m looking to add variety to the stores, and stay within the “store what you eat, eat what you store” mantra.
Tried the soda pop bread recipe and liked it.
Wife made (and used) her own laundry detergent. She doesn’t acknowledge that this is almost a prepper rite of passage.
Watching the “Wartime Farm” BBC series I posted links to previously. There is a lot to think about there. One thing they were short on was dietary fat, which led to a shortage of soap. They process “soap wort” for the natural saponin. They also make a coal gassification rig for their gasoline engine truck. There was a short segment on historical use of gas bags to power vehicles, which I previously thought was the realm of steampunk and sci-fi. The rationing, command economy, and changes to the social structure of Britain were dramatic as the war went on. The incredible intrusiveness of it shocks even today. They had a board to dictate details for CLOTHES. How many buttons, how many pockets, how many zips all were fair game for the regulators. Given all the different boards, one third of the population must have been working for the government to regulate the other 2/3.
I see a lot of parallels and potential roadmap for our .gov as we sink into a decline.
Well, I should probably do something this am.
nick
NEVER FORGET, NEVER FORGIVE
Over 5 inches of rain since 1 am.
That’s a lot. Lot of minor traffic accidents and reports of flooding on surface streets.
Rain has slowed here at the casa for now.
nick
My comm goals are a lot more modest than yours are. AM/FM/NOAA/0.3-30MHz receivers for worldwide/regional/local broadcasts, but I have no intention of transmitting anything at high power or with a longer range than a few miles. My only transmissions would be local/tactical. That means the four FRS/GMRS HT’s I already have plus the stuff I keep adding: Pofung UV82 HTs with whips, long-wire for some, and a bunch of spare batteries and other accessories. A means to keep AA/AAA cells and proprietary batteries recharged to power those receivers and HT’s.
Autumn is showing signs of arriving here. The leaves haven’t changed at all, but a lot are already down. Our highs all week are to be in the 70’s, with lows in the 50’s.
103F predicted today. Bad air due to smoke from forest fires. Some cooling into the high nineties tomorrow. Summer’s not even close to over.
“The rationing, command economy, and changes to the social structure of Britain were dramatic as the war went on. The incredible intrusiveness of it shocks even today.”
That war and the aftermath fed very nicely into the Nanny State it’s since become, a prissy and puritanical police state a lot like Orwell described so long ago. Peeps just got accustomed to it and became sheeps. Similarly, our little Event fourteen years ago has got us well on the way, as RBT describes above; hadji animals are stronger than ever around the world, coming our way in droves, and are swarming over “old Europe.” And all our lords temporal have done is make our lives more miserable and restricted back here. Doesn’t matter which half of the Party has its marionette in the WH; they all suck. It hath pleased our lords temporal to keep a Bolshevik hadji metrosexual half-Afrikan in there for eight years and probably been a source of great amusement to them. We’ll find out shortly which clown has been annointed for the position now; previously I would have bet on Cankles and still don’t rule her out, but she seems to be doing everything possible to screw it up for herself.
Summa is still eminently in effect here, which seems kinda unusual, and the leaves are turning faster and falling.
Not much prepping got done here this past week, sorry to say; I had multiple VA appointments and meetings, with several more for early next week, and we’ve mainly been doing cleanup ops inside the house, as for us, it’s been too damn hot and humid outside. So all I’ve done prep-wise is research, plus a bit of daily writing. Hope to get a lot more done over the next two weeks while Mrs. OFD is in Georgia and Colorado. After that I’ll scoot up to the cottage in northern NB with her for a few days and do a bit of bug-out research on-site in the area there.
Then she’s gonna be gone for three weeks straight to Baton Rouge, and two sites in Kalifornia.
“My comm goals are a lot more modest than yours are.”
I acknowledge that I’m focusing on an area I enjoy 🙂
The stuff around 138.ooo should be weather satellite broadcasts. It occurs to me that if the net is down, the ability to receive wx sat images is a big plus. And I get to poke around online and mess about with radios on this rainy day.
I do have an estate sale to get to today, and 2 tomorrow that have gu ns and a mmo. We’ll see what prices look like. Probably high. should be some good accessories though.
Hunting stuff and camping stuff = prepping stuff.
nick
Fucking news reporting
Teen ISIS fanatic armed with ‘deadly arsenal of assault weapons’ arrested after live streaming threats to go on a killing rampage at Alabama airport
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3230413/ISIS-recruit-teen-armed-deadly-arsenal-assault-weapons-arrested-Alabama-airport-live-streaming-threats-killing-rampage-Periscope.html
HE’S 15YO AND THE “ARSENAL” IS AIRSOFT AND FAKE.
But you won’t see that until half way down the article.
nick
“I acknowledge that I’m focusing on an area I enjoy :-)”
I do that, too. The things I really enjoy are getting enough to drink, getting enough to eat, staying warm, and protecting myself, my wife, and my possessions, so that’s what I focus on.
I’m at the point now where I can say I’m finished prepping, to the extent that anyone can ever say that. Now I’m in the “it’d be nice to have…” stage, as in “… another couple tons of dry staples” or “… a couple of more .223/5.56mm rifles” or “… another few courses of amoxiclav” or “… another few dozen NiMH cells” or whatever. But if TSHTF tomorrow, we’re in reasonably good shape.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t Airsoft make pellet guns which are not regulated by the Federal Government as firearms? Can an airsoft pellet break skin? I would expect being shot in the eye with one to be serious, but other than that, would a shot do more than sting?
http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/05/us/tennessee-theater-shooting/index.html
Mind-boggling tragedy:
http://www.rt.com/news/315082-crane-collapses-mecca-mosque/
And who sez God or Allah don’t have a sense of hew-muh?
http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/clinton-campaign-collapses-literally_1028439.html
I ordered a few bottles
I don’t really believe that you are moving to the boonies. At this rate you will need a Ford F550 to move you in less than a 100 trips.
Colin convinced me to order five 2-pound boxes of Alpo Variety Snaps dog treats for him.
I keep a stack of five to ten Pupperoni lean beef 25 oz bags for Lady. The wife has lectured me several times on this. We only need one extra in stock according to her.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Pup-Peroni-Lean-Dog-Snacks-25-oz-Dogs/10293656
Plus Meaty Bone beef flavored bones:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Meaty-Bone-Medium-Dog-Snacks-64-oz-Dogs/11994504
BTW, our HEB grocery store is now beating Walmart on many of their prices. The above item is $10.98 at Walmart and $10.22 at HEB. I am confused here. Mr. Butts is losing money?
Barbara starts to put her foot down when I get too many of something. I go through this all the time with her when we’re at Costco/Sam’s.
Her: “We don’t *need* any more Bush’s Best Baked Beans!”
Me: “But we have only 140 cans!”
Her: “We don’t *need* any more big jars of Ragu spaghetti sauce!”
Me: “But we have only 48 jars!”
It’s a perception issue. What spouses think of as “too much” we think of as “we’re almost out”.
One trick is to grab about a quarter of what you want to grab. At Costco last trip, I got two 7-pound boxes of Barilla pasta and one 8-pound box of Barilla spaghetti. What I really wanted to get was 20 or 30 boxes of each. Interestingly, when we were in the checkout line, the cashier rung them up at $2.00 off each, which Barbara commented on. Having been married for 32 years, I didn’t say, “See! I *wanted* to get 50 or 80 boxes, but no….”
Another trick is to keep stuff separated. Instead of a gigantic pile of, say, canned beans and another giant pile of pasta next to it, mix the stuff up. Store a quarter of each type of food in four different places. That way, when she looks at it, it doesn’t seem as overwhelming.
One spare box? Does your wife hate your dog?
Re: 550 trips
It’s really not as much as it sounds like. Even counting the extra weight of canned food, we have probably less than three tons of food here. I’d prefer that be 10 tons or more, but one does what one can. But at three tons, we’re talking a couple trips up with a trailer. No big deal. I even broached the idea with Barbara of renting a storage space whilst were in the midst of a move so that we can have half our emergency supplies there and half here.
The one good thing about increasing social unrest is that it starts to make a lot of non-prepping spouses nervous, while there’s still time to stock up. You’ll know the battle is over when she says, “I think we need more of x, just in case.”
we’re talking a couple trips
I hope you aren’t going to haul it all yourself, Dr. Bob. Didn’t you just hurt your arm/shoulder moving some cases of aqua?
One spare box? Does your wife hate your dog?
There is an HEB three miles away. She is convinced that it will always be open (5 am to midnight) and well stocked. I am convinced that it will be overrun by the FSA two or three days after TSHTF.
One of the things that I really liked about the “Light’s Out” book was store employees escorting people around the Kroger store after TSHTF to ensure their $50 limit. I spent $130 at HEB last Wednesday night and really did not get a lot. The inflation for food and sundries is accelerating right now.
I am still thinking about renewing my Costco membership…
I love Sam’s Club but they seem to be going downhill.
I did hurt my arm lifting a 50-pound case of water, but it was at an awkward angle and it snagged on the cart as I tried to lift it. I’m not what I once was, but I think I can handle three tons of food in containers and cases that seldom go over 20 pounds each.
I try to keep Barbara reasonably happy, but I always keep in mind that ultimately it’s my responsibility to protect her and keep her fed. If that meant buying stuff on the sly, hiding it, etc., then that’s what I’d do. Fortunately, she’s on-board with being prepared. It’s just a question of how well and for what time period. She can’t imagine a situation where we’d be on our own for a long time. I can imagine it.
They also make a coal gassification rig for their gasoline engine truck.
Coal or peat moss is common in England. It is not here in the USA. The equivalent here would be a wood gasification rig.
http://www.motherearthnews.com/green-transportation/84-mph-wood-gas-truck-zb0z11zroc.aspx
I’ve had several people try to simulate this in my software and most get it done enough to get a few good answers. The pyrolysis of lignin is tough to model.
She can’t imagine a situation where we’d be on our own for a long time. I can imagine it.
Will she read something like “Light’s Out”? Even though the basis for the TSHTF event is overblown, the book is more about dealing with life’s everyday issues when the grocery store is no longer open. And dealing with the MZBs.
http://www.amazon.com/Lights-Out-David-Crawford/dp/0615427359/
Nope. I tried to get her to read a couple of decent PA novels, but she refused. She’s not interested.
Prepping activities for the week:
I am still unpacking after moving into a new house, which means I am sorting and cataloging what I have, need, and want. Mostly, I unpack.
A few actions of note. The packages of Mylar space blankets I ordered arrived. I distributed them between my car supplies, home supplies, and my daughter’s school locker bag. I ordered a 4-pack of Sawyer water filters. One of these will go in the car, too.
My daughter suggested a mini BOB for school. So, we have been assembling one over the last two weeks. The idea is a small bag of items to see her through a day or night until she can return home, which is about a 45 minute walk, if it comes to that.
The rough list is:
Change of clothes (socks, underwear, and light rain coat specifically)
Protein bars
Water bottle
Small first aid kit
Space Blanket
Flashlight
Feminine hygiene supplies (doubles as bandages)
Ziploc and plastic bags
Paracord
Duct tape
Matches (lighters are not allowed in school, so I am told. I may replace this with a magnesium fire starter)
Suggestions are welcome.
Does she *always* wear shoes that would allow her to make that walk? If not, I’d add a pair of walking shoes. You might as well put one of the Sawyer Minis in her bag. It’s small, weighs next to nothing, and she might just as well have it with her.
I assume she carries a cell phone. It might be worth adding a felt-tip permanent pen and a small supply of paper. Also, she needs a list of important addresses and phone numbers. If there’s somewhere nearer her school that she might shelter, she needs to know where it and have a map of how to get there. If you have friends/family near her school, they might be a good place to shelter. Do you know her school’s policies for emergencies? If she has an alternative place to shelter, make sure that the friend(s)/family members are on the school’s list of approved adults so that they can release her to them.
She needs cash money and probably a credit card.
“It’s a perception issue. What spouses think of as “too much” we think of as “we’re almost out”.”
Another suggestion. Don’t tell her.
@TerryLosanski
I’d make the small first aid kit rather than buy one. I have started first aid kits in one quart zip top bags for our vehicles with stuff I bought at Dollar General. I think I’ve gotten a lot more in them than I would have gotten from buying two small first aid kits for slightly less money.
The obvious missing item is a multitool, but that’s probably missing because of her school’s lame weapons policy. I’d wonder if one of these would be allowed at her school?
A magnesium fire starter would be a good idea, but you don’t have to take out the matches to add one.
How about some water purification tablets?
A spare battery or two for the flash light?
My only other suggestion is what if the bus breaks down half way between home and school? How about she carries a small assortment of stuff with her at all times in her purse or book bag?
1. Flat multitool
2. Flash light
3. Very small first aid kit
4. Magnesium fire starter
5. Space blanket
6. Collapsible water bottle
To make the bug out bag not stand out, I would suggest using a gym bag (or whatever young ladies use for a gym bag now) as the container. Either that or one of the backpacks kids have for their books, but that will probably stand out because she probably already has one of those.
Also if she’s carrying paper with pre-written information, putting it on 3 x 5 cards and laminating it might be a good idea.
Nope. I tried to get her to read a couple of decent PA novels, but she refused. She’s not interested.
My wife calls them “Lynn’s post apocalyptic books” sarcastically.
“Germany ‘took our Jews and gave us Arabs’: French ex-minister”
http://news.yahoo.com/germany-took-jews-gave-us-arabs-french-ex-151531234.html
Wow.
And rest assured that if the SHTF really good you’ll get yelled at for not having done or bought enough; that’s just how it works, homie!
“Microsoft is downloading Windows 10 to your machine ‘just in case'”
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2425381/microsoft-is-downloading-windows-10-to-your-machine-just-in-case
In case you were wondering, this is evil.
@RBT,
What about having her read something that is not specifically PA fiction?
Like John Ringo, zombie series-Black Tide Rising- bug out by sea, rescue of others, restart US.
or his post fall series where the Ren Fair (reenactors) rebuild society when the massively high tech society crashes — Council Wars series
or The Last Centurion– plague w/ global cooling strands US army unit overseas, they shoot a reality show as they exfil back to the world, really fast read, fun.
in fact, MOST of the John Ringo’s have a PA event, either alien invaders, post-first contact, etc.
nick
“In case you were wondering, this is evil.”
Microslop responds by telling us we only need run Disk Cleanup, and that can get rid of the updater files that they use to “upgrade” to Winblows 10. I just ran it and the only stuff I saw it deleting were a few hundred MB of temp files and rubbish, nothing related to update files.
@Dave,
yes airsoft guns are toys. They take pride in how realistic they look. The first time I saw some, I thought they were real rifles (at a swap meet shortly after moving to TX, so I had this moment where I thought “holy crap, you can buy rifles at a swapmeet!”)
They are not regulated in any way, and a smart parent would teach kids not to take them anywhere.
nick
Looks like Sparks31 is going dark. He has consistently provided good advice on comms to the prepper and III% communities.
https://sparks31.wordpress.com/
Might be worth taking a browse thru and grabbing what you want.
nick
“Looks like Sparks31 is going dark.”
He’s not the only one; several others, also, thanks to the recent dustup online between several sectors of 3%’ers, lit off by first one, and now two, active-duty or recently active-duty Army special forces guys, who seemingly equate any organized squad-level tactical training to be the province of fat old wannabe losers, who will be ground beneath tank treads and buried under the regular forces in nanoseconds, etc., etc. Also some questions and accusations leveled against one couple who run both web sites and businesses.
Here is Max Velocity’s response, in part:
“2) I saw a few weeks ago, via WRSA, comments by Mosby that he was about to give up on open enrollment classes. From everything I have heard, Mosby offers excellent training classes. Frustration was evident in the post. I don’t know if he actually took that action.
3) Sparks31 appears to be giving up the training ghost: “I’m f*cking done. Let some other idiot masochist deal with the bullshit.”
It appears there is a theme here.
4) Recently on WRSA there was SFC Barry, then another more recent post by Bill Roberts, both former Green Berets. These appear to be hammering on the “civilians aren’t good enough” meme that you cannot train, you are not the militia, you cannot face any threats, give up now.
“…..and not play rough with some military Combine Arms Team rolling around with tanks, APCs and attack helicopters. Not going to win that one.”
Seems to be a theme here, right?
A couple of points on that one:
At MVT we are that team of prior service soldiers who are training you. We don’t denigrate you for being civilian, you can get to a high standard in Small Unit Tactics (SUT): in fact, given that you are motivated and intelligent, we can get you in a shorter period of time to a higher standard than some Joe who doesn’t give a rats ass. MVT students are motivated to learn. Remember, this is about SUT at squad/team level, not Battle Group operations or career advancement; it’s actually very teachable/learnable.
Why all the hammering on the militia definition etc? We at MVT are not a militia, we are a training school. Very few students consider themselves, or use the term, militia, to describe their survival group. This is simply about training to “keep good folks alive.”
Why is there always an assumption that trained civilians will be/ are training for a fight with the FEDGOV / US Military? None of us know what the collapse will look like, or who will be fighting who. We are simply training to give ourselves a better chance of survival. This is not the revolution, it is preparation for uncertain times. Could the .civ (parts of) end up fighting the .mil? Maybe. Maybe portions of it. Or maybe gangs, or the Chinese, or the cartels, or Islamo terrorism. WHO KNOWS. We live in uncertain times.
I believe that you should stop listening to the naysayers, those who would smash whatever unity there is in this ‘movement’ online. Yes, there is some truth in comments about certain groups (the fat militia colonel thing), I have said so myself, but they appear to be outliers, not the stand up students who show up at MVT. Let’s not give it too much attention. Just do it right, and move on.
The real solution is to put ego aside, figure out what you don’t know, work on your physical fitness, and get yourself to some professional training. Any short surf of the internet will show you thousands of people with over sized egos, who believe they know what they are doing, who simply don’t. But they will loudly opine anyway. It’s a cultural problem that we face. Opinions are like assholes, everyone has one.
If those who comment loudly on blogs would just learn to STFU, pay attention.”
“Might be worth taking a browse thru and grabbing what you want.”
Highly recommended; I’m been doing that now.
The obvious thing to do is tie her to a chair and put hold-your-eye-open-thingies in her eyes like in A Clockwork Orange (a piece of crap movie, by the way, like every Kubrick movie) and force her to watch a dramatic presentation of one of the PA books, enacted with sock puppets. How are you at doing voices as you manipulate sock puppets?
I used to be puzzled that people didn’t think of the obvious solutions to their problems, but I guess that’s what makes me the unique genius I am, the ability to see the obvious.
Or possibly tell the story thru the power of interpretive dance….
nick
I’m sure she’d like that.
Well, see, there ya go, Bob; solutions galore! Kubrick-torture with sock puppets, and interpretative dance! She’ll come around in no time!
One of my major threat scenarios is the US federal government running amok. (Moreso than now, that is.) If military units were deployed in the US (to maintain order, no doubt) the roll-yer-own squad level units probably would get squished in short order. However, I’ve been saying for years that attacking well-armed police or other tyrants head-on is a losing game. Instead, attack the tyrants and their myrmidons at home. Go after their food deliveries. Disrupt factory production in “secured” areas. Cause chaos and unrest.
Now I just need to think of how to pitch this as a class that I can get paid to teach…
For what it’s worth, I have a novella I’m stalled on, showing how I would go about disrupting the PRC all by myself if I were so minded. I’ve written nothing on it, nor any other fiction, in some time; too busy, too tired, too stressed, too interrupted to focus on writing.
Yup, I’ve been avoiding spending too much of my precious time as the III% movement eats it’s young. There have been the 2 sides since before I became aware of them, and either one is a crook or the other a lying SOB, and I’ve got no interest in watching that sort of nonsense. These are the same people full of net bravado about killing cops and their families if it came to gun confiscation, who backpedaled and RAN once the blacks took up that battle cry. Dead cop families are dead, no matter the ideology of the killer, but they seemed to believe it would be ok if they did it. Now that someone is REALLY doing it, they are full of bluster about that.
So F-em.
As to the training issue, a bunch of scrawny illiterate jihadis have been chewing on the US.mil for 10+ years. I don’t know why anyone thinks US citizens couldn’t achieve at least the same success. They chased us out after all and seized our goodies. If it comes to it, ROE will likely be as F’d up in CONUS as in the Suck, and the equivalent of green on blue will be at least as common. And if it gets bad enough that .mil is rolling here, you can be pretty sure that there won’t be many fat people sitting around.
Anyway, on a day like today, it’s depressing as hell.
nick
14 years ago, I was about 5 miles from ground zero and about 2500 miles from home. I still have difficulty talking about it out loud. Die murderous scum. Every last one.
a piece of crap movie, by the way, like every Kubrick movie
Them’s fightin’ words, son. A Clockwork Orange is a warning of how the power of the state can be abused. The fact that he can make you root for an amoral thug makes it even more powerful. 2001: A Space Odyssey set the standard for intelligent SF films, and damn few have measured up. And Barry Lyndon is a triumph of technical film artistry, and a storytelling masterpiece: a 20th century artform that told a story using 18th century conventions.
“…I’ve been saying for years that attacking well-armed police or other tyrants head-on is a losing game. Instead, attack the tyrants and their myrmidons at home. Go after their food deliveries. Disrupt factory production in “secured” areas. Cause chaos and unrest.”
Ditto, also for years. Read Mao’s book. Study the IRA’s history and tactics. Forget pitched battles with mil-spec and cop units. They got tanks and jets? Hey, tanks and jets get driven and maintained by homo sapiens sapiens just like you, cupcake. They gotta pee, crap, eat, sleep, etc. Do the homework. Get the necessary intel. Bring the war home, baby! Guerrilla stuff. Run from the shadows in your golden years.
Clearly we can’t run our own squads against tank battalions; and some of us are rather long in the tooth for humping rucks and rifles and ammo across a hostile landscape, although apparently guys our age can and do complete Max Velocity’s classes regularly. But we can by Jeezum do intel and commo work. Look to Sparks31 and AMRRON for the latter and the Culper Institute for the former.
“…a bunch of scrawny illiterate jihadis have been chewing on the US.mil for 10+ years.”
That is correct. And it is because we don’t have the stomach or the will to run a real empire. If we did, we would have eradicated Mecca, Medina and Riyadh decades ago with small-yield nuke warheads, and crucified thousands of hadji scum on the roads outside Mordor and filmed the whole deal and put it out on every available media outlet repeatedly. So we employ half-measures and guarantee to ourselves multiple future generations of hatred and bitterness, sure to rebound in our faces at some point. Of course the other option would have been to stay the hell out of and away from those hornets’ nests, but we clearly are physiologically incapable of doing that sorta thing since the Mexican War.
“And Barry Lyndon is a triumph of technical film artistry, and a storytelling masterpiece: a 20th century artform that told a story using 18th century conventions.”
+1,000
I watch it every year. Along with David Lean’s stuff, and “The Man Who Would Be King,” “The Outlaw Josey Wales,” and “The Exorcist.” Also a relative unknown, mainly because I grew into “manhood” in the time and place: “The Friends of Eddie Coyle.”
The Man Who Would Be King is most excellent. As my brothers and I say: “It’s a manly movie about manly men doing manly things in a manly way.”
And Michael Caine was in another on the manly movie list: Zulu.
Haven’t seen Barry Lyndon. I’ll take the recommendation under advisement.
The Kubrick films I have seen, about five of them, were boring or stupid or both. The least bad, 2001, took an excellent novel and made it slow and boring. Oh, sure, I understand that back when models and sets had to be built by hand, you don’t want to do all that work for five seconds of film time. yawnnnnn. Don’t care. Boring. A good concept and a few good lines do not make a good movie.
A Clockwork Orange similarly took a novel with a novel idea (pardon the pun, though that should be “a novella idea”) and translated it to film … badly. Full Metal Jacket didn’t have even a novel idea going for it. Dr. Strangelove might be good if you’re drunk or stoned when watching it, but otherwise seems to be a bunch of idiotsyncratic characters doing stupid things for no good reason. Yah, I know it was supposed to be a parody or something. Don’t care. yawwwwnnnn. I saw only part of The Shining. Wasn’t good enough for me to not get up and do something more useful with my time.
I used to have a catch-phrase, that a movie was so bad that only gratuitous nudity and sex could save it. The last Kubrick film I saw, Eyes Wide Shut, ruined that catch-phrase. Even with wholly gratuitous nudity, it was appalling. Oh, sure, you might say, but that’s not Demigod Stanley’s fault — he died before the movie was finished. Right, I reply, that just shows how bad it was. Eyes Wide Shut was so bad that it killed the director.
I’m sure you’ll understand when I don’t leave offerings on the Altar of Kubrick.
I gotta say that reading “Barry Lyndon” was as good as watching the movie. “A Clockwork Orange” achieved a bit of notoriety when it came out; I’ll have to watch it again and see where it compares with the book.
“The Man Who Would Be King,” among other characteristics, is probably the best “buddy” movie ever made.
I also watch “Doctor Zhivago” every year, which has increasingly interesting parallels with our Current Situation.
Fourteen years since islam attacked this country and we’ve done nothing about it except make life harder for Americans.
You are supposed to say “radical islam”.
That’s right, Mr. Lynn; good call! Because it’s only a tiny minority of hadjis who do bad things; the rest are peace-loving religious cupcakes.
Good catch! We must always be vigilant as to these types of blatant micro-aggressions!
BTW, our HEB grocery store is now beating Walmart on many of their prices. The above item is $10.98 at Walmart and $10.22 at HEB. I am confused here. Mr. Butts is losing money?
Try this if you prefer shopping at Wally World: https://savingscatcher.walmart.com/
I’ve accumulated over $100 in the past several months.
Have I ever mentioned how glad I am we don’t have a land border with anyone else? How did the Europeans get so insane to take all these Islamics?
Yeah, but y’all down there in Oz are closer than we are to the south Asian mainland, China, and Indonesia. (OFD knows his geography).
As for the Euros, they are run now by the commie bureaucrats in Brussels and this fits their long-term agenda very nicely. The trouble with their program, though, is they somehow think they’ll be exempt when sharia becomes the law of the Continent and they’ll be allowed to keep their “privilege” and positions.
Fourteen years since islam attacked this country and we’ve done nothing about it except make life harder for Americans.
You are supposed to say “radical islam”.
That’s right, Mr. Lynn; good call! Because it’s only a tiny minority of hadjis who do bad things; the rest are peace-loving religious cupcakes.
Good catch! We must always be vigilant as to these types of blatant micro-aggressions!
Note to self, work on trolling foo!
Have I ever mentioned how glad I am we don’t have a land border with anyone else? How did the Europeans get so insane to take all these Islamics?
Apparently, Deutschland has had enough!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3232744/We-t-German-authorities-call-urgent-action-migrant-crisis-locals-say-Munich-brink-humanitarian-disaster.html
Why, it seems like just yesterday that the German elites were congratulating themselves on their openness and inclusion and generosity and were hectoring other European nations to “do their fair share”.
Like a lotta peeps, the Germans failed to realize the extent of the burgeoning problem; and we’re pretty effin dumb here in this country so we don’t, either. Chumpster sez he’ll deport all the millions of illegals but that will be a very tough nut to crack. That genie is outta the bottle, dude. Meanwhile our lords temporal, starting with Vinegar John, a.k.a. Lurch, are committing to bringing in more hordes of hadjis from the shit-hole nightmares in Syria and the rest of the Sandbox. You wonder after a while if it’s deliberate with malice aforethought or if our lords are simply mad-dog-insane.
well, “from each according to his ability, to each according to his need.” From one of their heros, another murdering scum.
funny that some people will claim that only 3% of colonials fought to support the new union, and then in the same breath, claim that it is all muslims who are murdering terrorist scum.
For me, I say kill them all, surely god will know his own. Yea unto the second generation. Or you’ve just given the kids a good reason to hate you.
I guess I’d give them a chance to repent and convert beforehand, since they should recognize that as fair, seeing as how that’s the choice they give.
Or maybe I’m just in a bad mood this time of year, mid-September, for some reason.
anyway, got the grass cut now that the temps are in the mid 80’s. Still had me panting for 10 minutes. I was racing against the sun, so worked kinda quickly. I gotta get in shape….
nick
How did the Europeans get so insane to take all these Islamics?
That, indeed, is the question. Receiving them was a generous but incredibly naive act, and they have yet to realize what the consequences will be. It’s not just this migrant wave, which is big enough. The pictures of the welcoming receptions have gone around the world, and have certainly inspired a new wave of migrants to head to Europe.
This is already inspiring the neo-Nazi and extreme right-wing groups, and I expect that they will gain serious traction over the next few years. Which is not a pretty picture either.
Meanwhile, for those migrants that have arrived, I really hope they put some intensive integration efforts into place. Prevent large concentrations in any one city, force intensive German courses, require cultural integration (example: Switzerland requires Islamic girls to attend swimming lessons, wearing normal swimming suits, just like all other kids).
And always, always leave the door wide open to go home if they don’t like it.
“…I really hope they put some intensive integration efforts into place.”
My guess is that they won’t, and if they do, it will be too little and too late; they’re about to be completely overwhelmed.
WARNING: micro-aggressions follow (maybe even macro) —
Yes nick, IMHO nuke them all and let he whose name shall not be mentioned sort them out. Any of these “refugees” we take in should have a loyalty test of standing on a bacon rug, wearing a bacon rob, and a bath in pigs blood
Friday on Fox News Channel they had a fill-in short on Ellis Island, a nice respite from all the 9-11 stuff. Reminded me of things that had settled to the basement of my brain. Highlights that stood out were the screening of everyone, mainly for diseases, but also for enough assets to establish themselves and a desire to truly assimilate. Sick people with money or a sponsor who were willing to pay spent from weeks to years in the infirmary. No free ride for anyone. No money, no desire to assimilate and you were sent back and the steamship company got a bill.
That’s just terrible! Thank goodness we’ve PROGRESSED so far and don’t do those horrible things to decent suffering people who are coming here out of love. But we have such a long way to go still!
Hard to nuke ’em when they’re already spread throughout your own pop.
This is already inspiring the neo-Nazi and extreme right-wing groups, and I expect that they will gain serious traction over the next few years. Which is not a pretty picture either.
That did not go so well last time. I wonder what the new name of Adolf is? Ten years (plus or minus) from now, the EU will be awash in civil wars and genocide. Kind of like Serbia 20+ years ago.
And always, always leave the door wide open to go home if they don’t like it.
My favorite rule of Sun Tzu. “Build your opponent a golden bridge to retreat across.”
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sun_Tzu#Disputed
Hard to nuke ’em when they’re already spread throughout your own pop.
The Goths are very accomplished and efficient at rounding up people when they want to.
I wsouldn’t have expected such common sense from a “liberal” Pope:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-09-15/pope-says-risk-that-militants-could-sneak-into-europe/6775842
@miles,
Still blaming it on lack of jobs and not islam
“These poor people are fleeing war, hunger, but that is the tip of the iceberg … because underneath that is the cause, and the cause is a bad and unjust socioeconomic system,” he added.
So still not worth listening to. When he says something ex cathedra, I’ll listen. Until then, he’s just another lefty going ‘me me me me’ on social media blaming the same old lefty villains.
Were there jobs in those areas before islam? At what time DID they have plentiful jobs? Then why expect that to be different after islam? Not known for its job creation. More known for its coercion and corrosive effects on individual achievement and western culture.
nick
“The Goths are very accomplished and efficient at rounding up people when they want to.”
I just heard the breathless and dumbfounded report from one of NPR’s correspondents on the German border; OMG, they’re installing steel fence posts and wire and more fencing and cement and concrete and spreading out their polizei along said border and mounted cops and helicopters and lions and tigers, oh my! As I was cheering them on with my sieg heils and singing the Horst Wessel song, it was all dashed to pieces when the reporter said the German gummint spokesman stated that they’d still take them in but it would be “…in an orderly fashion…” from now on.
“… More known for its coercion and corrosive effects on individual achievement and (suicidal) western culture.”
Fixed that for ya. We’re just gonna give in and kneel before the scimitars, most accepting full sharia and dhimmi status. When we start squawking, though, about the deleted tee-vees, earbuds, scanty Times Square hooker attire on teenage grrls and old fembats who should know better, Krispy Kremes, and NO ALCOHOL, there will either be a revolution too little and too late, or we’ll just be hanged from cranes and bulldozed into mass graves.
As I’ve said before, I would not put too much stock in MSM reports about what the Pope allegedly said off the cuff in chatting with some smartypants “journalist” or writer; as Mr. nick says, when he speaks ex cathedra on these matters and as part of official Church doctrine, I’ll start paying more attention. Right now we’re concerned with our local (conservative) Roman Catholic parish and its people, period.
You rang?
And don’t feel bashful about using my name or nickname. I seldom smite people for that.
I approve!
I disapprove!
“scanty Times Square hooker attire on teenage grrls…”
“I approve!”
Sure, me, too, if they’re up to a certain age (not 13, for example) and have it “going on,” as the kids used to say…
And some old fembats ain’t too bad, either, but I won’t use the term here in this uptight family venue….
My ex-wife’s best friend and her brother came to visit one time and the brother shared this bit of wisdom: If there’s grass on the field, play ball! IIRC, I gave him a skeptical look while his sister and my wife smacked him.
Grass on the field can grow at even younger than 13 so that ain’t a real good guide. And this also brings up the question, “Whose field?”