Updates on items or issues presented in previous blogs:

I've received my Forbus holster and magazine pouches for my New Walther P-22 pistol as well as the two spare magazines I ordered. They are all excellent. The Forbus holster fits like a glove and the pistol and equipment is so light when worn that i may forget i am carrying it. Most excellent.

The un-issued Dutch Military shirts i located and purchased came in this week and they were in perfect condition and a perfect fit for a change! I'll be wearing these next week at work as part of my Geezer Tacticool clothing line. My plan is to stick with the Northern Countries Fat Guy Militarises surplus equipment from now on.

I am currently reading "Wired for War" by P.W. Singer. An excellent book so far on Predator drones, other military robots and their future in combat---very,very interesting. Like I always say---"speak to my killer robot..."

I completed reading "Climate Wars" & "Metatropolis" both are excellent in their areas. I have been very happy in my reading choices lately. Climate wars was especially gratifying to my personal theories since the author Gwynne Dyer and i hold the same beliefs on the future."Metatropolis" was not that great of a SF collection, don't waste your time.

My coffee and cigarette consumption levels are way down but of course could go lower which is my next goal. I just came inside from working on the cruiser bike i am building for my wife which is going well---My latest news on computing and gardening each have a complete entry below. Once the horrible month of July passed the world seemed to right itself towards me.

My AMFMSW little rubber radio works excellent and sounds tremendous through a set of really good folding headphones I have....I haven't picked up SW yet--probably because of the time and location i have used it at.

My French Army Musette bag just came in is and it is excellent!----needs some cleaning before use but hey it is perfect surplus other than that....it is large enough to carry my stuff, in it's one main leather lined compartment, and i think it will be an excellent carry bag. Pictures to follow when i get everything transfered.

UPCOMING?

Continue work on building Jojo's bicycle, do more Art,especially watercolor, cut back even further on smokes, continue to plan for the end of our current society while trying to be the best person i can be.

WORK

Work however is always work.....and is always there. My major enjoyment at work currently is growing my hair and wearing my Geezer Tacticool clothing and waiting for the company hit men to come for me.

Last week the Director sent forth Consultants to interview managers on the status of the units and review our concerns or input. I am too old for this..how many "we are going to change our way of doing things" surveys and interviews i have sat through in my career i cannot begin to tell you. Each of these wondrous opportunities to have ownership in what we do---has produced the same thing------bad business as usual. I wish they would have just given me what the four consultants were paid to buy me out to retire early....no chance of that wondrous, ownership change however. No chance.

Learning to, at least partially, feed yourself and your family off of whatever land or roof or balcony you may have is an absolutely necessary skill in our upcoming new lives. Survival during the long descent will rotate around access to personally or locally produced food not only for consumption but for trade.

This years garden production at our urban homestead has been excellent. We did not get any melons, watermelons or corn for some unknown reason but everything else produced beautifully....tomato's, potato's, squash, beans,cukes, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, pumpkins already, herbs, beans.....

We are constantly eating complete meals supplied only by our garden and have almost too much surplus to put away--- At this moment, right now, with our garden and my air rifle we could live for 3-4 months. Being vegetarians makes this easier. In a crisis i might have to add "urban" meat (squirrels, rabbits, cats) via my air rifle to replace the loss of certain proteins, and fats that we are unable to produce from our 50'x90' lot. Only if I absolutely had to do this tho would i consider it---the greatest thing with eating vegetables only is the lack of guilt.

We are now planning our canning, dehydrating and storing process for our produce. Since we did not do the Farmers Market this year I have been gifting the excess----to those who cannot or will not garden----or trading for items such as Pears from a neighbor's tree-----in the future all excess will go to trade for our own missing requirements or desires. If you had to---right now---to eat only what you have in the house, stored, or in the garden how many days would your food supplies last?

This is a scary thought for most people and that is exactly why they refuse to think of it or to even inventory their food on hand. This has been for the majority of the human race the primary thought for thousands of years---do i have food or where is my next meal coming from?

I believe i may have found a answer to my Nokia N810 keyboard woes.

http://www.cyberguys.com/

I ordered a roll up Blue Tooth keyboard from Cyberguys that may just be what i have been wanting. I really enjoy using my little Nokia with the exception of the thumb keyboard. I am from the no thumbing generation so it takes me 20 minutes to text someone 3 lines on my phone. So creating an email on the N810 could push me over the thumb board edge.

This roll up, AAA battery powered, soft keyboard when compacted is the size of a TV remote--and is stashed in it's own small stuff sack. I can only hope that the N810 recognizes the keyboard via blue tooth and allows me to use it.

I am of the belief that the Internet will remain in operation through the complete long descent. In my belief structure the Internet may be the last standing symbol of the old world Much like in Children of Men where society was screwed but everyone had access to technology that did them no good.

Ultra Mobile Personal Computing may wind up being the last possible way to communicate utilizing pirated or public access networks in your daily life. You may have to take the opportunity of hacking into networks and doing what you have to do, when the opportunity arises. This may be due to an up and down nature of power and/or the Internet. It may be due to the financial collapse of home Internet cable providers. This type of UMPC may allow me to remain logged in long after traditional systems have collapsed.

It's a good excuse for doing something i enjoy anyway.

"My mommy always said there were no monsters, no real ones, but there are..."