A new strain of dangerous bacteria suddenly appears in Europe---no progress on the federal budget or the debt limit yet ----our representative idiot government is vapor-locked as usual while the governments daily funding is coming out of their employee retirement accounts (that's a great fucking way to run a country eh?)----the stock market declines this week on the "news" that the economy we peasants have to live and work in is "bad"----a fact that the rich, the wall street traders and the fat cat bankers have apparently not yet noticed.....

I have been observing more and more individuals walking/sitting/panhandling on the roadside lately both in town and on the highway during my commute into work. This behavior is really a tough way to go where i reside---the desert is no place to be afoot...or just squatting watching the traffic go by....door to door salesmen have seemingly increased as well---selling everything from alarm systems to meat and seafood (?) from the back of a pickup truck---

I am forced to believe it is the state of the economy causing this...people are doing whatever they can or whatever extra they can do to get by----after a while tho---- people lose all hope working within a corrupt system to no avail and then it is a danger close scenario.

Projects that I have worked on lately include attaching the light weight, super small CRKT Ritter knife to my P32 ankle holster.....(with the results pictured below).

I first added skateboard tape to the knife's skeleton hilt to insure the ability to hang onto it even if it gets slippery and reduced the length of the lanyard that came with the knife. I then mounted the knife and it's Kydex click-in sheath to the left (gun opposite side) of the rig with Velcro. The holster's ankle strap will also enclose the knife and sheath insuring that it remains in place no matter what. This set up gives me a last chance option if necessary...working out the process was interesting.

I am also working on a pocket urban survival kit based around the tin that came with the above DRKT knife. When finished I want this little pocket kit to be focused on an urban environment rather than a "lost in the woods" survival type kit...below is a sample photo below of what i have accomplished so far---i will provide a complete listing of the contents, when I complete this project next week---i am waiting for a few medical supplies to arrive to finish this project off...

The only thing i feel as if i can control and enjoy at work is my personal items--my every day carry, my watches--weapons--carry bag--clothing. There is nothing else that i have control over as a mindless, hired, automaton. My kit then has become my Walter Mitty work mental escape plan--- and overwhelmingly important to me.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Mitty

I am consistently adding material to my everyday carry and I have a particular affection for knives and watches. I just received a Casio Men's G-7900-3DR G-Shock Green Resin Digital Dial Watch--- this particular watch is a soon to be discontinued model and was priced accordingly...i had planned on purchasing only solar powered watches but the asking price is way out of line now and as a result i plan on stocking up on batteries and purchasing a tool kit to make standard watch service/repairs....I cannot help myself when it comes to a new watch---it allows me to make it through another month at work---when all i want to do is run screaming into the desert---but i can prevent that by staring at my new piece of personal kit.

A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business.

Henry Ford

Every day carry update:

I have worked out how to construct my own Kydex sheaths for my every day carry knives. Pictured above and below is a sheath I finished today--constructed for a one off skeleton knife I purchased at a local gun show last year. The knife is excellent but came with a really shitty leather sheath. I started by cutting and fitting skateboard tape to the bare metal of the knife hilt area.

Then I started on the sheath---first obtaining supplies from Knifekits.com.

http://www.knifekits.com/vcom/index.php

There are any number of spots on the web that will explain how to create a Kydex sheath like this---so i won't bore you with repeating easily obtained information. The major fact I discovered is that pre-construction design and proper measurements is Way more important than what is mentioned in the how-to articles. I added a small tubular side compartment to carry a fire steel and striker..sheaths designed and made on your own offer unlimited possibilities for your personal use and equipment desires----I have just reordered additional Kydex supplies to make a few more sheaths for knives i own that I have not carried due to shitty sheath design...as i complete them I will post additional photos. I actually feel good about figuring this out....and enjoyed creating it.

Tonight was vegetable lasagna and a huge salad from the garden for my JoJo, a friend and I. Wonderful to offer vegetables straight from the garden to the table...my JoJo planted more beans today and something new for us----peanuts. We are going to see if peanuts do well in our climate (local legends say yes) and if successful we have our oil seed hand grinder that will allow us to make our own peanut butter. Producing our own peanut butter will free us from the Republican businessman salmonella peanut butter outbreaks which have occurred routinely over the past few years. Poisoning for profit is a unique to Republicans business practice---especially since the Republicans killed funding to the poison control hot lines across the country as well.....

Our corn looks like corn now--which is nice--but we are suffering from the worst drought in New Mexico since the Great Depression, or so the news advises...we are watering constantly now fighting the heat and drying high winds---and there has been no rain for the past nine months at all---we are lucky in that the Southern New Mexico cities are old and based on the oasis theory---The towns are where they are at because there is water here---not because people figured out how to transport water in as with many more modern towns in Nevada and Arizona.

Grow something---anything---if you do not then you will go hungry in the future.

This month's survival food purchase may seem strange---a full case of 50,blueberry, non-frosted pop tarts. Pop tarts are in many ways the perfect survival food--fits in a battle dress utility side pocket---shelf life forever since it is almost like food but less....can be eaten if crushed into small pieces by activity, if necessary...I have been saved several times in my life by having a pack of pop tarts in my bag or BDU pocket!! With dehydrated food impossible to find i decided to invest in using and storing a case of Pop Tarts----don't laugh!

My other survival purchase for this coming month is a CRKT mini knife which comes with and is designed to fit in a small tin. I am planning on attaching the mini knife---which is, no kidding, really mini---to my ankle holster which holds my Kel-Tec P32 summer semi-automatic....I am planning on creating my own urban mini survival kit to put in the small tin. I'll post photographs of both finished products.

The above small knife and sheath will be attached to the below ankle rig opposite the pistol.

Had to have it T shirt time continues--featuring the "Hey look, it's Enrico Pallazzo" Leslie Nielson, Naked Gun t-shirt---i will be counting the number of times someone recognizes it. Those who recognize the joke, will be people worth knowing....

In order to become the master, the politician poses as the servant.

Charles de Gaulle

Work, read, sleep, work repeat x 5 this week---

If not for our little homestead and my wondrous wife i would go insane....

We are eating full salads out of the garden now--JoJo has been working so hard fighting our lack of rain here in New Mexico--almost 10 months now without rain and the march winds are still blowing at the end of May---the rest of the country is flooding and we cannot get a drop---but thanks to my wife, the ultimate gardener---we are again enjoying fresh produce---our corn and potatoes show proof of life and hopefully will produce---but tomato's and peppers are dying and suffering in our area. This year i am very thankful that we are not yet dependent on our garden for all our food or to supply us through the winter---dependence on what an individual or a family produces is coming, make no mistake and this year has displayed to me how difficult that can be in our climate....at least we are doing much better than many other gardeners in the area...although that is little consolation.

Political love children, European power brokers attacking maids in their hotel rooms, the elite class is really working hard for us---no pun intended---I guess this is what is meant by trickle down ? We haven't even started the 2012 campaign yet which is really a race to see which republican candidate can keep their zipper zipped the longest....The economy has split in two with a depression economy which we regular people must live in, and an elite economy where the rich trade stocks and speak of the recovery.

If I see one of these "I'll be raptured on May 21st assholes" walking around on Sunday--does that mean that they are spiritual zombies and need to be dealt with?

I am a huge fan of little houses--micro houses i suppose you might call them...our homestead house is 1200 sq feet, but compared to the cube project our small house is a McMansion...how much space do you really need when it comes down to it?

The cube is constructed of currently available materials and products that are totally recycled and carbon neutral---solar roof panels provide necessary power and it is transportable by truck to where ever you wish to live---the entire cube fully equipped cost $52,000. Hit the link for an excellent video tour by the designer...why should anyone be homeless other than through the greed of bankers?

http://www.cubeproject.org.uk/

I so desire one of these Killspencer backpack's---I'll just have to save---very beaucoup expensive...but very hipster survivalist. Actually handmade in America---Take a look---

http://www.killspencer.com/category.php?id_category=6

A child of five would understand this. Send someone to fetch a child of five.
Groucho Marx

Throwing away a half-smoked cigarette is now considered an ostentatious display of wealth...if i get called in from a smoke break i cut the lit end off with my pocket knife saving as much cigarette as possible---only convicts and hobo's used to do this.....

My wife bought us one of those big bags of peanut M&M's as a treat the other day---the candies were all about the size of my pinkie nail---shrunken peanut M&M's are a sign of the end times....

Only we geezers quote Monty Python anymore.

About removing the outside rear view mirrors on my Prius to increase my mileage.

You notice rich people now, and know they are rich, when they are out and about in public.

Soon we will be hunting them.

More people are gardening---and not because they want to as a hobby but rather because of the price of fresh vegetables.

The Post office will soon be gone. Being a postman was considered a really good job when i was a kid...You were somebody important to the neighborhood...

Planetary bargains is an excellent online store--they actually wrote me when they got an XL

t-shirt that i wanted in stock ! How about that! Anyway I had to have this T shirt displayed below...

http://planetarybargains.com/

This week's reading was SOFT APOCALYPSE by Will McIntosh---Excellent--just excellent. This novel amazingly produces, in print, my own personal vision of the end of our society---not with a bang as in so many other books---but with a whimper----where leaving your porch light on at night is a purposeful display of wealth. It is the story of a group of normal people trying to survive first an economic crash and then a complete social crash over the course of multiple years. I have to admit that Soft Apocalypse is so good that it and THE ROAD have been the only end of everything books that have actually disturbed me while i was reading them----this is a well written book that gets you truly interested in the characters and you hope for them......I recommend.

http://willmcintosh.net/

In ordering firearms supplies the other day I remembered to purchase Glaser safety slugs for my ankle .32 auto. They are expensive but I'd been meaning to get some of these forever and consistently overlooked having to do this. Glaser Safety slugs force multiply the effect of any handgun caliber---especially smaller calibers like my .32 auto and prevent over penetration of your target at the same time. I really don't know how many people (other than me) carry Glaser's any longer---they are a use product of my generation..perhaps....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glaser_Safety_Slug

The Glaser safety slug first came to wide public attention in the excellent Michael Mann cult film, Manhunter, based on the novel Red Dragon by Thomas Harris. Michael Mann's films always display realism when it comes to firearms and their use....In MANHUNTER, FBI serial Killer specialist 'Will Graham' uses a Charter Arms .44 special revolver loaded with Glaser safety slugs, issued to him by the FBI hostage rescue team, against the physically powerful psychotic Francis Dollarhyde...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manhunter_(film)

these things will kick your ass

Only the educated are free.
Epictetus