What did you do to prep… lately?

This week’s preps – Feb 23 (???) 2018

It’s not like I stopped prepping for the last 2 – 3 weeks, just nothing that fits into a nice little “what did you do to prep this week” label…

So what HAVE I been doing?

I got to go to my prepper group meeting on the 8th. As always it was good information, but the specific topic was something that really isn’t on my personal list of imminent threats. On the 15th I went to my monthly CERT group meeting. This was about situational awareness and the speaker was very good. Plus they gave out a free tool (gas shut-off wrench)…

Prepping for health…

I joined the gym at my work and I’ve actually been going. I also bought a pair of 30 lb dumbells and started using them. Even my normally critical wife has is noticing the difference in my smaller belly and (very slightly) bigger arms. My plan to not drink is working out well (OK, “pretty well”) as is my attempts to eat healthier foods,

Back yard preps…

I ordered two more blackberry plants (should get here next week) and started looking for some heirloom squash seeds.  Got some yard cleanup done. Bought two camping/survival stoves – a Kelly Kettle and a Solo stove and pot combo. Both burn wood so they should be fun to experiment with.

Misc. preps…

Talked to my kid about backpacking this summer. Took him to the REI store to look at packs. Found a nice kid-sized Osprey and tried it out. Clerk was very helpful. Adjusted the fit for us and loaded it up to let my son try it. He loved the pack except for the color. He wants a “military color.” Only problem is I can’t find a good kid’s backpacking pack in anything except bright blue or bright green. I think the pack makers are missing out on a good marketing opportunity here…

I joined ARRL and the NRA. NRA because after the recent rants from the left about the “need” to destroy the 2nd Amendment and anyone who supports it, I think it’s important to do something to support and show my support for our American Bill of Rights. ARRL because they’re an incredible technical resource for anyone interested in radio communications. Speaking of radio comm, I also got a couple of really good antenna design references…

What did you do to prep over the last couple weeks?

Peace out,
porcupine

Related Links:

Kelly Kettle
National Rifle Association
ARRL

What did you do to prep this week?

This week’s preps – Feb 04 2018

Prepping for me over the past week was not so much. My kid had the flu really bad. So bad that we spent most of Wed. night with him in ER getting checked out and hydrated. I did manage to get a couple things done though. I got a Hatfield SGL shotgun and a Daisy 880. Yesterday I spent some time with the Daisy in the back yard and today I took the Hatfield out. SInce I was taking the shotgun out I also brought my RIA GI Commander and shot it for the first time. It was really nice to get out. I haven’t been shooting in at least 8 months. Managed to pick up about 150 rounds of range brass too…

I’m working on learning skills that might be useful to others, so I picked up a torch and some copper pipe. I want to learn plumbing the old school way. Started researching how to build an Individual First Aid Kit (IFAK) based on this post from PrepperRalph and started getting supplies. Other than that, not a whole lot. It’s getting warm so I need to get off my lazy butt and start getting more things done.

Next week…

Next week is the monthly meeting of a prepper group I belong to. The topic will be Hawaii’s false missile alert. Should be interesting.

What did you do to prep this week?

Peace out,
porcupine

The best laid plans…

of mice and menMy AR-15 rebuild is temporarily SNAFU. I got my Daniel Defense MFR rail and I really like it (kind of wish I’d gotten the 13.5″ instead of the 10″ though). Like I’d hoped, the barrel nut is the same as the RIS-II. Good so far – no need to remove the gas block. Well, except… oops. When I thought I might have to take it off, I went to DD’s site to find out what kind of Loctite it uses for the screws. Major problem It won’t work with my gas block, which is also from Daniel Defense:

“* Does not fit within the MFR XS”

In my defense, I bought the gas block before the MFR rail was on the market. It’s pretty low profile so I had no reason to think it wouldn’t fit. No problem, I’ll just get a different gas block. I’m sure their Mk12 gas block will work, right? Wrong. OK, I’ll get a new rail. Geissele and LaRue both make quality stuff, they probably have a rail. Nope, at least not one as nice (or light) as the Daniel Defense MFR. So back to looking for a new gas block. Contacted Daniel Defense and they recommended one from SLR Rifleworks. It has two set screws and can also be pinned to the barrel. I’m not a big fan of set screw gas blocks. I don’t feel they’re as secure as the clamp-on style. Also, for this gun I don’t want to drill the barrel for a pinned block. So I guess I’ll order the gas block and dimpling tool and go from there. Not my first choice but it is what it is…

Maybe a new rail?

I did notice on DD’s web site that they have an XL version of the MFR rail that’s just a little fatter than the regular MFR. Maybe it is fat enough to work with the DD gas block? If so it will be tempting, but I already have too much money in this gun and I don’t want to drop another $279 for another rail. Besides, what would I do with my existing MFR? Sell it for a loss? I guess I could use it on an upcoming pistol build if the length is OK. Ah, the joys and frustrations of black rifle disease…

Peace out,
porcupine

Flu vaccine – Stupid is as Stupid does (or doesn’t)

flu-vaccine I had an interesting past two days. On Tuesday, my son had a high fever, sore throat, and chills so my wife kept him home from school and took him to urgent care. He tested negative for flu (more on that in a bit) and strep. They recommended ibuprofen for the fever and lots of water. She gave him ibuprofen and the fever came down. By Tuesday night he was fever free but vomiting. Yesterday, he couldn’t hold down food or water. When he wasn’t vomiting he was dry heaving. I took him back to urgent care. The gave him some meds to try and get his stomach settled down. We were there for about 3 hours and they couldn’t do anything for him. The medical technician was worried about dehydration since he hadn’t drank all day so he had us take him to ER.

Emergency Room (ER) vs. Urgent Care

We got him to ER around 8:00 pm it was a madhouse. I never realized how many people get sick at the same time. They checked him in right away and checked his vitals. Then we waited for a room. Finally they put us in a room at 11:00 pm. The doctor came in about 11:30. He had my son’s blood sugar level checked and tested again for flu. Turns out the hospital uses a flu test that’s 100% accurate. The test used at urgent care is only 70% accurate. It took a little over an hour to get the results back. My son did have the flu, Influenza B which is the same strain they’re vaccinating for this year. In other words, if we’d gotten our son a flu vaccine this year he wouldn’t have gotten the flu.

In the mean time they’d been treating him for nausea. By 1:00 am he could keep water down so we didn’t have to worry about dehydration. The doctor told us he was healthy enough to go home. By the time we finished up it was about 1:30 when we left the hospital.

I’ve never been big on getting a flu vaccine

I’ve never been big on getting flu vaccines for myself or my family. It seems like for awhile the only years I got the flu were the same years I got a flu shot. I have some close relatives that are always going on about how harmful flu shots really are. I never bought into the idea that flu shots were intentionally harmful, but the controversy kind of justified me not getting them. Well, in my mind at least…

Next year we’ll probably get flu vaccines. I didn’t like seeing my son suffer like he had to over the past couple of days. I’m sure I’m not going to like the ER bill when it gets here. And I keep hearing the words from the nurse:

If he’d gotten a flu shot this year, he wouldn’t have the flu right now.

OK. So next year, we’ll probably all (my family) get flu shots. I want to research it some more before I decide for sure. In the mean time, I’m looking into natural ways to boost our immune systems. That should help us to maybe not get the flu even if we don’t get flu shots. If we do get the flu, maybe it will help make the symptoms less severe. At least I hope. After all, the most important prep is to stay healthy…

Peace out,
porcupine