SIT REP Open Thread

I have a few things I have to do today and I didn’t see any posts scheduled from CederQ so I thought this would be a good time to open it up for everyone.

As we are well aware, our very way of life is under attack 24/7 at this point and it is virtually impossible to keep up with the events that seem to unfold like they are coming out of a fire hose.

It has been a while now since we have had an open thread that started at a decent hour and gives folks a chance to report on events in their AO, their feelings on what is going on etc. so have at it. I would like to see some of the LURKERS pipe in here so we get some fresh perspectives too. Don’t be afraid, we don’t bite.

66 thoughts on “SIT REP Open Thread

  1. Gas: Nominal between $3.58 and $3.79 depending on the day
    Food: Fucking kill me now. OMFG… what -was- $50 in food is now $200 for sthe same shit.
    Mortgage: Went from $1010 per month to $1340, DESPITE lower taxes this year, escro is going thru the roof, insurance as well thanks to those two fucking hurricanes last year
    Ammo: Online, plentiful. Locally, Expensive and hard to find
    Guns: Local gunshop (owned by GunGirl) is under a nanoscope AFT investigation for no good reason other than pure fascism…
    Mood: VERY tense. EVERYONE out there… road rage every where I look… I carry NO MATTER WHAT when I leave the house… law? carry law? I care not of what you speak. 6/12 my choice.
    Hope yer feeling better, will try to call this week… same to the Derq

  2. Gas recently went down to $2.89 – $3.09. I should probably top up my storage, maybe even zip lock bags. I remember in the old days, everyone was withing a penny or two of each other. Not anymore.

    Weather was cool, then it suddenly isn’t. We have gotten quite a bit of rain this year. Last year, we had 2 inches going into September.

    It’s a struggle for me to not buy durable items that will allow me to work easier. I see the value of money decreasing, and that new paint sprayer is already more expensive. I’m glad my truck doesn’t run on paint. 40 a gallon for decent quality.

    • STxAR, paint for automotive purposes is running $300-$700 a gallon. And if I finish my Beaver’s painting I’ll be spending at least $300 this summer – depending on what my wife’s double bypass is going to impoverish us. Hunker down, everybody, The Suck is upon us. We’re a the fringes of the storm right now.

    • I’m fortunate in that I work at a community college, and as the semester winds down, students start tossing shelf-stable, un-opened foodstuffs. I’ve got more eggs than I know what to do with, and a couple dozen cans of soups and ravioli. And finals don’t even start until tomorrow! Gonna be a good harvest.

  3. We in great state of Alabama, I repeat Alabama have canceled a concert from Ted Nugent! This “New way of life” is getting very close to home! I think some are starting to stir! The wake up can’t be far!

    • NE Alabama up on one of the mountains. Work part-time in a box store in the city, people are complaining of the prices. Gas going down, under $3/gal. Wife pays the bills, things are going up. Food is up 20% from last year, I have been tracking that. Very little attitude change here, but I’m pretty rural. People are aware of the news, but other than prices it appears to be happening in another dimension. People if they do talk are decidedly UnPC. I get invited to a new church every 2-3 weeks (I have my own). Tourist season does not appear to have kicked off down at the lake. Cool spring and already getting dry (last year was a drought, don’t care what the govt. say) 50% of people at store Spanish is their first language.

  4. Lurker here from the top of Cali/middle of nowhere… gas is approaching $5/gallon. Some of our small town health care facilities are in financial trouble. I spoke with a local business that is having cash flow issues. Customers that used to pay their invoice in two weeks are now taking two months to pay. Many customers are late with their payments.
    Fortunately, we’ve got plenty of water. Lakes are almost full and creeks/rivers are running strong. Unfortunately, the muddy water has affected the start of trout season so the fishing is not great. We rely on tourists so I’m really hoping that the local campgrounds are full over Memorial Day weekend. They’re not even half full during the weekends right now.
    I appreciate your blog (and enjoy BCE’s as well)… thanks for keeping me educated 🙂

  5. Cheapest gas I could find yesterday was $4.09.
    I see $4.69 all over. That Rat Bastard Inslee slapped yet ANOTHER gas tax on us recently so we are fucking hosed no matter where we go. Haven’t looked over in Portland to see where they are at because Portland is a literal War Zone anymore.
    Went grocery shopping with the Wifely Unit for the first time in over a month.
    Yeah, getting bent over even farther there now also.
    $325 for a weeks worth of groceries.
    THREE HUNDRED AND TWENTY FIVE BUCKS A FUCKING WEEK!
    For 3 people.
    I absolutely have no idea how families with teen agers are doing it.
    Of course The Wife doesn’t cook anymore so everything comes out of a box but DAMN.
    It’s gone up FIFTY BUCKS since the beginning of the year.
    The roads around here continue to fall apart faster than they can dump a load of asphalt and roll over it with a truck.
    It’s getting really bad now. Entire stretches of road are nothing but pot holes and patch jobs.
    For miles.
    They continue to build multiple unit complexes on any spot of dirt bigger than a postage stamp and there are sections of town that I do not recognize anymore because of it.
    The Homeless have multiplied to the point that they are camping on the streets right in downtown Vancouver, two blocks from the Courthouse, along with everywhere else. Small businesses are boarding up their windows to keep the fuckers from breaking them out at night and stealing them blind.
    Almost every day heading to work I will see at least two assholes who can’t be bothered to get out of bed on time going over a hundred fucking miles an hour and passing people on the shoulders trying to make it to work on time.
    It’s nucking futs on the freeways around here in the mornings.
    The thing is, it isn’t the little Rice Rockets, it’s Full Size 3/4 Ton 4WD Diesel Trucks doing it.
    I fully expect to see debris and body parts all over the road one of these days.

  6. 3.09 for ethanol blend.

    Food is up but still available. Course we live in the bread basket.

    Whatever. The wheels are definitely wobbly.

  7. Back in Jan of 2020 a blogger mentioned covid by name prior to DJT. Something ding donged in my head and blogger mentioned storing up on food. Amazing what that has done for my food bill. Gas is $3.01 yesterday. Sold my 3800sq.ft. home last summer. Currently living in 1300sq.ft. 2 bed/2 bath tri-plex out in country for $650 per month. Last year we had -0- murders and robberies were down. No homeless on any streets and had 1 demonstration with about 40 people who met at courthouse, made a loop and wound up back at courthouse. Everyone shook hands and went home.

  8. Price of coffee keeps going up. I’ve cut down on my consumption. Gas and groceries mostly holding steady – gas about $3.20/gal for regular. Good thing I don’t drive much.

    Saw a headline about the influx of migrants into Denver. Didn’t read the article – the head was enough for me.

    The CO legislature seems determined to regulate and ban as much as possible in the waning days of the session, and property taxes are going to go way up – well, not the rate so much as the valuations. I’m living in fear of a possible rent increase.

    Oh, and here’s an update on public indoctrination, errr, “schooling”:
    https://billllsidlemind.blogspot.com/2023/05/colorado-education-drops-mask.html

    I don’t have the resources to move away – just getting by, and trying to pay down some debt, but still have a little fun too.

    On the bright side, the weather has been quite nice lately.

  9. People up here stopped wearing masks for about 3 weeks, after shifty inslee decreed they are not required, then started wearing them again, which tells me they are still being mindless drones, just following instructions. Regular gas is 4.35 to 4.55 and diesel is 5.65 to 6.00 depending on the company, food prices are what BCE said, the overall atmosphere for individuals is beyond weird, don’t have a specific word for it, just off kilter.

    Does igor bite? might want to use a disclaimer there. chuckling

    • I might gum you to death, Grog.

      The hospital staff were (mostly) NOT wearing face diapers unless they were in a high-precautionary area. Since my wife was in ICU until noon yesterday you would think mask-wearing was required, but apparently not – discretionary, I imagine.

  10. Battening down the hatches and preparing for the long slog through next years fake election.
    Selling everything we don’t need and reinvesting it in stuff the (fuck those guys) can’t touch. Downsizing bigly.
    Gas and food prices in central Wyoming have fluctuated a bit, but stay high. We’re buying a lot online instead of supporting the local supermarket wallet rapists.
    People are for the most part oblivious, even out here in the wilderness.

    • NE Alabama, Oblivious or not talking about it? I watch people at the stores and what they buy, I would agree most are oblivious, but there are a few who are preparing and aren’t saying a word.

      If you have prepped, keep quiet. After hurricane Katrina a blogger in Puerto Rico reported that by day 5 people had decided it wasn’t fair the generator and gasoline he bought prior to the hurricane was being used by him, it should belong to everyone. Too many have been taught others should take care of them and that envy and greed are the guiding emotions of the day. If you are prepped, be ready to loose weight and blend in. Don’t forget your puppies.

      Decide now which of your family is going to get your help, even if you have to go get them. Lots of folks are going to lay claim to your preps.

      Potatoes hide well in a flower garden. Just sayin’

      • They’re oblivious, either their nose is stuck in their phone all day or they’re too dumb to see what’s happening.
        One of my good friends is early retirement kind of wealthy and he still got jabbed so he could go moose hunt in Canada.
        Oblivious.

  11. Gas is $4.27/gal right now here in Washingtoon State, I run to Idaho when I want gas at a reasonable price. Moving to upstate Idaho is looking more and more favorable…

    Food prices for prepared items going through the roof. Fast food isn’t fast, is subject to shrinkflation, and even the nicer restaurants (when we can afford to go out!) are minimum $100 for two people for a nice meal (excluding tax, license, and undercoating)!!

    I avoid Downtown when I can, avoid the freeways during rush hours, and in general stay put “just because” although I need more range time. So does the wife, but since they had to crack her chest she won’t be doing any shooting for 5-6 months.

    That’s all for now.

  12. I’m not worried about anyone biting. I am concerned that all the proper vaccinations have been taken sine your puppy shots.

  13. Here in Santa Rosa CA: gas at 5.00/gal, grocery shopping sucks ass. There are more normal folks around than I thought. I get many positive comments and gestures on my attire( pro2A and anti kidsniffer pedofile biden shirts).Lots of liberals wearing their virtue mask alone in their Teslas.

  14. Food prices suck. Gas mediocre between 3.55-3.70. Lumber still ridiculous. Local politics is just as much BS as the natuonal. Small town schools have just as much woke as the big cities, if not, more.

    On the home front, all plant starts have taken and doing well, cold crops are planted, second greenhouse has windows installed, 270 gallon water totes are filled and just got another one, all barrels are filled, and pantries just got rotated and restocked.

    Uncovered my welder outlet and fired that up. First time welding and I am horrible at it. Going to need a lot of learning and practice there. First project was a pallet breaker. Looks like crap, but nothing the grinder and spray paint can’t take care of. Lumber stockpile is growing. Now that snow is gone and ground is firmer, I get to continue developing the new property.

  15. Scoutergreg here,
    We had a very bad episode Friday night, an 83 year old widow was beaten (broken bones, etc.) in Grosse Pointe Park, her wallet and car were stolen, by her late husband’s former caregiver (who had stolen the victim’s debit card last year and took $100K out of her bank). Unfortunately, the victim foolishly answered the door at 3AM. The thief wore the same cat facemask that she used to wear while caring for the late husband, so it was easy to identify here, the thief has been arrested, so let’s hope there is a speedy prosecution this time.

  16. As always, my heart bleeds for all youse struggling in the colonies. I just did the sums and the cheapest diesel around here in the middle of England is the equivalent of $7.42 a US gallon. The other day I bought ground Colombian coffee at Lidl for the equivalent of $4.54 a pound.

    • You’ve got it much worse than us over there, Jannie.
      Keep the faith.

  17. last trip to the VA I saw less people wearing the mask. about time too.
    gas is 3.79 to 4.50 depending on what you buy. I like the non corn stuff-4.50
    have to refill a few cans here again. yes, I add Stabil to every one of them too
    coffee is something I keep on the shelf, already have 2 cases of it and I buy more every time we go shopping. local store brand is very good and when we shop on Thursdays I get at 10% off with a vets discount- that adds up fast too.
    ground beef has gone up a bit. I buy a 10 pound tube at 2.49 a pound. cook it all up, split into 1 or 2 pound bags to toss in the freezer. great for chili, taco’s whatever. now it at 2.95 a pound. in town, same beef is 4.99 a pound.
    packages of food are getting lighter or smaller. bread has gone up.
    at first the wife was bitching about the amount of food I would buy to stack on the shelfs. she doesn’t anymore. eating out has gotten insane. Denny’s or Perkins
    is at least 45 bucks for 2 without tip. 8-10 bucks for a burger ?
    I buy all of my ammo online as it is way cheaper that way. the local store has a fair amount by any gun store standard. really, like 6-8 shelfs of ammo. handgun and rifle. seems weird to see a 20 round box of 30/06 for 49 bucks though.
    might get some more shotgun ammo, although I do have a couple of cases of it already. both buckshot and slug and a fair amount of “hunting ammo” too.
    and it does seem like people are getting fed up faster these days.
    as BCE says there is a lot of road rage out there. we do most trips to town in the “off hours” as much as we can. the normal work times, like 7-9 is when you see the worst of it. same for the time between 4-6 pm. I keep 2 tear gas cans in the truck just in case anyway. plus a few extra magazines and a spare box of ammo
    for the carry gun.
    was talking to my one neighbor and he has the idea they are just fucking with us to get us to flip/crack up or whatever so they can impose martial law.
    and he is ex SS down in the dump of clowns. as he says. they all smiles for the photo ops and real shit after the lights are off them.
    he also agrees that most of them should be shot in the face or hung by their balls
    he in favor of that way the most. they seem to have a problem as well with keeping people. he retired about 3 years ago and they ask him to come back like
    2-3 times a year since. his one kid was thinking about the marines until we talked
    and he changed his mind and going to become a pipefitter instead. smart kid !
    one other thing, you don’t see as many full shopping carts in the check out line these days. we use 2 carts when we go and people just stare, until I tell them it is a once a month deal. but I bet most people have less than 2 weeks worth at home anymore. not looking good folks

  18. Gas is $3.14 to $3.59 across 31 local stations reporting on Gas Buddy. $3.29 where I buy gas. The median price is $3.34.

    Last Thursday my food bill for one week’s worth of groceries, with some stock up items coming to about 1/3 of that total, was $141.00.

    Crime is pretty low here, as usual, although we’re still experiencing, what I would term high drug related crimes, OD’s and trafficking. The local constabulary does a decent job on the traffickers, busting a half to a dozen seems like every week. Bust one ring and another pops up. Opportunity presents itself in the vacuum left by the recent bustees. Unlike NYFC, the local DA’s lock these people up.

    I live in a constitutional carry state, so that’s a crime deterrent as well. I see several people at the grocery store every week with strange looking bulges in places where there shouldn’t be one.

    If you get a chance go read Kuntsler’s latest piece here, via CFP:
    https://kunstler.com/clusterfuck-nation/pretend-to-the-end/

  19. I make simple and delicious grub like this on the reg.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaaI9mquljg .
    Can’t do much other than smile more and prep with barter in mind. It may seem, at times, that we are alone but I see lots of like minded people everywhere. Those that I interact with are holding onto their boomsticks!

  20. Alberta.

    110 wildfires raging in our province. A lot seem suspicious and the NDP (our communist political party) are trying to use them for political gain going into the provincial election. RCMP forcing people out of mandatory evac zones but cant seem to stop looters from stealing from homes in the evac zone.

    Gas is now $1.89 a liter so over $7 a gallon. Food prices are up double over last year. Food banks begging for donations.

    I’m not in an evac zone but one of my work sites is. 24000 people displaced by these fires.

    Fuel shortages because of all the people fleeing, province asked people not in evac areas to stop non neccissary travel to save fuel.

    • Fire will definitely be used to burn those of us in the country out and force us into the 15 minute cities.

  21. Lurker here in the middle of Iowa – it’s sort of ‘stable’ here and not crazy. Sure, prices are still up (inflation) and there are still supply issues for some things but we are doing ok. Took a drive around this weekend and there are a bunch, I mean lots of commercial property builds going on and a very substantial amount of housing (single family) and several apartment/multi family units being built. This has to account for multi-millions in investment and helps the economy.

    A single shooting downtown makes the major news on a local basis as it is still ‘unusual’ for around here. Local ner-do-wells, the homeless and such seem to be in check – they are around but don’t cause much trouble. Legislature just got out and passed a bunch of “anti” bills to keep the CRT crap out of schools and also put more law on the books to contain the trans crap and sharply restrict any of the involvement with kids. We’re sort of the Florida of the North… Minnesota, our crazy neighbor is the California of the North.

  22. Treasure Coast FL, gas average is around 3.29 regular, diesel 4.79. Food is well stocked with prices rising weekly, shop the sales and the BOGO’S. took a huge auto insurance increase with zero change of status and still went up 1400.00. Homeowners insurance on the other hand barely increased, something like 20.00 bucks. Weather staying comfortable even this late into spring. Everyone seems more on edge with the exception of medical personnel, still very pleasant folks all around. Local hospital and offices dropped the face diaper shit about two weeks ago (about freaking time). My favorite thing is still the guy who drives his pickup with this gigantic “Fuck Joe Biden” flag on a flagpole in the truck bed. I keep it much more low key with my FJB badge on my truck made to resemble regular badges. Plenty ammo and guns available at all local gun shops.

  23. Kiwifarms.net is under attack from a tranny named ‘liz fong jones’, AGAIN. funny how when you point to something that has been posted and say ‘i dont agree with this person’ it causes dickless men to lose their everloving minds. I am so done with my freedom of online speech being stomped on by a eunich. More and more i see the truth in the rhetoric/propaganda. The news stories are not painting a favorable light on this freaks. Children being castrated and mutilated, men assaulting women in womens prisons, and creeps telling children how to buy diy hormones from brazil.
    Kiwifarms has done more in exposing truth about animal rapists, child rapists, and grooming activity than the fbi at this point.
    But yet, i have ‘Amnesty International’ knocking on my door advocating for “better” gun laws. (I can read between the lines.) God forbid you say children shouldnt be on sex changing hormones, but damn the people with guns!
    Portland or is something else. I cant imagine not being here, but holy crap i cant stand being in downtown with people dying on the street or people coming into resturants begging for money.
    Im so despondant sometimes, but i want this crap to stop.

  24. Prepped my ass off for the last 20 years so I’m no longer concerned about the minutiae of the now daily BS inflicted upon us. I’m thinking the real show is about to start on the 11th when Title 42 expires and millions of young, military aged men start pouring through our southern border and the *President* proves beyond any doubt that his administration is not capable of handling the most basic of Executive functions…..namely Protecting the United States of America from military invasion.

    I’m also looking forward the destruction of the banks, markets, dollar and world reserve currency and the deep state not being able to do fuck all about it. It’ll be good to shed all that dead weight and bring back the Constitutional money.

    All in all things are looking up IMO and the popcorn is quite tasty! It’s a great time to be alive!

  25. Central Texas here, North of that weird city. Gas is $2.85. Traffic is horrendous. What used to be a 40-45 minute commute is now hour fifteen or hour twenty.
    My thought on the next prez election: it will once again be rigged.
    Doesn’t mean you should capitulate and not vote; that is stupid. BUT, the “fix is in” and we will be governed by another group of demoncrats.

  26. I paid over 6 bucks/gal to fill the Harleys with 91 octane last week. There is still no rational explanation onf why Arizona has the highest gas prices in the country.

  27. Cincinnati area. Gas went below $3 per gallon at a few places this week. Don’t know how long that will last. Restaurant prices creeping up, and some items dropped from menus (supply chain problems). Grocery prices continue to rise, and the sales are not as generous as they were just a few months ago.

    Downtown is becoming more dangerous, but the local media don’t cover much, and especially don’t mention race. “Vibrancy” is good, right?

    Many of our neighbors are keeping chickens now, and planting gardens. Most of our heavy work in the garden is done–converting a large percentage of our lawn to flowers and veggies. No way we can grow all our food on a corner lot, but we can grow enough to supplement our grocery purchases, and maybe have some to trade with neighbors for eggs, etc.

    Still able to attend church without harassment. No matter what happens, remember: We’ve read the end of the Book, and God wins!

  28. Trouble with being old is remembering how it was even when times seemed bad (1968 anyone?). Got most of my problems solved … most. Trouble is, I need to decide – can only do one. Ruger 556, S&W M&P15, Marlin 336? No Amish nearby though. Probably MS13 though. Tricky Dickey wasn’t so bad, was he? Neither was Jimmy. LBJ is still a prick though.

  29. 100% gas was $3.79 last week. Buying more food staples and learning to make dinners from scratch, timely adventure but better tasting than the boxed or pre-made crap they pass off as food.

    Shopping at the “Going out of Business” stores. Usually can find a few gems at a good price. Always dig through the clearance bins at all stores.

    Doing more and more shopping online because of the better deals. FedEx delivery no longer reliable. Always getting notifications it will be late. Nice delivery man, he has milk bones for my dog.

    Growing food, canning and dehydrating it. I am busier now that I am retired than when I was working.

    Very concerned about next week and the border onslaught. They will eventually make their way up I 35 to Oklahoma. Most of my neighbors clueless.

  30. The feds unsealed an indictment and brought up a few dozen gang members on RICO charges. That helps, but the Twin Cities is looking a little more like Mogadishu every day. There was a helicopter flying nearby the other night, not sure what that was about.

    A U.N. team made a visit to talk about preserving the human rights of black criminals. George Floyd’s brother was there.

    Aldi put in half a dozen self-checkouts. Food, some things have gone up, but there are still some deals. Gas prices hovering under $4 a gallon.

  31. Living in the only Military town in Idaho right off of I-84 with a very busy major Union Pacific railway artery running through town. Tracks closed down last weekend while Union Pacific crews replaced tracks at road crossings and all along the route in town. Fuel in $3.40 for regular ethanol fuel with real gas going for $3.88, and diesel at $5.30. Food is still plentiful in our local Walmart, Albertson’s, and Grocery Outlet however prices continue to rise. Being retired USAF I am able to shop at the Base Commissary providing a significant cost savings for most meat products and eggs (when you can find them in stock). Lots of folks I know and talk to in town are in prepper mode with several commenting on my purchases of essentials to add to their own bug out bags. Have been prepping since 2004 when I noticed the subprime loans and the eventual outcome in 2007. Running out of room to store essentials.

    We have had an influx of refugees from CA and WA Puget Sound adding about 1,000 new homes in our town quickly becoming a bedroom community for nearby Boise (45 miles away). Most of them don’t seem to have a clue about the shitshow coming down the tracks.

    Wife recovering from slow growing Stage 1 Level 1 Breast Cancer (removed, radiated, and being treated with estrogen blockers). Discovered thanks to an annual mammogram and treatment complete within 4 months of discover. Neither of use took the clot shot thanks to surfing blogs like this one. Wife is the one thing keeping me coloring within the lines. Apparently, God wants me to behave (for now).

    With all the craziness going on I never leave the house unarmed and try to keep my head on a swivel when out and about. Most folks are carrying here, and it would be suicide for an active shooter to open up anywhere other than the local gun free zones (schools and the Air Force Base). I always de-arm when I leave my vehicle on base (don’t want any Imperial entanglements).

    We don’t really have a homeless problem here due to no services to attract them. The only foreign nationals we have here are from the local Foreign Military Sales Singapore Air Force Squadron or migrant workers coming up from Mexico to work the local farms or ranches now that Spring is finally showing up in our AO.

  32. Mostly a lurker, but occasionally comment. Life is shit right now. Lost my dad quite suddenly a couple of weeks ago. Trying to get Mom situated because she needs constant help and monitoring. Been at their house since it happened and away from my home.

    Dad hated the gubmint with a mad passion. He woulda stood up with our Forefathers and again with Lee and Jackson. He spent the last 26 years of his life battling the IRS and the bureaucracy on behalf of others. Cost him loads, and, most likely, ultimately his life (the constant strain of his fight against Them and taking care of my mother did him in far too early).

    While I despise TPTB just as much, or maybe even more, I’m not sure if I should take his example as a call to duty or an example of how not to do it. I served, and have more problems from that than I ever should have. I despise what DoD has become, more than any other of the DoXs, because there is a vital and clear mission that has been gelded. It is a full on travesty for which the domestic part of “enemies foreign and domestic” should have already called for action. Embarrassing.

    We are being invaded, our energy went from independence to begging and prostrating to foreign enemies, our food is not even close to secure, neither is our power grid, and Jesus Christ is enemy #1 while pedos openly run around sexualizing and mutilating children.

    Phil, I really hope you get some mending and get much better very soon. There are not a whole lot like us left, and the sheer knowledge and wisdom you carry is needed far too much.

    And the Derka derka is funny, but the headgear is missing.

    • Hey Brewer, I’m really sorry for your loss.
      I mean that. I can appreciate how you feel as I too recently lost my dad. I suppose plenty folks here have. Seems anything else I would say might come across as sappy. So I just wish you peace as you go forward in the process.

  33. main problem we have here in central va is keeping the power on. it goes out about every week now, usually on the weekend. somebody must need the overtime. at 0400 this morning our substation “blew up” whatever that means. practice makes fast repair time, power back on already.

  34. Over on the dry side local gas is 4.39 and up. Food, what little we purchase from a store, is up while shelves have fewer selections and less depth. Still putting away some long term staples here and there but we’ve been playing this game for longer than being a prepper has been fashionable, so there’s not much to add.

    99.99999999999 percent of people here are completely oblivious to what’s coming down the pike. Yes I made that percentage up on the spot but that doesn’t make is less true, folks just don’t grok how bad things are going to become. If you sit in the parking lot of the local store you will see the same folks run into the store night after night to get a few things for dinner that night. During a prolonged shortage they are going to suffer mightily.

    I’ve mentioned it before but we continue to have more and more strangeness wander into our location. Just last night I had to run off two purple haired, well I don’t know how they identified so I’ll just toss out people who were planning on building a fort along the creek more or less in our back yard. My pointing out they were on private property didn’t seem to sway them but pointing out the apiary just a hundred feet away kept me from having to initiate a more forceful action to get them to move along. Along with a lot of others I carry all the time anymore when out of the house. In the house, well let’s just express that every room has what it needs should the need arise.

    Slowly getting the truck garden ready to go. The greenhouse if full of starts waiting on the weather to fully move from late winter to summer. Raspberries are looking like a bumper crop and strawberries are already blooming. I’m not sure about the gooseberries. They set a lot of early blooms then got hammered by a frost. Ditto the apple trees. That’s the tough thing about growing your own food here. In the last fifteen years we’ve had a damaging or killing frost ten times around the fourth of July.

    Slowly starting to rebuild my apiary by installing six nucs. Last fall I ended up being two days to two weeks from meeting my maker. All my fall chores fell by the wayside as a result. Winterizing my apiary was one chore that didn’t happen and I lost 19 of my 20 colonies over the winter. Such a devastating loss. I was almost crying cleaning the deadouts.

    My next burger, roasts, steaks and assorted beef cuts is running around on all four. It will be another month or two before the freezers are empty enough to warrant knocking it down. The one for after that is just a long yearling at this point. That takes care of beef for the next year plus. Beyond that point in time I figure we’ll be living in interesting times and we might be eating wild game for meat. I really need to throw another hog or two into the mix but I need to get caught up and be feeling better before adding another chore to the list but a man can’t live well without bacon.

    As Phil pointed out a short time ago our illustrious leader has signed into law a bunch of anti gun legislation. Fuck him and the horse he rode in on. See that hunk of 6061-T6 sitting on the bench. That just completely negates most of his diktat. As far as the rest of it goes that’s just a box of misc springs, pins and pieces. As far as my right enumerated by 2A… I just deleted the last couple of sentences, don’t want to appear to be fed posting.

    Just before his latest onslaught the youngest daughter picked up a Kimber Hunter in .06. This is the first more or less mass produced firearm I have ever seen that shot sub MOA right out of the box. I take that back, the oldest son has a relatively new Bergara in .06 that shoots MOA or better. Anyway back to the Kimber I pulled a load recipe out of my ass for barrel break in. She plunks herself down at the bench and shoots .54 MOA three shot strings repeatedly. Now this gun has a light barrel and is intended as a hunting rifle so I’m not worried about shooting long strings with it. With a little load development after the barrel speeds up and bedding the action I figure it will only shoot better. As light as the rifle is she will have no trouble packing it around the mountains chasing elk. The only thing about the rifle I don’t really like is the lack of bottom metal and molded in trigger guard. The stock is easily replaced if the need arises so my feelings are basically moot.

    We finally have the 300 PRC’s shooting really well. It took a trip back to the factory on one of them but now they are real performers. A few weeks back my oldest son was banging an eight inch gong at 1K with ease. That was with 6.5 MOA (around 68 inches for those that don’t compute MOA) hold off for the wind. I really had to settle down and take my time, along with moving back to the bench and sandbags, to match him whereas he stayed prone off a bipod. Our next effort will be to stretch them out to one mile. I’ll probably have to invest in a Kestrel for that effort and longer ranges. As a side note and contrary to popular convention load development was a pain in the ass for these guns. Even now neither of them will shoot the others preferred load well. This illustrates the need and benefit of hand loading and having a deep inventory of components on the shelf.

    On the personal front I’m having a hell of a time getting back into top form after my close call last fall. I’m starting to think my days of working fourteen to sixteen hours days, seven days a week are a thing of the past. Once I hit around ten hours in a day I’m ready to park my carcass in a chair with my feet up. I’m hoping that as the summer progresses and I allow myself more time things will improve. My last visit with a doc he expressed the way I’m bouncing back I should be pretty near normal by this fall. I sure hope so cause I don’t want to have to cancel another elk hunt for poor health.

    I’m rambling so I need to stop. Blessing on you, as an old friend used to express when leaving.

    wes
    wtdb

    edited to add – I sometimes go long on guns and shooting but it is a very serious sport for us. If a gun is not shooting well it is time to figure out what is wrong and fix it or retire the weapon. We really don’t have the inclination to get formally involved in say F-Class type shooting but wringing out the absolute best performance we can from out weapons is an imperative. We are constantly striving to improve our shooting skills, loading tools and technique, along with components used to get the very best out of our weapons whether they be a pistol, bolt gun or modern sporting rifle. If we can’t shoot substantially better than MOA with a bolt gun longer range shooting just becomes an exercise in wasting components. So forgive me for going on about shooting and bragging on my kids and their shooting.

    • Wes, thanks for the update, and we NEED more of you and your kids. You know why.

      Stay healthy, stay happy (all things considered), stay alert. The world definitely needs more ‘lerts.

      • Will do and the best and our prayers for your wife’s full recovery.

        If you don’t have easy access and ever want to reach out to as much as 1K let me know, we’re only about an hour + west of you I believe.

        wes
        wtdb

  35. anybody else buy chlorine for their pool? the fukkin tablets? wtf
    central flahduhh
    gas, up & down 3.35-3.70
    food- ridiculous
    insurance- robbery
    real estate- 725k for 250k house, bizarro world

  36. West of the Swamp in the Virginia Piedmont here, Diesel has been dropping from Wintertime high of $5.65 to below $4 and still dropping, so I’m using from the Tanks until I see it stabilize or go Up. Food is still going Up, giving serious thought to planting a Garden in the side-yard, where the Horses can’t get to it, but the Rabbits will have to be Eaten first for that to work. Early Spring was Dry, but a Week of Rain now has the Grass halfway to the First Cutting for Hay. Crime seems remote, confined to the Barrios, but cockroach gangbangers have suffered cases of FAFO when trying to Rob the Gas Station/Corner Store places.

    Most people are still Oblivious as to what is coming this way, as things are still rather ‘normal’ here. I’m waiting to see the Streaks of Light as the Avangard Shells go into the Swamp, we are West and far enough away that even >if< Ivan loads them with Nukes, it shouldn't be too much of a Danger.

    Want some Entertainment? If you see any .Mil types in Uniform, ask them when they think they will get Deployed to country 404 to fight those Evil Russkies…. Deer in the Headlights has Nothing on them.

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