Posts Tagged ‘prepper’

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Prepping Sales Tax Holiday This Weekend

Thursday, April 24th, 2025

There’s another Texas Emergency Preparation Supply Sales Tax Holiday sneaking up on us this weekend. The following items are covered:

These emergency preparation supplies qualify for tax exemption if purchased for a sales price:

  • Less than $3000
    • Portable generators.
  • Less than $300
    • Emergency ladders.
    • Hurricane shutters.
  • Less than $75
    • Axes.
    • Batteries, single or multipack (AAA cell, AA cell, C cell, D cell, 6 volt or 9 volt).
    • Can openers – nonelectric.
    • Carbon monoxide detectors.
    • Coolers and ice chests for food storage – nonelectric.
    • Fire extinguishers.
    • First aid kits.
    • Fuel containers.
    • Ground anchor systems and tie-down kits.
    • Hatchets.
    • Ice products – reusable and artificial.
    • Light sources – portable self-powered (including battery operated).
    • Examples of items include: candles, flashlights and lanterns.
    • Mobile telephone batteries and mobile telephone chargers.
    • Radios – portable self-powered (including battery operated) – includes two-way and weather band radios.
    • Smoke detectors.
    • Tarps and other plastic sheeting.

    • In the past Amazon has participated in these sales tax holidays, so here are some items you can buy from them that should qualify:

  • First aid kit: There are a lot of different makes and models of these. This one has a little bit of everything. A good thing to keep in your car for emergencies.
  • Smoke alarm.
  • Carbon Monoxide detector. I need to get one of these myself, as my upstairs until just died emitted the Beep of Death.
  • Fire Extinguisher: Every home should have at least one, and make sure it’s not expired. This is what I have.
  • Flashlights. This Goreit flashlight seems bright, cheap, and gets pretty good reviews.
  • Batteries. D-Cells are still used in a lot of things, and you’re going to want, at a minimum, enough to reload every flashlight twice, which should be enough to get you through a couple of evenings of power outages. Most smoke detectors take 9 volt batteries. I’m low on AAA batteries, so I’ll be picking up these this weekend.

    • The Sales tax Holiday starts Saturday the 26th and runs through Monday the 28th.

    Tags:, , ,
    Posted in Texas | 2 Comments »

    Prepper/Black Friday Shopping Guide

    Friday, November 29th, 2024

    Since I know many of you will be shopping on Black Friday, here’s A.) Listing some basic prepping and cold weather gear, and B.) Providing possible gifts or purchases for items I approve of.

    I’ve included Amazon links, but for some items (like batteries), Sam’s or Lowes tends to offer better prices. But a lot of these do seem to have Black Friday savings prices.

    The Basics

    Here are some all-purpose tools everyone should already have, listed here for completeness sake.

  • First aid kit: There are a lot of different makes and models of these, and I think Sam’s offers a kit that’s a bit cheaper than this one. Has a little bit of everything. A good thing to keep in your car for emergencies.
  • Smoke alarm: Everyone should already have these, but if you don’t, or want more, this has a silence button so you can put it in your kitchen. These seem to be made in Mexico, but First Alert also makes stuff in China, so caveat emptor.
  • Carbon Monoxide detector. Doesn’t say, but I suspect it’s another item made in China. There are some combination carbon monoxide/smoke detectors, but I think you want to avoid the possibility of a single point of failure. You also need to replace these about every ten years anyway.
  • Fire Extinguisher: Every home should have at least one, and make sure it’s not expired. This is what I have (I think it’s made in Mexico), but fortunately I’ve never had to use it.
  • Water leak detector: A lot of people don’t have these, but I consider them essential basic gear, as they can save you hundreds or thousands of dollars in water damage. I had one of mine go off a week before the ice storm hit because a shutoff valve I had closed to plunge an overflowing toilet had started leaking. Usual made in China caveats apply, but it’s very simple tech (two parallel wires on the exterior that water closes the circuit and sets off when wet). That link goes to a 5-pack of the brand I have, because I recommend putting one behind every toilet, under every sink you use, under your water heater, and next to your washing machine (I’ve had mine start rocking for an unbalanced load that pulled the drain hose loose). However, that 5-pack has gotten pretty pricey, so here’s an even cheaper five pack from another manufacturer (also made in China) that I have no experience with.
  • Speaking of plunging toilets, I imagine everyone already has a plunger, but if you don’t, here’s one, and you might consider one for each bathroom, or at least each floor. Also, the black bell shaped ones are a lot more effective than the small old red ones.
  • Speaking of things everyone should already have more of, everyone needs flashlights. This Goreit flashlight seems bright, cheap, and gets pretty good reviews. The highest rated flashlight on Amazon is the Streamlight 75458 Stinger DS, which is fairly pricey. I assume it’s brighter and with a longer life, and maybe you have a use case that justifies the cost. And speaking of ridiculous lights I have no use case for…
  • The IMALENT MS18 is evidently so insanely bright that it has its own cooling fan. Here’s a video of how insane it is. And if you have flashlights, chances are you’ll also need…
  • Batteries. D-Cells are still used in a lot of things, and you’re going to want, at a minimum, enough to reload every flashlight twice, which should be enough to get you through a couple of evenings of power outages. Check your flashlights every six months when you check your smoke and CO detectors. Speaking of which, those and the water leak detectors take 9 volt batteries, and you want enough around to be able to change out every battery in your detectors as needed. Those links go to Duracells, which I’ve been pretty happy with.
  • Car jump starter: Much better than jumper cables, and can save you money when you have a dead battery, or because it’s just not cranking in the cold.
  • Gas And Water Emergency Shut Off Tool. The Orbit 26097 provides a water shutoff valve, a gas shutoff valve, manhole cover lift tool, and a rubberized grip. You need one of these for the same reason you need a water leak detector, i.e. it will greatly limit damage before the plumber gets there.
  • Sawyer Products Water Filtration System: If you’ve ever been under a water boil notice, the Sawyer system is Good Enough to get you through, even if it is a slight pain to fill and squeeze the bag enough times for my dogs and I to drink (but still less of a pain that boiling water and waiting for it to cool).
  • Duct tape is useful to have year-round, but especially during an emergency, to patch a small leak or keep something together until the emergency is over and you can replace it. Link goes to 3M all-weather duct tape, which is better than the generic stuff for outside tasks, like sealing around the edge of a faucet cover.
  • 12 pack LED Tea Lights. This is a strange one. These mimic flickering candlelight, and I bought them for Halloween decorations, for which they worked well enough. I think they’re just bright enough and cheap enough for a few use cases around the house in an extended power outage. You can probably (just barely) read with them by holding them right next to the page, but I think they would be most useful for providing acceptable light in places like bathrooms, at the top and bottom of dark stairways, on dining tables, etc.

    • Cold Weather

    Here are some specific prep items for cold weather:

  • Faucet Covers. If you’re a homeowner, you probably already have those, but if not, here they are, and they seem to work better than a rag or dripping the faucet, and neither of my faucets busted in the ice storm. That link goes to the cheap Styrofoam version, but these plastic ones look a bit bigger and stronger.
  • O’Keeffe’s Working Hands cream: I walk my dogs 2-3 times a day pretty much every single day of the year, and I found my hands getting cracked and raw in the cold, even through gloves. O’Keeffe’s Working Hands fixed the problem. I frequently give this stuff out as Christmas gifts.
  • Carmex lip balm. A small, cheap jar that solves the chapped lips problem in winter. I know some people prefer Chapstick, but to me the main result of using Chapstick is that 30 minutes later you fell a need to use more Chapstick.
  • Kerasal Intensive Foot Repair for cracked and painful feet. Podiatrist recommended! Full review here.
  • De-icing spray. You can stand there for 15 minutes ineffectually scraping your frozen windows like William H. Macy in Fargo, or you can keep a bottle of this in your trunk.

    • Non-Prep “Stuff You Might Need”

    Here are things I’ve bought I’m happy with.

  • Have trouble getting to sleep at night? Have you tried Melatonin? All I can say is that it works for me (sometimes boosted with generic Acetaminophen PM, which you can buy cheap at Sam’s).
  • I’d been having trouble finding plain white T-shirts soft enough to sleep in, but these work really well.
  • Silicone oven mitts: My cousin used these last Thanksgiving and I was impressed with them. They work great and don’t seem to wear out as quickly as cloth mitts do.
  • If you haven’t seen The Death of Stalin yet, I highly recommend it.
  • Speaking of 1970s TV detectives, we’ve been working our way through the complete Rockford Files, and the set is a pretty good value for the money, if you don’t mind the paper sleeves.
  • If you like offbeat science fiction and fantasy, you might try this two volume Avram Davidson set, set up as print-on-demand books from the Avram Davidson society. At 100 stories, it’s a lot of bang for your buck.
  • Do you collect Arkham House books? probably a long shot for this blog, but if so, Don Herron and John D. Haefele’s Arkham House Ephemera: The Classic Years 1937 —1973: A Pictorial History & Guide For Collectors might be for you. A POD book, this is just what the title says, a pictorial history of Arkham House ephemera (catalogs, review slips, etc.) issued from the press’s founding up through 1973. The book is actually useful even if you don’t collect ephemera, as the full catalogs show when books went out of print and how much they were going for, etc.

    • I know I should be better at offering up Amazon offerings to rake in the filthy lucre, but I don’t tend to buy books and DVDs/Blu-rays from them. Mostly the things I buy from Amazon are vitamins and dog treats, which aren’t exactly exciting link fodder…

    Tags:, , ,
    Posted in Uncategorized | 6 Comments »

    Tax-Free Preparedness Weekend Going On Now

    Sunday, April 28th, 2024

    Today and tomorrow are the last two days of the Texas Emergency Preparation Supplies Sales Tax Holiday:

    These emergency preparation supplies qualify for tax exemption if purchased for a sales price:

  • Less than $3000
    • Portable generators
  • Less than $300
    • Emergency ladders
    • Hurricane shutters
  • Less than $75

    • The Comptroller page notes that online sales count, so I’ve thrown up some Amazon links, most from my recent cold weather prep/gift guide.

    Tags:, , ,
    Posted in Texas | 5 Comments »

    Pre-Black Friday Prepping/Shopping Guide

    Wednesday, November 22nd, 2023

    Since I know many of you will be shopping on Black Friday, here’s A.) Listing some basic cold weather prepping gear, and B.) Providing possible gifts or purchases for items I approve of.

    I’ve included Amazon links, but for some items (like batteries), Sam’s or Lowes tends to offer better prices.

    The Basics

    Here are some all-purpose tools everyone should already have, listed here for completeness sake.

  • First aid kit: There are a lot of different makes and models of these, and I think Sam’s offers a kit that’s a bit cheaper than this one. Has a little bit of everything. A good thing to keep in your car for emergencies.
  • Smoke alarm: Everyone should already have these, but if you don’t, or want more, these are cheap, and it has a silence button so you can put it in your kitchen. This batch seems to be made in Mexico, but First Alert also makes stuff in China, so caveat emptor.
  • Carbon Monoxide detector. Doesn’t say, but I suspect it’s another item made in China. There are some combination carbon monoxide/smoke detectors, but I think you want to avoid the possibility of a single point of failure.
  • Fire Extinguisher: Every home should have at least one, and make sure it’s not expired. This is what I have (I think it’s made in Mexico), but fortunately I’ve never had to use it.
  • Water leak detector: A lot of people don’t have these, but I consider them essential basic gear, as they can save you hundreds or thousands of dollars in water damage. I had one of mine go off a week before the ice storm hit because a shutoff valve I had closed to plunge an overflowing toilet had started leaking. Usual made in China caveats apply, but it’s very simple tech (two parallel wires on the exterior that water closes the circuit and sets off when wet). That link goes to a 5-pack, because I recommend putting one behind every toilet, under every sink you use, under your water heater, and next to your washing machine (I’ve had mine start rocking for an unbalanced load that pulled the drain hose loose). (There’s an even cheaper five pack from another manufacturer (also made in China) that I have no experience with.)
  • Speaking of plunging toilets, I imagine everyone already has a plunger, but if you don’t, here’s one, and you might consider one for each bathroom, or at least each floor. Also, the black bell shaped ones are a lot more effective than the small old red ones.
  • Speaking of things everyone should already have more of, everyone needs flashlights. I ordered a USB rechargeable flashlight from Amazon by Liaolee that was pretty bright and pretty cheap, but it doesn’t seem available anymore. This Goreit flashlight seems bright, cheap, and gets pretty good reviews. The highest rated flashlight on Amazon is the Streamlight 75458 Stinger DS, which is fairly pricey. I assume it’s brighter and with a longer life, and maybe you have a use case that justifies the cost. And speaking of ridiculous lights I have no use case for…
  • The IMALENT MS18 is evidently so insanely bright that it has its own cooling fan. Here’s a video of how insane it is. And if you have flashlights, chances are you’ll also need…
  • Batteries. D-Cells are still used in a lot of things, and you’re going to want, at a minimum, enough to reload every flashlight twice, which should be enough to get you through a couple of evenings of power outages. Check your flashlights every six months when you check your smoke and CO detectors. Speaking of which, those and the water leak detectors take 9 volt batteries, and you want enough around to be able to change out every battery in your detectors as needed. Those links go to Duracells, which I’ve been pretty happy with.
  • Car jump starter: Much better than jumper cables, and can save you money when you have a dead battery, or because it’s just not cranking in the cold.
  • Gas And Water Emergency Shut Off Tool. The Orbit 26097 provides a water shutoff valve, a gas shutoff valve, manhole cover lift tool, and a rubberized grip. You need one of these for the same reason you need a water leak detector, i.e. it will greatly limit damage before the plumber gets there.
  • Sawyer Products Water Filtration System: If you’ve ever been under a water boil notice, the Sawyer system is Good Enough to get you through, even if it is a slight pain to fill and squeeze the bag enough times for my dogs and I to drink (but still less of a pain that boiling water and waiting for it to cool).
  • Duct tape is useful to have year-round, but especially during an emergency, to patch a small leak or keep something together until the emergency is over and you can replace it. Link goes to 3M all-weather duct tape, which is better than the generic stuff for outside tasks, like sealing around the edge of a faucet cover.

    • Cold Weather

    Here are some specific prep items for cold weather:

  • Faucet Covers. If you’re a homeowner, you probably already have those, but if not, here they are, and they seem to work better than a rag or dripping the faucet, and neither of my faucets busted in the ice storm. That link goes to the cheap Styrofoam version, but these plastic ones look a bit bigger and stronger.
  • O’Keeffe’s Working Hands cream: I walk my dogs 2-3 times a day pretty much every single day of the year, and I found my hands getting cracked and raw in the cold, even through gloves. O’Keeffe’s Working Hands fixed the problem. I frequently give this stuff out as Christmas gifts.
  • Carmex lip balm. A small, cheap jar that solves the chapped lips problem in winter. I know some people prefer Chapstick, but to me the main result of using Chapstick is that 30 minutes later you fell a need to use more Chapstick.
  • Kerasal Intensive Foot Repair for cracked and painful feet. Podiatrist recommended! Full review here.
  • De-icing spray. You can stand there for 15 minutes ineffectually scraping your frozen windows like William H. Macy in Fargo, or you can keep a bottle of this in your trunk.

    • Non-Prep “Stuff You Might Need”

    Here are things I’ve bought I’m happy with.

  • Have trouble getting to sleep at night? Have you tried Melatonin? All I can say is that it works for me (sometimes boosted with generic Acetaminophen PM, which you can buy cheap at Sam’s).
  • I’d been having trouble finding plain white T-shirts soft enough to sleep in, but these work really well.
  • Silicone oven mitts: My cousin used these last Thanksgiving and I was impressed with them. They work great and don’t seem to wear out as quickly as cloth mitts do.
  • If you haven’t seen The Death of Stalin yet, I highly recommend it.
  • If you’re looking for a fun TV show you haven’t watched before, may I suggest The Barbary Coast? If features a post-Star Trek/pre-T. J. Hooker William Shatner as a master of disguise working to bust criminals in 19th century San Francisco. You get to see him pretend he’s a gypsy, a Mexican, a southern dandy, an Irishman, an old salty sea dog, etc. It’s a hoot and a half.
  • Speaking of 1970s TV detectives, we’ve been working our way through the complete Rockford Files, and the set is a pretty good value for the money, if you don’t mind the paper sleeves.
  • If you like offbeat science fiction and fantasy, you might try this two volume Avram Davidson set, set up as print-on-demand books from the Avram Davidson society. At 100 stories, it’s a lot of bang for your buck.

    • I know I should be better at offering up Amazon offerings to rake in the filthy lucre, but I don’t tend to buy books and DVDs/Blu-rays from them. Mostly the things I buy from Amazon are vitamins and dog treats, which aren’t exactly exciting link fodder…

    Tags:, , ,
    Posted in Texas, Uncategorized | 7 Comments »

    The Burning Times

    Saturday, August 26th, 2023

    Austin usually has hot, dry summers with a high pressure system parked over us for months on end, but this year it’s been the worst since The Great Drought of 2011, where something like 98% of the state was in stage four drought conditions.

    Thus far this year, the drought hasn’t been as bad (we had a decent amount of rain in spring), but the temperature has been more extreme, as this week saw a break from Austin suffering a record 45 days over 100°.

    ERCOT continues to warn of the possibility of rolling blackouts to shed load, but thus far has kept up with demand this summer, despite warnings earlier this year.

    Remember that favoring trendy green energy sources like solar and wind over natural gas was a big contributing factor to the 2021 ice storm blackouts. Hopefully Texas lawmakers have learned their lesson, and more reliable baseload power has come online since.

    As always, it’s best to be prepared with flashlights, batteries and maybe a portable power source to power fans and medical devices. (That’s the one that gets the best reviews on Amazon. I just got another power source, but since it came free as part of one of those “Redeem your company’s award points for merchandise from this catalog” type deals, I don’t have enough experience with it to recommend it yet.) You might also consider a home generator, like this one, but those are pricey, loud, and I have no direct experience with them, so you probably want to do some research if you’re going that route.

    Stay cool…

    Tags:, , , , , , ,
    Posted in Texas, Uncategorized | 9 Comments »

    Another Cold Blast Heading To Texas

    Tuesday, December 20th, 2022

    Real winter weather in central Texas rarely starts around the nominal start of the season (which officially begins here in Austin at 3:48 PM tomorrow (December 21st)), but this year an arctic blast is barrelling down on us Thursday.

    The Arctic air is forecast to arrive Thursday morning into the afternoon. Temperatures will drop sharply — possibly by as much as 40° in just two hours behind the frontal passage. By Thursday evening, temperatures drop below freezing then plunge into the single-digits and teens Friday morning.

    I’m not yet seeing single digit forecasts on my phone app yet, but 14°F is damn cold enough.

    Wind gusts of 30-40 mph Thursday night through Friday morning are likely to drop wind chills below zero in some areas — capable of causing frostbite in 30-45 minutes and likely prompting our second-ever Wind Chill Warning. The first of these warnings was issued in Feb. 2021.

    With three consecutive hard freezes in our forecast Friday morning through Christmas morning, it is imperative you take steps to protect your pets, pipes, plants and people. Temperatures finally start to warm Christmas Day and the following day.

    Follow the below tips from Austin Water to protect your home’s plumbing:

    1. Protect Indoor Faucets. Open cabinets beneath kitchen and bathroom sinks to allow warmer air to circulate around pipes. Be sure to remove any toxic substances located in these cabinets if there are children or pets living in the residence.
    2. Drip Only if Needed. After the measures above are taken, drip one cold-water faucet slowly if you feel your pipes may still freeze. The faucet you choose should be the one that is the greatest distance from your main shutoff valve. It does not need to be a running trickle. If you do drip your faucet, capture the water for future use.
    3. Power Outages. If you experience a power outage for more than 24 hours, stop dripping your faucets and turn off your water at the meter.

    Because we’re not expected to get snow and ice, hopefully we can avoid widespread power outages this time, but if not, here’s the Austin power outage map.

    With cold weather due Thursday, there’s still time to get in an Amazon order to prepare. So here (again) are a few cold weather prep items you might find useful:

  • Faucet Covers. If you’re a homeowner, you probably already have those, but if not, here they are, and they seem to work better than a rag or dripping the faucet, and neither of my faucets busted in the ice storm. That link goes to the cheap Styrofoam version, but these plastic ones look a bit bigger and stronger.
  • O’Keeffe’s Working Hands cream: I walk my dogs 2-3 times a day pretty much every single day of the year, and I found my hands getting cracked and raw in the cold, even through gloves. O’Keeffe’s Working Hands fixed the problem. I frequently give this stuff out as Christmas gifts.
  • Carmex lip balm. A small, cheap jar that solves the chapped lips problem in winter. I know some people prefer Chapstick, but to me the main result of using Chapstick is that 30 minutes later you fell a need to use more Chapstick.
  • Kerasal Intensive Foot Repair for cracked and painful feet. More info here. Podiatrist recommended!
  • De-icing spray. You can stand there for 15 minutes ineffectually scraping your frozen windows like William H. Macy in Fargo, or you can keep a bottle of this in your trunk.
  • Water leak detector: A lot of people don’t have these, but I consider them essential basic gear, as they can save you hundreds or thousands of dollars in water damage. Usual made in China caveats apply, but it’s very simple tech (two parallel wires on the exterior that water closes the circuit and sets off when wet). That link goes to a 5-pack, because I recommend putting one behind every toilet, under every sink you use, under your water heater, and next to your washing machine (I’ve had mine start rocking for an unbalanced load that pulled the drain hose loose). (There’s an even cheaper five pack from another manufacturer (also made in China) that I have no experience with.)
  • Flashlights. I have an old bulb-type Maglite, but here’s a pretty close equivalent with LEDs. As a bonus, it’s also heavy enough to conk someone out. I have flashlights in my bedroom, my kitchen and in my car’s glovebox. The highest rated flashlight on Amazon is the Streamlight 75458 Stinger DS, which is about four times as expensive as the Maglite. I assume it’s brighter and with a longer life, and maybe you have a use case that justifies the cost. And if you have flashlights, chances are you’ll also need…
  • Batteries. The Maglite takes D-Cells, and you’re going to want, at a minimum, enough to reload every flashlight twice, which should be enough to get you through a couple of evenings of power outages. Check your flashlights every six months when you check your smoke and CO detectors. Speaking of which, those and the water leak detectors take 9 volt batteries, and you want enough around to be able to change out every battery in your detectors as needed. Those links go to Duracells, which I’ve been pretty happy with. Sam’s and Lowes frequently have cheaper bulk deals, so check there if you’re out and about.
  • Gas And Water Emergency Shut Off Tool. The Orbit 26097 provides a water shutoff valve, a gas shutoff valve, manhole cover lift tool, and a rubberized grip. You need one of these for the same reason you need a water leak detector, i.e. it will greatly limit damage before the plumber gets there. One caveat: I used one last week to cut off the water in advance of a new washer being installed (just in case the ancient water valves in the laundry room started leaking) and the manhole cover part of the tool broke off when I was moving the manhole back into place. The rest is still good, but quality metal shouldn’t snap like that. I’ll have to dig out the warranty info for a replacement.
  • Sawyer Products Water Filtration System: If you’ve ever been under a water boil notice, the Sawyer system is Good Enough to get you through, even if it is a slight pain to fill and squeeze the bag enough times for my dogs and I to drink (but still less of a pain that boiling water and waiting for it to cool).
  • Duct tape is useful to have year-round, but especially during an emergency, to patch a small leak or keep something together until the emergency is over and you can replace it. Link goes to 3M all-weather duct tape, which is better than the generic stuff for outside tasks, like sealing around the edge of a faucet cover.

    • Stay warm…

    Tags:, , ,
    Posted in Austin, Texas | 7 Comments »

    Pre-Black Friday Cold Weather/Christmas Gift Guide

    Wednesday, November 23rd, 2022

    This post serves a dual purpose: Channeling your money into Amazon kickbacks A.) Listing some basic cold weather prepping gear, and B.) Providing possible gifts for just about anybody. Who doesn’t need batteries or an extra flashlight?

    I’ve included Amazon links, but for some items (like batteries), Sam’s or Lowes tends to offer better prices.

    The Basics

    Here are some all-purpose tools everyone should already have, listed here for completeness sake.

  • First aid kit: There are a lot of different makes and models of these, and this is another one where Sam’s offers a kit that’s a bit cheaper than this one. Has a little bit of everything. A good thing to keep in your car for emergencies.
  • Smoke alarm: Everyone should already have these, but if you don’t, or want more, these are cheap, and it has a silence button so you can put it in your kitchen. This batch seems to be made in Mexico, but First Alert also makes stuff in China, so caveat emptor.
  • Carbon Monoxide detector. Doesn’t say, but I suspect it’s another item made in China. There are some combination carbon monoxide/smoke detectors, but I think you want to avoid the possibility of a single point of failure.
  • Fire Extinguisher: Every home should have at least one, and make sure it’s not expired. This is what I have (I think it’s made in Mexico), but fortunately I’ve never had to use it.
  • Water leak detector: A lot of people don’t have these, but I consider them essential basic gear, as they can save you hundreds or thousands of dollars in water damage. I had one of mine go off a week before the ice storm hit because a shutoff valve I had closed to plunge an overflowing toilet had started leaking. Usual made in China caveats apply, but it’s very simple tech (two parallel wires on the exterior that water closes the circuit and sets off when wet). That link goes to a 5-pack, because I recommend putting one behind every toilet, under every sink you use, under your water heater, and next to your washing machine (I’ve had mine start rocking for an unbalanced load that pulled the drain hose loose). (There’s an even cheaper five pack from another manufacturer (also made in China) that I have no experience with.)
  • Speaking of plunging toilets, I imagine everyone already has a plunger, but if you don’t, here’s one, and you might consider one for each bathroom, or at least each floor. Also, the black bell shaped ones are a lot more effective than the small old red ones.
  • Speaking of things everyone should already have more of, everyone needs flashlights. I have an old bulb-type Maglite, but here’s a pretty close equivalent with LEDs. As a bonus, it’s also heavy enough to conk someone out. I have flashlights in my bedroom, my kitchen and in my car’s glovebox. The highest rated flashlight on Amazon is the Streamlight 75458 Stinger DS, which is about four times as expensive as the Maglite. I assume it’s brighter and with a longer life, and maybe you have a use case that justifies the cost. And speaking of ridiculous lights I have no use case for…
  • The IMALENT MS18 is evidently so insanely bright that it has its own cooling fan. Here’s a video of how insane it is. And if you have flashlights, chances are you’ll also need…
  • Batteries. The Maglite takes D-Cells, and you’re going to want, at a minimum, enough to reload every flashlight twice, which should be enough to get you through a couple of evenings of power outages. Check your flashlights every six months when you check your smoke and CO detectors. Speaking of which, those and the water leak detectors take 9 volt batteries, and you want enough around to be able to change out every battery in your detectors as needed. Those links go to Duracells, which I’ve been pretty happy with.
  • Car jump starter: Much better than jumper cables, and can save you money when you have a dead battery, or because it’s just not cranking in the cold.
  • Gas And Water Emergency Shut Off Tool. The Orbit 26097 is a well-built tool that provides a water shutoff valve, a gas shutoff valve, manhole cover lift tool, and a rubberized grip. You need one of these for the same reason you need a water leak detector, i.e. it will greatly limit damage before the plumber gets there.
  • Sawyer Products Water Filtration System: If you’ve ever been under a water boil notice, the Sawyer system is Good Enough to get you through, even if it is a slight pain to fill and squeeze the bag enough times for my dogs and I to drink (but still less of a pain that boiling water and waiting for it to cool).
  • Duct tape is useful to have year-round, but especially during an emergency, to patch a small leak or keep something together until the emergency is over and you can replace it. Link goes to 3M all-weather duct tape, which is better than the generic stuff for outside tasks, like sealing around the edge of a faucet cover.

    • Cold Weather

    Here are some specific prep items for cold weather:

  • Faucet Covers. If you’re a homeowner, you probably already have those, but if not, here they are, and they seem to work better than a rag or dripping the faucet, and neither of my faucets busted in the ice storm. That link goes to the cheap Styrofoam version, but these plastic ones look a bit bigger and stronger.
  • O’Keeffe’s Working Hands cream: I walk my dogs 2-3 times a day pretty much every single day of the year, and I found my hands getting cracked and raw in the cold, even through gloves. O’Keeffe’s Working Hands fixed the problem. I frequently give this stuff out as Christmas gifts.
  • Carmex lip balm. A small, cheap jar that solves the chapped lips problem in winter. I know some people prefer Chapstick, but to me the main result of using Chapstick is that 30 minutes later you fell a need to use more Chapstick.
  • Kerasal Intensive Foot Repair for cracked and painful feet. Podiatrist recommended!
  • De-icing spray. You can stand there for 15 minutes ineffectually scraping your frozen windows like William H. Macy in Fargo, or you can keep a bottle of this in your trunk.

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    Posted in Uncategorized | 7 Comments »

    Are You Prepping For Food Insecurity?

    Thursday, October 13th, 2022

    Between inflation, the Russo-Ukrainian War, drought, etc., there’s a lot of worry about food insecurity around the world. While I think America will do the best of just about anyone, I’ve long been a cheap prepper, spending around $20 a year on various prep items, but recently I’ve stepped up my food buying, trying to pick up just one extra shelf-stable item a week, just in case. And I’ve been thinking about growing more food beyond the pepper plant I already have.

    Here’s a couple of videos on what to grow for food crops given limited areas.

    Both mention beans, but dried pinto beans are still pretty darn cheap, and if you like those (I don’t), you’ll want to lay in a lot of dried beans. If the emergency lasts long enough, you can grow them when you start to run low.

    I’m not wild about cabbage or kale, but I like potatoes well enough, and I think I could grow those pretty well in a tub or two, as well as sweet potatoes. And I might as well get a pumpkin for Halloween and try spreading the seeds out next spring.

    What are you doing to lay in an extra supply of food?

    [ays_poll id=4]

    If you have any other food tips for the apocalypse (or even just temporary economic disruption, like a possible rail strike), feel free to share them down below.

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    Posted in unions | 14 Comments »

    Another Cold Front Due Two Days From Now (Plus Cheap Prepping Supplies Revisited)

    Tuesday, February 1st, 2022

    The one year anniversary of last year’s ice storm isn’t quite here, but we have another snow and ice storm due in to central Texas on Thursday. This one probably won’t be anywhere near as severe, but people still need to get ready.

    Last year’s ice storm and power outage crisis once again emphasized how important it is to prepare for such events. So here’s a brief revised guide to cheaply prepping for a range of disasters. I’ve included Amazon links, but for some items (like batteries), Sam’s or Lowe’s tends to offer better prices. (Batteries are among goods that can be purchased tax free during the Texas emergency preparation sales tax holiday, which is April 23-25 this year, along with smoke and CO detectors, fire extinguishers and first aid kits.

    The Basics

    These are just all-purpose tools everyone should already have, listed here for completeness sake.

  • First aid kit: There are a lot of different makes and models of these, and this is one where Sam’s offers a kit that’s a bit cheaper than this one. Has a little bit of everything. A good thing to keep in your car for emergencies.
  • Smoke alarm: Everyone should already have these, but if you don’t, or want more, these are cheap, and it has a silence button so you can put it in your kitchen. The batch I got was made in Mexico, but First Alert also makes stuff in China, so caveat emptor.
  • Carbon Monoxide detector. Doesn’t say but I suspect it’s another made-in-China item. There are some combination carbon monoxide/smoke detectors, but I think you want to avoid the possibility of a single point of failure there.
  • Fire Extinguisher: Every home should have at least one, and make sure it’s not expired. This is what I have (I think it’s made in Mexico), but fortunately I’ve never had to use it.
  • Water leak detector: A lot of people don’t have these, but I consider them essential basic gear, as they can save you hundreds or thousands of dollars in water damage. I had one of mine go off a week before the ice storm hit because a shutoff valve I had closed to plunge an overflowing toilet had started leaking. Usual made in China caveats apply, but it’s very simple tech (two parallel wires on the exterior that water closes the circuit and sets off when wet). That link goes to a 5-pack, because I recommend putting one behind every toilet, under every sink you use, under your water heater, and next to your washing machine (I’ve had mine start rocking for an unbalanced load that pulled the drain hose loose). (There’s an even cheaper five pack from another manufacturer (also made in China) that I have no experience with.)
  • Speaking of plunging toilets, I imagine everyone already has a plunger, but if you don’t, I bought this one recently on the recommendation of a YouTube video, and it works well. You might consider one for each bathroom, or at least each floor.
  • Speaking of things everyone should already have more of, everyone needs flashlights. I have an old bulb-type Maglite, but here’s a pretty close equivalent with LEDs. As a bonus, it’s also heavy enough to conk someone out. I have flashlights in my bedroom, my kitchen and in my car’s glovebox. The highest rated flashlight on Amazon is the Streamlight 75458 Stinger DS, which is about four times as expensive as the Maglite. I assume it’s brighter and with a longer life, and maybe you have a use case that justifies the cost. And if you have a flashlight, chances are you’ll also need. I saw a Disel Creek video where he and friends explored an abandoned coal mine using OLIGHTs like this one and it looks pretty bright.
  • Batteries. The Maglite takes D-Cells, and you’re going to want, at a minimum, enough to reload every flashlight twice, which should be enough to get you through a couple of evenings of power outages. Check your flashlights every six months when you check your smoke and CO detectors. Speaking of which, those and the water leak detectors take 9 volt batteries, and you want enough around to be able to change out every battery in your detectors as needed. Those links go to Duracells, which I’ve been pretty happy with.
  • Car jump starter: Much better than jumper cables, and can save you money when you have a dead battery, or because it’s just not cranking in the cold.
  • Water shut off tool. The toilet valve problem made me keenly aware that I did not have the specific house water shutoff valve tool, so I went ahead and got this one, which also has a gas shutoff tool, and it works pretty well. You need one of these for the same reason you need a water leak detector, i.e. it will greatly limit damage before the plumber gets there.
  • Sawyer Products Water Filtration System: After the freeze, Austin went under a boil notice, and the Sawyer system (which I bought the previous time Austin was under a boil notice) was Good Enough, even if it’s a slight pain to fill and squeeze the bag enough times for my dogs and I to drink (but still less of a pain that boiling water and waiting for it to cool). I also recommend fill empty bottles (3 liter bottles, etc.) with drinkable water in advance, which you can do at essentially no cost.
  • Duct tape is useful to have year-round, but especially during an emergency, to patch a small leak or keep something together until the emergency is over and you can replace it. Link goes to 3M all-weather duct tape, which is better than the generic stuff for outside tasks, like sealing around the edge of a faucet cover. I recently picked up some Gorilla tape, which gets super-high marks, but haven’t actually used any of it yet.

    • Cold Weather

    Here are some specific prep items for cold weather:

  • Faucet Covers. If you’re a homeowner, you probably already have those, but if not, here they are, and they seem to work better than a rag or dripping the faucet, and neither of my faucets busted in the ice storm. That link goes to the cheap Styrofoam version, but these plastic ones look a bit bigger and stronger.
  • O’Keeffe’s Working Hands hand cream: I walk my dogs 2-3 times a day pretty much every single day of the year, and I found my hands getting cracked and raw in the cold, even through gloves. O’Keeffe’s Working Hands fixed the problem. I frequently give this stuff out as Christmas gifts.
  • Carmex lip balm. A small, cheap jar that solves the chapped lips problem in winter. I know some people prefer Chapstick, but to me the main result of using Chapstick is that 30 minutes later you fell a need to use more Chapstick.
  • Kerasal Intensive Foot Repair cream helps heel cracked heels and soles. (More info here.) If you can’t find that locally, Eucerin Intensive Repair Foot Creme did a good job easing the pain as well.
  • De-icing spray. You can stand there for 15 minutes ineffectually scraping your frozen windows like William H. Macy in Fargo, or you can keep a bottle of this in your trunk.

    • I think I’ve covered the basics, and I’m not tackling things like food, clothing or generators, etc. Feel free to add anything I missed in the comments.

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    Posted in Texas | No Comments »

    Amazing Living Van Conversion

    Saturday, July 17th, 2021

    As a serious book collector and owner of two large dogs, I’m not a “van life” candidate. But this is a seriously cool and well-thought out conversion of a Dodge RAM ProMaster 3500 extended cab cargo van into a mobile full-time living space.

    It’s pretty amazing that all that took only 4 months and $6,000.

    A few things I would change:

  • If I were going to use it in Texas, I would need some sort of AC, even though I know those can be energy hogs, but there appear to be some options out there.
  • The propane set up for two stove burners and water heater for showers is cool, but I might want to opt for a microwave, tankless water heater and hot plate (though I know the first two of those can be energy hungry) just to simplify my energy logistics chain for true off-grid living.
  • I would need dedicated, concealed storage space built in for a few guns.
  • I’d need at least one bookcase (with retraining straps to keep the books from flying off in turns, naturally), because Me.

    • Possibly uses:

  • For real SHTF scenario, this sort of setup provides a pretty strong basis for a bug-out van that will let you live off the grid for quite a while. Drawbacks: It’s not a hybrid, so you can’t move the van off solar power once the gas runs out. You would probably want to add a switchable extra tank at a bare minimum for that use case, if not going with some sort of hybrid or solar conversion case. And it’s not armored against small arms fire, so some work in hardening parts of the van for that situation might be in order. Lots of weight/energy/cost tradeoffs to consider.
  • If you have a job where you have to be physically present at a high-cost location to work (like Silicon Valley), this looks like a really solid alternative to paying $3,000 a month in rent. And if you were an oilfield worker, this would let you really save money. (Again, you’d really need that AC if you were living in Odessa.)

    • I’m also impressed that the guy spent months in Syria with the YPG fighting the Islamic State…

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    Posted in video | 5 Comments »

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