Tub-O-Grub

Spring has come very quickly which has been great for business, but a tough transition from winter dormancy. Hopefully some of my Spring projects from work will make it up here. I just have to remember to take pictures while I'm there.

One purchase that had been on my mind for a while now, arrived in the mail this past week, thanks to some help from Tyler and his Costco membership. Rebecca and I had discussed occasionally the idea of storing some food. Once a common practice, it is now left to the 'prepper' realm. There's no need to store food when you have a grocery store within easy access. Having been near major natural disaster and visited areas soon after major disasters I don't think it is a total lost art. Not to mention the ever present threat of Thunderdome. If something were to happen or if times got to tough, I don't want to have to depend on the government to give me my daily bread, since it looks like that is where we're heading with every other aspect of our life. But that is a whole other blog post. We thought about having a rotating stock of canned goods in our garage, but it would probably just end up passing its expiration date. So as I searched for other options I came across this; a bucket of food built for emergencies. It contains 330 servings or enough for 1 person for 1 month, getting 2100 calories/day. So 15 days for the both of us eating healthily, or 30 days on a diet. Another nice feature is it has a 15 year shelf life, so no constant need for rotating stock. I wanted to try some of it, to see how edible it is, but unfortunately each food item is sealed together. So I didn't want to break a seal thus reducing the shelf life.

Rebecca of course shakes her head at my purchase, but I think it is a good thing to have on hand. Worst case scenario for the food/best case scenario for society, we never have to use it. If that is the case, then in 15 years we'll have a party and we can all partake of the food bucket. What a great way to spend my 42nd birthday. 

Rebecca's New Toy

I know you're probably thinking its a camera, lens, computer or other type of gadget. She has plenty of those at the moment. This one she isn't exactly that excited about or will use it that much. I'll probably get more enjoyment out of it than her. She also refused to pose for a picture with it.

We finally took advantage of her second amendment rights the other day and got her a handgun. We went with a Ruger SR22. I wanted to get a small caliber for several reasons. This will be a good one for her and anyone else to learn to shoot on. The ammo is super cheap relative to other calibers. I feel she will be most comfortable with it the rare times she goes to shoot with me.

I also wanted to get the gun for some other reasons.

• They're cool.
• Fun activity.
• Guns will hold their value.
• Last forever.
• Always have a use. 
• The never desired but always possible scenario of self-defense.

I like to joke with Rebecca that we are going to put all our investments in firearms. She always responds with rolling her eyes. While I would never do this, I don't think it is the most unreasonable idea. I really can't think of a tangible thing other than guns and land that will always hold its value no matter the status of society around you. A lot of people go to precious metals to diversify, but I don't like that idea much. Gold, silver, etc., don't have any real use aside from decoration. Their only value comes from the perceived value of others. So if times got super tough, say Thunderdome, what good would gold be? Food and fuel always have a shelf life. Since we can't afford any land at the moment, we're left with firearms. If we are ever fortunate to own some property, we'll be ready to protect it.

Hopefully we'll make it up to the range soon, so she can christen her new toy.