SHTFblog.com - are YOU ready?

This post is written as one big THANK YOU to all the readers that have supported SHTFblog since the first post back on November 19th, 2007 (National Ammo Day). Since that post I’ve been letting Amazon profits, Field Manual profits, commissions, three PayPal donations, and advertising revenue (thank you Weaponcraft) accumulate until I had enough to do something with. It’s been 10 months. My intent has always been to use the “SHTF money” toward SHTF “stuff”. I have by no means gotten rich off this blog, and figuring the time and effort involved, the value of my time (financially speaking) would’ve been far better spent somewhere else. BUT - this blog also servers a self-entertainment role.

In any case, I’m cashing out the total I’ve saved and spending it. Nearly 2/3’s of it has been spent on THIS:

Wow! No THAT’S what I’m talking about! Aren’t you all just wicked happy that you’ve supported my drinking habit? LOL!

Seriously, check that action - holy home brew heaven! I say “home brew heaven”, because it all rests on my dining room church pew (where I pray for forgiveness every other hour). On the far left is a 10 gallon, stainless steel sweet ass brew pot with lid, spigot, and connection for a thermometer. 2nd from the left is a prime wort chiller with garden hose nozzle. Then the fermenting bucket that’s holding various other equipment like the hydrometer, bottle washer, etc. Then we’ve got the carboy, and a basic home brew kit to get me started on the learning curve. Across the bottom is enough “Grolsch” style bottles to hold a standard 5-gallon batch. Yum!

Missing somewhere is my thermometer . . . . I think the kids were playing with it. *grumble grumble* I also figured that 10-gallon brew pot will help me make some stone soup after the apocalypse.

I’ll chart my first brew session for you, have no fears, but first I gotta score something to sanitize the equipment. Now, if you’ve ever had a home brew, don’t be turned off if it didn’t taste good. There are those that make good home brews, and those that make shitty home brews. I’ve had both, and I’ve been conducting brewing research so that I know what makes one brew good and another lousy. I expect failures along the way, but hey - failures can still help you tie one on!

So - thanks to all of you for your support, and - if you didn’t use the SHTFblog Amazon search bar to conduct your Amazon shopping, or send me a PayPal donation, or whatever - at least you dropped a SHTFblog.com link out there in cyberspace somewhere . . . right? . . . . told your friends . . . . right? . . . . please? . . . . . anyone?

Yeah, so there you have it. “But wait,” you say. “What else will you buy with the remaining funds?”

Good question! Well, I just ordered 3 books from Amazon with the funds. What books? These three:

1. Where there is No Doctor
2. Where there is No Dentist
3. Wine and Beers of Old New England - A How-To-Do-It History

The first two are the kinds of books you just gotta have in your survival book collection, because when the grid goes down and you’re all alone - knowledge is power. They’re awesome books - just awesome. The 3rd book, though - that one is for fun. Home brewing has a bit of artistic, self-reliance flare to it, but to add a TEOTWAWKI flare, I want to learn how they did it in the old days. I know I can grow hops, and I can use corn, but . . . I’m in New England, and they did it in New England waaaay back in the day without going to the store to buy malt extract. I’m sure it can still be done. THAT will be interesting . . . all in good time . . . all in good time - NO Ranger Man - home brew NOW! All in good time . . . . . sorry - I digress.

- Ranger Man

BTW: Iran said they’re going to build more nuclear power plants (news article here).

And, best wishes to a real American hero - get well soon!