Concealed Carry Amendment Defeated in the Senate

July 22, 2009 by chubbysurvivalist

Yahoo today reported that the amendment to mandate concealed carry reciprocity among states was defeated by the slimmest of margins.  While the article is unusually objective sounding for being part of the popular media, it does make this defeat out as more than it is, by saying “opponents prevailed in their argument…”

To me, “prevailed” means they really swayed general opinion.  They didn’t.  Votes were actually in favor of the amendment, 58 – 39.  However, the senate requires 60 “for” votes in order to pass legislation, so this measure failed.  But I think this misleading tone is due more to the need for media to overdramatize.  A story saying “despite growing support, things stay the same for now” doesn’t sell.

One part of the article really interested me.  It was the anti-gun crowd’s sudden concern for “state’s rights” that they wholeheartedly ignore when they’re trying to eliminate the whole country’s second amendment right to bear arms.  Are we being hypocritical?  I firmly believe in state’s rights, and I know we’re not.

The right of individual states to make their own laws and govern their own people is invaluable.  I dare say when it comes to legislation, the smaller level the better.  But those laws are not allowed to infringe on constitutional rights, and the right to self defense is one of them.

Private businesses and private residences are the only places that should have the right to enforce stricter gun rules on their own property.  I have no problem with that.  I’ve seen news reports with bar owners who complain about lax gun law.  In my state, and most I believe, bars are like any other private business and have to right to restrict guns, or anything else, as much as they want.  Heck, put up a “no republicans” sign, I don’t care – I’ll simply take my business elsewhere.

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Water Conservation in the Shower

July 22, 2009 by chubbysurvivalist

This is not that old joke about conserving water by showering together. Experience says you’re likely to be in there long enough to negate any water savings.  There are still benefits, but none of them are conservation-related :)

As I fill each of my 7-gallon water containers for long-term storage, and lug the almost 60-pounds down to our basement storage area, I’m filled with newfound respect for clean, purified water.  It even tastes better when I drink it.  I’m no longer a slave to milk and pop.  There was a day when I lacked the will power to drink plain water, but now I appreciate it so much more.

And so I’m increasingly agitated by just how much of this wonderful, life-giving, purified water we waste all the time.  I’m not ready to give up indoor plumbing anytime soon, but I’ve realized just how amazingly efficient outhouses were, back in the day.  Zero water usage for an unlimited number of people.  Think of how much water we waste for the privilege of going to the bathroom indoors.

I’ve also started to notice how much water I waste waiting for the hot water to make its way up the pipes to my bathroom sink before I shave – or to the shower.  In a survival situation my family could live quite well, and indefinitely, on 5 gallons of water per day, per person.  Yet the average household uses 12-14 times that.  My family could survive on much less in the short term.

All that being said, I’m looking for ways to cut down on water, and I’m not just looking at convenient ways.  I’m willing to get creative, and it’s just lucky that I found one way that is both creative and convenient.  My shower has an extra attachment with a hose, which I’ve never really needed.  The up side is that there is a push/pull button that redirects water to the hose, cutting off water to the main shower head.  This gave me an idea: clog the hose, and I can effectively shut my water off during the middle of a shower when I’m shampooing, or scrubbing.  The faucet knobs will remain in the same position, preserving the water temperature for a few minutes between uses.

In the pictures below you can see my shower setup, and how I plugged the extra shower head with just a few inches of paracord, tied in a half-hitch knot and stuffed into the head.  Don’t stuff it into the hose, or water pressure pushing on it could move it.  By stuffing it into the head and making sure it’s firmly planted, added water pressure will only serve to keep it in place.  Paracord is a nice material because it’s easy to remove (no permanent clogging) and it’s synthetic so it won’t rot.  It’ doesn’t need to be 100% sealed – reducing the flow to a dribble is good enough for my purposes.

By clogging my extra shower head with paracord, I'm able to create a shower where I can turn water flow off, and the water temperature will be just right when I turn it back on a few minutes later.

By clogging my extra shower head with paracord, I'm able to create a shower where I can turn water flow off, and the water temperature will be just right when I turn it back on a few minutes later.

Keep in mind that the longer you do this, the cooler the hot water in the pipes will be when you turn it back on.  But I just need it “paused” for a couple of minutes at a time, so it’s perfect.  This should turn a shower with 10-15 minutes of water usage into a shower with less than 5 minutes of running water.

I’m also going to try another change in bathroom water habits – not waiting so long for hot water.  I’m guessing that by waiting for shower/shaving water to be just “acceptable” instead of perfect, I can cut the wait/waste in half.

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Building Survival Fitness from a Rut

July 21, 2009 by chubbysurvivalist

I made a commitment to get 5,000 steps in every day this week, no matter what.  The first test came tonight, after staying home all day and only having 1,300 steps counted.  The good news is that it feels like a plan, a routine.  I felt “commited” because this was the first time that the only reason I was exercising was to meet a rule I’d laid down for myself.  It’s easy to exercise when you feel like it, or to tack on extra steps throughout the day.  This was different, and better because I was exercising my will power at the same time.

It’s not all roses, though.  At nearly 300 pounds, I realize I’m in a fitness rut.  I define a rut as any situation where the further you dig yourself in, the less able you are to get out.  Like getting in shape – the more out of shape I am, the less active I’m able to be.  It’s the same for a financial rut where your problem is directly hurting your means to solve it.

If I have $10,000 in credit card debt, I can shore up extra money – maybe just $50 a month – and start paying down one card.  When that card is paid off, suddenly I have $150 a month to put toward paying off the next debt, and so on.  I think experts call it a debt snowfall, or something similar.  It’s the same for fitness.  I will leverage my current, meager abilities into more fitness, which I will reinvest into even better conditioning.

From here I rise.

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Crime Statistics on Concealed Carry Permit Holders

July 21, 2009 by chubbysurvivalist

As I’ve researched concealed carry laws in different states, I’ve learned a lot.  Part of the reason for this research is because we’ll likely be taking a trip down to Texas soon, and I wanted to know if my future Kansas concealed carry permit would apply all the way down.  It does, because both Oklahoma and Texas honor a Kansas concealed carry permit.

One of the things I’ve learned is that, since concealed carry provisions are on the rise in states (Nebraska just enacted their concealed carry permits a couple years ago) they’re eager to show that it was a good decision.  Or maybe they’re just eager to make sure that if it isn’t working out, they’ll be the first to know.  But states are publishing interesting statistics on crime, and the demographics of concealed carry permit holders.  Interestingly, the highest demographic for violent crime (men in their early 20’s) are also one of the smallest groups of legal concealed carriers.  Old people are packing, people!

I recently researched getting a 2nd concealed carry permit from Texas, to add 9 states to the list of places I can legally carry a concealed weapon.  I stumbled on some great statistics.  I based all my numbers on data from 2007, because that’s the most recent year for which all data was available.

From Many Eyes I learned that the total population of Texas is about 23.9 million people, of which 16.6 million meet the age requirement for a concealed carry permit.  The rest of my stats were provided by the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Concealed Carry site, which was extremely helpful.

According to this pdf, there were 288,908  concealed carry permit holders in 2007.  This means that 1.75% of age-eligible residents own a concealed carry permit.  And according to this pdf, only 0.26% (about a quarter of a percent) of gun crimes are commited by concealed carry permit holders.  That means that concealed carry permit holders are seven times less likely to commit gun crimes.  Concealed carriers are safer!

This makes a lot of sense.  Concealed carry permit holders are required to pass a course covering the law surrounding firearms use, including when it is acceptable to use deadly force, and how to do so within the bounds of the law.  The course also requires a level of proficiency with handguns that lowers the risk of accidental injury.  Concealed carry permit holders also undergo a federal background check, submit their fingerprints, and photo identification.  In short, it would be much easier to identify and convict them if they were to abuse their privilege.  Concealed carriers have more to lose by commiting a gun crime – they’re held to a higher level of accountability.

This shouldn’t deter you from obtaining a concealed carry permit, and using it responsibly.  Of course, I wish people were allowed to carry firearms freely without a permit, and regulation.  Criminals are bullies, and they thrive on the weak.  It becomes much harder to rob a convenience store, or go on a shooting rampage at a school or mall when the shooter has to think twice about how many people might also be armed.

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Weekly Survival Goals

July 20, 2009 by chubbysurvivalist

This is my third posting today – excessive, I know.  But I’ve decided to start a regular thing called Weekly Goals, and it only seems right to start it on a Monday!  Every Monday I’ll post five goals related to survival that I want to accomplish by the end of the week.  Then I’ll go out and try to accomplish them.  I’ll probably fail a lot, so that might amuse you if you’re amused by that sort of thing.

Each week, I’ll review how I handled my last set of goals before outlining my new ones.  Since this is the first post and I don’t have a previous week’s survival goals, I’ll review my progress on my overall goals so far:

  1. Defense. I’ve spent the most time, money, and effort on this one.  That’s not a great investment, since it offers the least likely payout for the greatest expense.  So if anything, I’ve done too much.  That being said, I’m proud of what I’ve done!
    1. I bought a handgun (Glock 21SF, .45 caliber).
    2. I took a basics class to learn how to use it.
    3. I got an annual membership to my local shooting range.
    4. I practiced getting the gun out of the safe and loading it in the middle of the night, which I can now do in under 17 seconds.
    5. My target shooting was good to start (thanks to rifle/shotgun experience), but now I’m much better.
    6. I’ve registered for my Concealed Carry course.
    7. I’ve built up a good stock of ammo.
    8. I got my NRA membership.
  2. Disaster Preparation. I got my Red Cross certifications in First Aid, Adult CPR, and Child/Infant CPR.  I tried to register for CERT training, but they don’t have any courses scheduled in my area any time soon.  I hope to volunteer for the Red Cross locally, sometime soon.  I’ve stored 56 gallons of purified drinking water for emergencies, and put together an Altoids survival tin.  This goal has been pretty well on target.
  3. Fitness. I’ve totally horked this one.  I’d planned to lose more weight by now, but late night munchies have killed this.  On the plus side, I am getting more physically able, even if my appearance isn’t changing.  I can hike 8 miles, and my short-term walking pace has improved from 1,000 steps every ten minutes to 1,000 steps in just eight.
  4. Education. I’ve been reading a lot, from survival manuals from british survivalists like John Wiseman and Ted Wright to American Rifleman magazine, which I receive with my NRA membership and read cover to cover.  I just picked up the U.S. Military Pocket Survival Guide and The Ultimate Man’s Survival Guide.
  5. Random. My last goal every week will either be from one of the four categories above at random, or possibly something totally unrelated.  I want to be sure I get something from every category every week, but I also might have something important that doesn’t neatly fit.  This week, it’s cleaning.  You can see a picture of my side of the bed, below.  It’s messy, and that’s what I’d have to stumble through in the middle of the night – twice – to get the safe key and return to the gun safe under the bed.  My car’s trunk is much the same way, and should I ever need to fill it quickly, the mess would get in the way.  I’ll clean both this week.

That’s my assessment of my progress so far.  Now for this next week’s goals.  They don’t need to be big, but I need to be doing something in each area.

  1. Defense. Buy another 200 rounds of ammo to replace what I’ve spent at the range, and add to my surplus.
  2. Disaster Preparation. Review CPR procedures, and be able to mime the entire process from memory.
  3. Fitness. Lose 2 pounds, walk over 5,000 steps a day, no matter what.  Drink only skim milk.  No pop, no desserts.
  4. Education. Read the preface and first two chapters of the U.S. Military Pocket Survival Guide.

Let’s see how I do.

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Support the National Right To Carry Bill!

July 20, 2009 by chubbysurvivalist

Normally, I try to just post once per day, but this is too important.  Gun Owners of America have an article about upcoming legislation to make concealed carry permits automatically reciprocal with other states.  This would allow concealed carry permits to work almost exactly like state-issued driver’s licenses.  Getting licensed in your home state allows you to drive in all states that issue licenses, with the condition that you obey the host state’s driving laws.

This is wonderful – it would mean that if I qualify for (and obtain) a concealed carry permit in my home state of Kansas, I would automatically be allowed to carry a concealed weapon in any other state that issues these permits.  Currently, Kansas only has concealed carry reciprocation with 23 other states, which is why I discussed the possibility of obtaining a second permit in Texas or Arizona to add their reciprocal states to the list.

The biggest gain for me would be Nebraska, which currently only issues concealed carry permits to residents, and refuses to recognize the permits of other states.  The new law would require reciprocal recognition.  This is great for states too, because it’s not a free pass.  I’d still have to obey the specific concealed carry laws of the state I’m visiting, which is fair.

You should read the article I linked to above, and ensure that your representatives support this important legislation.  Concealed carry holders have to pass written and shooting tests, submit their pictures and fingerprints, and pay hefty fees for the privilege.  Doing this once should be good enough for any other state in the U.S. to recognize.

As a side note, I just signed up for my concealed carry class today.  The process takes about three months, between waiting for the next available class and waiting up to 60 days for the state to issue the permit.  If you haven’t started already, do it now.

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Gas Usage in a Survival Situation

July 20, 2009 by chubbysurvivalist

Last week my parents decided to get rid of their old-fashioned 35″ HDTV CRT (non-flat screen) in favor of a larger flat screen they can wall mount.  We got the call that if I was willing to drive up to Nebraska for it, it was ours.  Woe is the day when a cutting-edge web developer like me is accepting technology hand-me-downs from his parents.  I drove the Mustang, which was kind of stupid for how big the TV actually is.  I literally had to unbolt the passenger seat to fit the TV in the back, then rebolt the seat for the trip back down to Kansas City.

On the trip back, I decided to make the most of the 180 miles by doing some “survival” driving.  Lately, I’ve gotten better and better at asking “what if?” in any given situation, like so:

  • What if my car broke down somewhere remote?  What could I use from the car itself to aid in survival?
  • What if someone tries to break into my car and steal the TV while I’m in the coffee shop?  What reflective surfaces can I use to keep the car in sight?
  • What if disaster struck, and we had a long way to drive with no guarantees we’d be able to refuel along the way?  How would we stretch our fuel usage?

I previously tackled part of this problem in my post about long term gasoline storage, where I recommend keeping your vehicles’ gas tanks topped off so you always have gas to siphon when needed.  But what about conserving gas as you’re using it?  This brings me back to that 180 mile drive.  I decided to see just how much I could improve my mileage if I was creative about it.

I decided to go as close to 60mph as possible the whole drive down, with a couple exceptions.  First, never drive more than 5mph under the speed limit unless I’m behind a slower car so it’s “their fault”.  Second, I would attempt to politely tailgate a semi whenever possible, and I’d be willing to go as fast as 70mph if it meant keeping up.

Drafting behind a semi requires a lot of concentration, and tact.  You don’t want to piss off the truck driver by tailgating, and you don’t want to get so far back that you’re not getting any benefit.  Let’s just say, on this particular day, I had more concentration than tact.  The first truck I drafted, I tried to stay out of site by trailing close enough that he couldn’t see me through the side view mirrors.  It’s not that hard, because there’s a long blind spot behind large trucks.

Sadly, around every curve I was out of the blind spot, and the driver got pissed.  I didn’t realize this at first, but he was bothered enough to take an offramp, and immediately get back on the interstate just to lose me.   Of course, he caught up to me right away because I had to slow down (no drafting).  This time, I just let him drive by, and didn’t tail him.  I’d obviously pissed him off, and that wasn’t my intention.

My next attempt, I stayed back a little further.  I figured some drafting benefit is better than none, and a happy trucker is better than one that wants to run me over.  This went better.  I didn’t have driver issues.

I’d topped off my tank right before the drive, so when I got into town I found a gas station and topped off my tank again.  Doing the math between the number of gallons I’d pumped and the trip odometer, I was able to figure out that I’d gotten 37mpg!  That’s insane in any Mustang, even my 6-cylinder.  My normal interstate mileage is 27mpg.  That was a 37% improvement using slower driving and drafting, and I even had a 200 pound TV in the back seat.

Especially after doing it myself, I do NOT recommend tailgating a trucker.  Not all of those guys would be as nice as my angry trucker was.  I could have gotten beat up at a rest stop, or possibly even pulled over if he’d radio’d a state trooper.  But I think you still get a good benefit from finding a slower-driving semi truck and following as close as safety and courtesy allow.

Our van gets about 25 mpg on the interstate, and has a 25 gallon tank.  That means normally, we’d have a range of about 600 miles.  If survival driving can increase that by 10%, and we have just 10 extra gallons that we siphoned from the Mustang, the family van would have a range of over 1,000 miles.  I’m sure we’d be more weighed down with supplies as well, but it’s still promising.

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Concealed Carry in as Many States as Possible

July 17, 2009 by chubbysurvivalist

I went back to the shooting range yesterday with a friend, for more target practice.  Going every week got expensive, so it had been a couple weeks and I was practically going through withdrawal!  When my friend asked about going, I jumped at the chance.

After shooting, I got to thinking about my plans to get a CCL (concealed carry license).  They’re on hold because I’m trying to pace my survival spending.  Other things like food, water, and survival books will prove a much better investment should disaster strike sooner, rather than later.  However, it is a high priority for me simply because the process takes so long.  I might have a month-long wait to take the class, then up to 60 days for the permit itself to be issued.  If I ever want or need it, I doubt I’ll have 90 days advance notice.

As a Kansas resident, my concealed carry permit will allow me to carry a concealed handgun in 23 states.  That’s pretty good, almost half the country.  It’s because a lot of states have reciprocal concealed carry agreements, honoring each other’s licenses.  To me, this is smart.  If you trust that another state has done the due diligence to verify a person’s CCL-worthiness, it saves time and money.

Sadly, my home state of Nebraska doesn’t see it that way, which makes it the only neighboring state that doesn’t recognize a Kansas concealed carry permit.  They will also only issue a CCL to residents, so the only way to legally carry a concealed weapon in Nebraska is to live there and get the permit.  Nebraska is the state I travel to most, since my family lives there.

But that did get me thinking.  I’d read in Neil Strauss’ Emergency that he got his permit in Arizona, even though he was a California resident.  I found that a number of states will issue permits to nonresidents.  By combining the right permits, I could potentially gain a lot more ground!  I was right.  Getting a Texas concealed carry permit (where I also have family, and occasionally visit) would add nine states to my list.  If I chose Arizona instead of Texas, I’d have to make a special trip but it would give me all the Texas states plus three more.

All of the green states recognize a Kansas concealed carry permit.

All of the green states recognize a Kansas concealed carry permit.

The yellow states are what I would gain by getting a Texas concealed carry permit in addition to my Kansas CCL.

The yellow states are what I would gain by getting a Texas concealed carry permit in addition to my Kansas CCL.

The red states are the ones I'd add by getting an Arizona concealed carry permit as my second permit, instead of a Texas CCL.

The red states are the ones I'd add by getting an Arizona concealed carry permit as my second permit, instead of a Texas CCL.

As you can see, I have the ability to add a dozen states to my concealed carry list just by qualifying in one extra state.  This is almost three quarters of the country, and most of the non-participating states are in New England which is small, and unpleasant for conservatives like me anyway.

If you would like to play around with your concealed carry options, the best place is USA Carry’s Reciprocity Maps which use flash to generate a map of your options with just a couple clicks.

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Gasoline Storage and Usage in Survival Situations

July 16, 2009 by chubbysurvivalist

I’ve been thinking about getting a generator as part of my disaster preparation.  I’ve also thought about the fact that gas would be in short supply, and we might have to drive a long distance to safety.  I started looking up how to store gasoline long term.  I’m concerned about things like vapors, and the possibility of spillage.  I know there are additives to keep the gasoline stabilized for long term storage, so that part is easy.

I’m going to do more research, but in the meantime I’ve found an excellent way to store extra gasoline long term.  There’s virtually no risk of spillage, no vapor issues, and no additives required.

Most families (and many singles) have more than one vehicle.  We have a minivan to fit the whole family, and a car.  In the event we’d need to evacuate our home, we’d only take the minivan.  The solution is simple – always keep both vehicles topped off with gasoline!  It’s the safest way to store 14 extra gallons of gasoline, and if we need to evacuate we can siphon it out of the car to take with us.   In the meantime, it stays fresh (constantly cycled) and stored in the safest, most spillproof way.

I think a good plan would be to top off the tank once a week, or whenever you hit 3/4 tank.  Try to shoot for the same day(s) of the week, to make it a convenient, regular habit.  I’ll still have to buy containers, but they can stay empty until needed.

I welcome any thoughts on this idea.  I didn’t read it anywhere, even though I’m sure it’s probably well-known to many.  So if there’s a way to improve on this idea, please leave a comment.

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My Red Cross Certification in First Aid and CPR

July 11, 2009 by chubbysurvivalist

Ten Years Ago

I briefly had a job that required me to take CPR and First Aid training and certification from the American Red Cross.  I remember it vividly.  There I was, one of only two attractive 20 year olds in a room full of older, out of shape students.  The other sat across the room: a cute, petite girl named April.

When the intstructor mentioned pairing up with practice partners, I think April and I had the same thought.  If we were going to have to go lip-to-lip with a stranger, it should be with each other.  We quickly paired up.  As it turned out, we used plastic dummies for mouth-to-mouth practice.  Darn.

I remember very little from the training itself.

Yesterday

I once again sat in a Red Cross classroom.  Much like last time, it was filled with people looking to fill a work requirement.  Unlike last time, nobody was making me take this class.  I paid for it myself, and the little cards they hand out as you pass the tests were merely decorative.  I was after the knowledge, to help my family and others in times of emergency.

Lucky for me, this training was a lot more extensive than what I’d had a decade ago.  We spent a lot of time practicing on those dummies in adult, child, and infant size.  We went through several 2-minute drills of CPR, making sure we learned the entire cycle, and how to adapt to the situation at hand.  I can now recognize if an unconscious person got that way by choking, and what to do about it.  Nine hours later, I held my three new certifications:

These are my certifications for First Aid, Adult CPR, and Child/Infant CPR.

These are my certifications for First Aid, Adult CPR, and Child/Infant CPR.

The First Aid certification is good for a full three years, and I completely understand why.  There’s very little somebody like me can do in a serious first aid situation.  It amounts to calling 911 as soon as possible, and keeping the person alive until they get there.  While the same is true for CPR, the process is much more complex.  Diagnosis of the problem is trickier, and so is the course of action.  You’re still just buying time until professional help arrives, but seconds count.  Accordingly, CPR certifications, which are broken down into Adult and Child/Infant, are for one year only.

I don’t consider myself a medic by any stretch, but I’m proud of being one step closer.  I’m thinking of volunteering with the Red Cross, which can get you more training for free, and real-life experience.  I also noticed their web site lists “wilderness first aid”.  That sounds like a winner!

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