Survival

As of the last few years I have become somewhat obsessed with Post-Apocalyptic survival. Mainly because the shows I watch on Netflix. I have even made shopping lists of thing I need to obtain for my families survival in a society that no longer functions as we know it to today. For the purpose of just getting some of these ideas out here on the blog to keep track of them.

Basics: Things needed to "Bug Out"

• Go Bag: Every person needs a go bag, these are also referred to as 72 hour kits but I consider it to be a little more complex and useful beyond 72 hours. You needs your basic nonperishable food, water (a way of filtering drinking water), space blanket, poncho or wind breaker, gloves, socks, a weeks worth of medication, more if you feel like you need it (especially if you cant survive without it), first aid kit, flash light, knife, Para Cord, duct tape and zip ties. There are plenty of other items you could through in there but remember to try and keep it light. If your hiking it out of town then you do have to carry that pack for days or weeks.
• Bug Out Vehicle: I feel that every family should have at least one vehicle that everyone can fit in and traverse terrain that a Honda Civic would be dumbfounded by. Something with ground clearance, tires that can handle a little bit of mud and plenty of storage space. Gear for the vehicle is pretty centered on making your time away from society safe and relatively comfortable. Lets first start with making sure your vehicle stays running. You will need spare parts that could commonly break like u-joints for 4 wheel drive cars, belts, spark plugs, hoses if you can budget to get them and have a good place to store them. Tools are going to be very important as well, not just your basic tools to fix your car but you will need a general assortment of tools to help you build shelter, repair your gear and possibly help you hunt. Saws, jacks, hammers, hatchets, axes, pulleys, rope, tarps and hand drills just to name a few. Remember none of your survival gear should rely on electricity or gas. Speaking of gas, make sure that you have a way to carry at least 10 gallons of gas if not double that. Also for all this wonderful life saving equipment should be kept in containers that one person should be able to carry. Don't be too dependent on your vehicle, you never know when you wont have access to gas or if it breaks catastrophically.
• Shelter: Tents are a great source of shelter, they go up easy and quick, they also don't weigh very much. If you decide to make a trailer part of your kit then make sure that it has designated sleeping areas, ventilation, heating and a way to keep it organized securely. Sleeping bags are essential, make sure they are something that is easy to take care of, tear proof, and fit you comfortably. Even though you may live in a warm climate get something that can handle the cold. It always gets cold. Blankets are a must, one for everyone and wool is preferable. 
• Cooking: Food, everyone loves it and you cant live with out it. Get a Dutch oven, you can cook almost anything in them, they clean up easy and they are super tough. A campfire griddle, grill rack, and something you can spit roast with. A good set of knives are more important than almost anything they will make your life so much easier if your surviving off of game. Salt is vital to survival, make sure you have plenty of it. You can preserve meat with it, your body has to have the iodine, and it just makes things taste better. 
• Protection: When the world ends so does the fact that your safe most of the time. People become desperate when the normal life disappears and they do the one thing that they know will produce results, resort to violence and prey on the weak. So having several ways of protecting yourself and being familiar with them is life or death. Guns are easy to use, they last forever if you take care of them and carrying ammo is compact. But once the ammo is gone its gone for good. So I would suggest that everyone become familiar with a Bow or Crossbow. If needs be you can just fashion more bolts or arrows out of sticks and still be deadly. Plus they are great to hunt with.

There are so many other things that can be said but I feel this would be a good and life saving start. I know that I will start with a go bag and start assembling gear so that if anything ever happens I can take care of my family and possibly others too.

The Chevy Chase

There has been so much talk about the bail outs and how Chrysler and GM are such big losses for the government. Honestly I couldn't really care about how its wrong for the US to step in and give them money. Its like a huge investment, they gambled and lost, just another reason to let Obama go. That's besides the point, I want to talk about how GM, especially Chevrolet have really stepped up their game. 

First off lets talk about the car that has really taken the world by storm. The Chevrolet Cruze. This car absolutely amazes me, the looks the performance and quality are well above par. The car was originally developed in Australia under GM's brand Holden. The executives at Chevrolet saw something great in the car and brought it on board to get a complete redesign and to make it a Global car. They put over two million test miles on their test cars, in diverse climates and in all conditions. The result is a car that is more reliable than your standard Corolla, Civic or even Jetta. It gets great mileage and should be a serious contender for those out there looking to get a new sedan. Three simple words sum this car up, I'm in love.

Next I would like to point out the amazingness that is the Malibu, if you haven't ever looked at this car for a large sedan choice in comparison to the Accord, Camry, Passat or any of those other so called contenders; well your just a Muppet. Not only is this car stand out beautiful, it is a real piece of fine workmanship. Not only can you get an Eco model that can get up to 37 mpg, there are performance models out there that will make you squeal with just a press of your big toe on that right pedal. In the next year Chevrolet not only plans to release a Turbo model with 275 HP, there is also a SS model in the works. These cars have the ability to meld both those with conservative personalities but also be a fun car for those looking for a good time with a bit of practicality in mind.

Enough with the cars that please the Californian hippies and those on capital hill trying to look environmentally conscious so they can be re-elected just so they can have a job where they make great money just for lying and cheating. Now its time for the cars that bring out the seventeen year old in all of us. First up is the Camaro, this car was something to be missed. GM for all too long let this car go astray from its Pony car roots through the 90's. It became a little brother to a car that also took a turn for the worst during the same time period. It wasn't impressive, it was ugly and it was a poor piece of machinery. It took a little vacation, a sabbatical of sorts. It got some rest, sobered up and came back better looking than it had been for over 25 years. Its a car that makes the Mustang and various German performance money pits look like pathetic uses of your money. The SS is amazing as is, enough said, personally I don't know why you would want something more. Its a car that with various bolt on upgrades meets any need you could ever want. But no, Chevrolet has upped the ante. This big boy is a new, lighter, faster and a whole lot meaner version of the already amazing SS. The ZL1 is the car that will destroy the likes of Ford, BMW, Mercedes Benz or any other car company that felt they could throw their hat in to the ring with this War Horse. 0-60 in a jet like 3.8 seconds, hitting 100 MPH in just 8 seconds also having a top speed of nearing 190 MPH. Ford is going to try to bite back with a 5.8L GT500 Mustang with 650 hp, but don't think that 580 hp is all that Chevy plans to squeeze out of its Supercharged 6.2L LS7.  This is a battle that GM will not back down from and they will never win in sales but they will be the top dog.

Ferrari, Lamborghini, Aston Martin, Koenigsegg, Pagani and Porsche are names you think of when super cars are the topic of discussion. There is a serious competitor that has shocked the Europeans a couple years ago that was enough of a hit to make them drop the cigarette that was more than likely stuck between their lips when they found out about this little wonder. The Corvette ZR1. As mentioned before, the Corvette has been a bit of a joke for the last couple decades. Slow, Ugly, Plastic and Undesirable and just a few thoughts that come to mind thinking of Chevrolet's so called sports car since the early 70's. Not anymore they brought their "A" game. And they sent those Euro Song writing yuppies back to the drawing board with a lot of problems to look at. First off is the price of the ZR1, weighing in at just under $112k it isn't cheap, but you get a lot of bang for your buck. 0-60 in 3.4 seconds top speed over 200mph and its car that turns just as amazing as it looks. The best part about it, its still using leaf spring suspension in the rear. The car has raised chaos in the performance world and will continue to do so.

There are so many people out there that remember the old Chevrolet, a company that made cheap cars. Their are a loyal few who are being blessed for their patience, but the rest of the world needs to step up and take notice. GM is on a war path and they wont stop until they reclaim their rightful place back that the top of the food chain.

Inspiration

G-Man got one, I want on too. Its sad when I am jealous of my four year old nephew. But the kid is a stud so there is a lot to be green over. Speaking of green, that's the color of my new ride. After building Gavin's bike, I decided that a year and a half after my bike got stolen it was time to replace it. I was lucky enough to have a enabler to help me get a new bike.

Before I even started looking at bikes I already knew I wanted one of two brands, Kona or Jamis. I have always drooled over these bikes as I went to Blaine's Cycle back in the day. So if I was getting one I had to go with my dream. KSL had always treated me well when looking for items to buy or sell so it was my first place to look. 

Posted less that twelve hours prior was a Green Kona Dawgma, a great cross country bike. It was for sale for just over half its original value. A great deal, and after many painful emails between me and the owner we finally settled on time that I could drive all the way up to Ogden to look at it. 

Getting this bike has been a Journey for sure. Getting work off was a pain, driving up there was a pain and finding a branch for my bank was a pain. But it all worked out in the end. I got the bike. a 2008 Kona Dawgma was mine. The bike works great for the most part, obviously there are a few things that come with a three year old well ridden bike but I am happy none the less.

I think this is going to be the new focus of my blog, I am going to start writing about all my trips. This weekend is a short trip to Mapleton Horse Trails. Hopefully its a good ride.

Green with Jealously.

G-Man got one, I want on too. Its sad when I am jealous of my four year old nephew. But the kid is a stud so there is a lot to be green over. Speaking of green, that's the color of my new ride. After building Gavin's bike, I decided that a year and a half after my bike got stolen it was time to replace it. I was lucky enough to have a enabler to help me get a new bike.

Before I even started looking at bikes I already knew I wanted one of two brands, Kona or Jamis. I have always drooled over these bikes as I went to Blaine's Cycle back in the day. So if I was getting one I had to go with my dream. KSL had always treated me well when looking for items to buy or sell so it was my first place to look. 

Posted less that twelve hours prior was a Green Kona Dawgma, a great cross country bike. It was for sale for just over half its original value. A great deal, and after many painful emails between me and the owner we finally settled on time that I could drive all the way up to Ogden to look at it. 

Getting this bike has been a Journey for sure. Getting work off was a pain, driving up there was a pain and finding a branch for my bank was a pain. But it all worked out in the end. I got the bike. a 2008 Kona Dawgma was mine. The bike works great for the most part, obviously there are a few things that come with a three year old well ridden bike but I am happy none the less.

I think this is going to be the new focus of my blog, I am going to start writing about all my trips. This weekend is a short trip to Mapleton Horse Trails. Hopefully its a good ride.

Pedaling a Change

Usually this blog is my random ideas about a project I want to do or as in the last post a tribute to my Grandfather. But I am trying to turn this is into a normal blog, we shall see if I can keep it up.

So this little detour started when my awesome nephew, Gavin, was about to turn four. Months beforehand, my father had talked about getting a bike for the G-Man because we felt he was long over due to actually have one. The reasoning for this idea was that I started riding a bike without training wheels when I was just over three years old. So at the age of four Gavin should have no problem learning how to ride. My Dad did a little research and found a Schwinn bike kinda like my first bike. But after taking a look at it, I decided that it wasn't good enough for my nephew.  After looking around on KSL classifieds, I found a Specialized Fuze 16. Anyone that knows anything about bikes knows that Specialized is a respectable bike company and that the price on this bike was a steal of a deal. So after taking a look at it I talked the guy down even further on the price and sealed the deal. The bike wasn't in great condition aesthetically but it worked just fine.

First on my list was to dismantle the bike and get it down to pieces to see what needed to be replaces, that ended up being almost every moving part. Once down to the frame, my Dad and I decided that the bike had to be blue. There really isn't any other color that is acceptable in a boys eyes. A mechanic at Madd Dog Cycles recommended a great powder coating place in Spanish Fork called Cornaby's. They did a great job on the bike and made it look great. We ended up finding a lot of parts online and ordered them for pretty cheap.

Unfortunately the bike ended up sitting in my shed waiting for me to paint a few parts. I never painted the parts, I tried and tried to paint them but due to the freakish weather we got during the spring I never could make it happen. Cornaby's came to the rescue again and had the parts sandblasted and powder coated in less that 3 days. Then due to my lack of knowledge of bikes and pure laziness we let Madd Dog Cycles take care of the building of the bike. With the addition of white mag wheels the bike was complete. I do have to say that this bike is amazing. More than adequate for a four year old to say the least.

Gavin was amazed when his Pops, Nan and Uncle Trent gave him the bike at a family dinner. His first reaction was "Uncle Trent....". I laughed. I love that little guy and I am so glad that he could have a great bike to learn to ride on and to learn to love riding. He hasn't started riding yet due to the bike has some parts on it that don't fit but he will be out and about soon.

(Finished bike pics will be coming soon, never got a good chance to take any after picking it up)

Tribute to GT

August of 2006, I was just transfered to Newbury, England to reopen the area after it being shut down for 5 years. It had to be one of the hardest things I did on my mission. There was one thing that made it even more difficult. Our first real P-Day was actually the week after we transfered the only place we found to email our families was a little internet cafe that charged us 10 pence a minute, kind of a rip off but we were desperate. I only remember one email that I read that week. It was from my Mom. All that she had to say was that my Grandpa Tanner had died and that things were pretty hectic. I'm sure there was more to the email but I do not remember it.
At that moment I realized that the only real grand father I had, just departed this world and I did not really know him. There was one specific memory that I could recall at that moment of utter shock. My last trip to Escondido, California to visit him was to pretty much say hi. We stayed there pretty late just visiting him and talking about the car that my dad had bought him. I wasn't being very observant, but i remember they were talking about rims for the car. Dinner was rolling around so my Grandma Gloria called down to the local pizza place and ordered a pizza. When the time rolled around my Grandpa suggested that he and I take the new car to pick up the pizza. This was the first time that I ever know of that he and I were a lone and spending time together. Getting this old hot rod out of their make shift driveway was quiet the chore, but him letting me drive was euphoric and I couldn't have imagined anything better. There was nothing special about our conversation, we just chatted. The drive there and back, eating the pizza and then hugs that for the first time weren't awkward was all of the memory that I really have of him. It did not matter.
It made my work there in Newbury bitter sweet. It made me work harder and for different reasons. So why bring this up now? Its not the anniversary of his death or his birthday. Well Back in August my Dad and I finally made time to travel to California and pick up the decaying car. It was the best road trip my Dad and I have ever taken. We had a blast. Well after getting the car out of the mountains and into the Imperial Valley I snapped a few shots with my phone and wanted to put them up here on my blog. Who knows maybe this might turn into a real blog.

Here is it: 1935 Buick Coupe.

I Caught a Bug

Project ADD, I promise its a real disease with doctors and medicine. The problem is I have no clue where to find these doctors, so the only way that I cope is to dream up something new. That exactly what I have done. The motorcycle idea wasn't going anywhere. When it comes to me and bikes I have to have the newest most powerful thing out there. Call me a snob or spoiled but I have particular taste. So if I were to accommodate these needs, well I would die a bachelor.  Combine this unfortunate revelation and the fact that my truck practically swallows the gas pump handle when I got to fill up every five days I needed to find a better solution when next summer rolls around and I will be on the road again. Before I elaborate on what exactly my solution could be I must inform you that I face a certain amount of persecution about my endless plans for these random projects. Mainly from my Dad, and I do not blame him for his skepticism. Its like the boy who cried wolf; every time he would bring up a question about the most recent project I informed him about, I would have already moved on to another project idea. Needless to say, that while talking with him about this idea and finding out that not only did he approve but supports me in my dreaming, has made me very excited. 

The Project: 1969 Volkswagen Beetle

Random? Yeah I know, but hear me out. I need a small commuter car that gets good gas mileage, and that i can a reasonable amount of fun with while still maintaining a certain amount of originality. This car fits all three of my criteria.  And I mean look at it, its sexy!

I really do not know where the idea came from. The thing I do remember is that I was in Albuquerque visiting my family when I seriously started to consider it as a project idea. I brought it up with my Dad and he was excited about it. He has always love these cars. He told me a great story about him and his best friend back in high school having their way with these two girls VW Bugs. And that right there was a great sign to me. If my Dad can have fun in this car, so could I. We had a long talk about how there are so many part companies out there that these cars are pretty much the cheapest to restore and maintain. That put the project in my price range.  So we will see how school goes and what my job situation is after my jaw surgery but hopefully this one gets started.