Mark A

Gosh that looked like fun. I think the rule is to have a problem with a mini-gun you have to OWN a mini-gun. I lose.... The Saiga looked fun but I really want an AA-12. I would be happy with a semi auto version but would love to have one with a giggle switch...

Ok, so those tankers covered the amount spilled. What are you going to do to replace the approximately 23 million gallons per day not being pumped? Got an extra 2,300 trucks and enough drivers to run them 24/7 until the pipeline is functional again?

Feel really bad for the cop...

I mean really... way to leave us hanging...

I keep meaning to give them a shot but rarely get over by the mall. Have you tried Big Shakes? Mark

2 years ago we bought property in Santa Fe. Prices are starting to climb in that section, especially the closer you get to the Williamson County line. We hope to start building out there late next spring. Lots of places to look down near Columbia and so far not too many busy bodies... It depends on income qualification but there are some pretty good rural mortgage options down in that area. There's enough town there to get by on a day to day basis and is still close enough to Franklin/ Cool Springs for some better shopping and dining choices. Mark

Dibs on taking you for your first Nashville hot chicken meal. You are going to be really close to us. Pass the hot chicken test and you cut 30 days from the mandatory acclimation period. Mark

The land I bought was hayed heavily for decades with only chemical fertilizer used to support growth. The soil is in pretty bad shape from a nutrient deficiency standpoint. The radishes are a good nutrient accumulator. The roots can grow up to 3 feet deep and the main part of the fruit grows to about 12" deep and about 1" in diameter. It is great for dealing with compacted soils. When it winter kills you leave it in the ground to rot. It attracts worms and beneficial soil microbes. Next spring I will plant something that grows a ton of biomass. I will probably do this for 2 growing cycles and then the ground should good for whatever I want to do moving forward. Just need a patch of 3-4 days with at least some rain. Mark

I have a couple hundred pounds of daikon radish seeds to broadcast in 2 fields. Saturday evening there is a pretty good chance of rain but the next few days the chance of rain drops to 10% for a few days then up to 20% before another good chance the following weekend (so far) Do I go for it? Daikon radish is supposed to be pretty temperature hardy but I want to give it warmer temps for a long as possible to maximize growing. I know if the seed gets wet and then dry it can die and I would really rather not have to buy more seed. I do not have any practical way to irrigate either field. The area is Santa Fe if you wanted to look at weather forecasts... (that's pronounced Santa FEEEE, not Santa Fay. You say Santa Fay and they give you one of those: "you ain't from 'round here is ya boy" looks... Thanks for any and all advice, Mark

sure... everyone is full of help now, but where were you when I was two wheeling it? ; - ) Yep, learned a lot in the 5-10 seconds I was just along for the ride. I'd made that trip several times but always in 4wd and always with the backhoe on the back. First time in 2wd and with just the tiller and whoee!!! Now I go down in 4wd and with the bucket much lower and no more issues. Mark

If I'd had it in 4wd I would have been ok. Likewise, if I'd had enough sense to lower the tiller I would have been ok. Fortunately I had plenty of run off room at the bottom.

We have the Ridgeline and my wife drives a 2014 CR-V. Haven't had any a/c issues at all. She doesn't like it very cold and I don't spend significant time in the CR-V so it may not be adequate and I just don't know it.

Stick an AR, a backpack of MRE's and water plus some spare clothes and you've got a pretty nice all terrain set up there.

I'm happy that he's happy, right up to the point where I will have to pay for him to live when he gets too old to traipse around the world and he has no SS, savings, or 401k to even try to live on.

I have one as a company vehicle. Would have never bought one on my own but I would now. The trunk is really nice for keep things like a BOB and other such stuff. It is just barely large enough to carry 3 of my customers to lunch. I drive most of my territory and it is great on the highway. I say this from the position of also owning a quad cab 3/4 dodge diesel. If it were to be my only "truck" it would not work for me but for day to day stuff it is great. Kind of ugly but very functional. Mark

These minimum wage lifers are creating a real problem on teenage workers. It is getting harder and harder for them to get first jobs that enable them to learn how to work in a professional capacity...

Getting rid of cash is the wet dream of every banker and politician out there...

So it is Jerky on the hoof?

I guess it is easy for me to say this since I'm not in the line of fire but I think if you had a very small solar system tied to dedicated plugs with no possibility of it getting away and onto the grid they would have a pretty hard time jacking you up. Or, if it powered just the lights in your garage and maybe a couple of plugs on a bench where you could charge small devices like phones etc... I believe what your research turned up but would they have the public will to go after you? Big fan of Steven Harris. He seems to do a good job of researching things before he talks about them. He can sound condescending but once you realize it is just how he speaks it is easy to get past. I learned of Steven through listening to the Survival Podcast. If you become a supporting member you get discounts from vendors. One of those is Iron Edison. The batteries they offer are essentially rebuildable forever. As with such things it is expensive on the front end but long term you will save big bucks and have batteries that retain their ability to take charges for much longer You can join the membership on a month to month basis, get the discount and cancel... Not saying that is the right way to do it but it is set up that way... I would think the amount of social capitol you've built up here is nearly bottomless. If you decide to tell them to take a hike I would be happy (as I'm sure would many others) to come up and help install it. No more panels than you will need what would they say if we built a couple of frames with wheels on them? Just because you don't move them doesn't mean they aren't portable... Mark

They ALWAYS have young kids. It's like the devil himself is guiding the bullets. Just pisses me right the hell off...

I should have mentioned that for me at least my AR10's are a lot more fun to shoot than my AR 15's. I was shooting steel at 150 yards with a buddy a few weeks back. He was shooting his 223, I shot a couple different AR 10's. Him: ting ting ting Me: CLANG GONG CLANG Me: : - )

I used to get up your way weekly but now only a couple of times a year. I should load up the queen and bring her for a visit and help out for a day... Least I could do...

I fly with mine all the time. If I'm going to be gone an extended amount of time I check a pelican with my 5.56 pistol in it. I get a few raised eyebrows but otherwise no hassle. For my carry piece I have one of those metal cases with the small cable in it. I put an padlock hasp on it for extra security. In my bag I cut a small slit in the bottom lining and I wrap the cable around the frame for the extendable handle. I know it isn't much but I figure if I can make it just a bit harder for someone to slip the case out it might make them look elsewhere. The only real sacrifice I make is I only check a glock. I don't want to take a chance on losing a real pistol... Mark

Thanks for the replies... I don't know if anyone should be jealous. Once we decided to go down this path we went all in with my retirement plan. It looks like it is going to work out but I am 100% committed. Failure is literally not an option. I find that fear is a great motivator. My wife (who should have never said yes : - 0 ) deserves to have a comfortable retirement for putting up with me all these years. Folks in her family live about 20 years longer than they do in mine so I'm planning for the really long haul... I've learned a few things: 1) It doesn't matter how big of a tractor you bought, it will always be at least 1 size smaller than you need for some random task. 1b) Who knew tractors didn't have brakes on the front wheels? If you go down a steep hill with a heavy load in the front end bucket and the rear wheels come off the ground you are along for the ride until you get to the bottom. 1c) always keep a pair of clean shorts in your car. See 1b for any needed info. 2) Buying a backhoe attachment was a huge mistake for me. I would have done a lot better to save the money and rent a mini-excavator when I needed it. But, if you need a trench dug that is not straight, not level, and not smooth from beginning to end I'm your man! 3) The biggest leap of faith was drilling the well. It cost almost double what I budgeted. I haven't turned it on yet. Sort of like a lottery ticket: Until I check the numbers I'm a winner. If the well doesn't produce life will not be good for a while. 4) I knew the rule build a bigger barn than you think you will need. I built a 30x40. I had a 12x24 shed before. I thought a 30x40 was a huge overkill. It is only 50% too small. 5) Tractor folks only deal in 1,000's. As in: do you want to spend 1,000 or 2,000 or 3,000 etc... They apparently have never heard of 10's, 20's or 100 dollar bills before. 6) Tractor implements are like AR's. Once you have the first one you realize how many more you need. It doesn't help if your normally very frugal wife is a implement gateway drug... She says things like: I want mulch on the inside of the fencing around the greenhouse. Can your tractor do that? My answer was yes (sounded like thousands)... But even though I haven't mulched any trees yet she loves her little greenhouse. We've been married 23 years and I never knew she'd always wanted one. It's been tiring but we own some dirt free and clear. It is really quiet out there. The wind is almost always blowing and so far we like all of our future neighbors. BTW: when we bring the dozer in to cut our permanent drive way he is also going to take the dirt we will be digging out for our basement and close the end of a little ravine so that I can have a pond in a few years. While the dozer is there he is also going to level out a 25 yard wide by 50 yard deep spot and use the rest of the dirt for a berm. Getting a place to shoot started us down this road and I WILL have a small range. I may not be able to afford any steel for a few years but I am going to try to have a big ole TN Gunowners Mid Tn shoot and celebration. Hope everyone likes pulled pork... Mark

We started getting serious about being prepared about 6 years ago. This followed the second incident where we were almost stuck in our car for an extended amount of time. The previous year we made it past where they closed roads due to winter storms twice by just a few minutes. I always had tow straps and such with me but I realized we needed some food and other things in a vehicle kit. Once we did that I realized how right it felt and we started learning to can and store extra food etc... I'm sure many of us went through some similar path. The thing is my extended family on both sides were country folk. Sitting on the porch helping my grandmothers prep beans and corn etc for canning was just what you did. But, I grew up and moved away and lost touch with that. Anyway, we move forward several years and we weren't self sufficient (really hard to do) but we had a couple months worth of water stored and probably 1-1.5 years worth of food canned, dehydrated, or frozen. Our path for that isn't as hard as some because it is just the 2 of us. I didn't realize how badly I wanted some land until I started looking for a piece of junk property to shoot at . I was looking for an abandoned quarry or land with a ravine that could be a backstop and would be cheap. As we looked for land I found myself drawn to places where we could actually live and have animals and a proper garden etc. We just kind of fell into it but I am blessed with a wonderful spouse who said go for it. We bought a piece of land and I started planting trees and berry bushes and things that I wanted to get started so they would be closer to productive when we moved in. We put a barn up, got all of our utilities in and now we are drawing up plans for a nice simple house that will be easy for us to maintain as we age. Spending the last 2.5 years working non-stop at the property (not blessed with millions so sweat equity is my middle name) has put a real dent in our preparedness. I'm not canning and dehydrating like I was and we are going through our stock of food. Part of that is a time thing but part is a desire to not have to move a bunch of heavy jars. We hope to start building next spring. So, as we get closer and closer to moving where we will be much more able to provide for ourselves at the same time we are burning through prepared preps. In some ways I think it was meant to go that way because the money we are saving by eating our preps is going right into land prep. Who knew dirt was so expensive. So that is how we are the least and most prepared at the same time. We just have to hang on for about a year and then we will be solidly moving in the right direction. This is by far the largest post I've ever made. I think I will go take a nap... Mark