monkeylizard

  Don't worry. I suspect they manscape.

2nd order arrived today. Overnight, just like the first order. Notice the fully welded seams on the rib and the handle. Waiting for my PRI-G to arrive then it's off to Pegram for some ethanol free gasoline.

SS109 is clearly the designation of the round (not just the bullet) submitted by the Belgians for consideration as the NATO standard, and M855 is clearly the US designation for the exact same round, but did NATO keep SS109 as the name when they adopted it or did they officially name it "5.56 NATO" ?   Does anyone know what the "SS" part stands for? I assume "M" = Model as it does in other US designations?

I just put my finger in my coat pocket.

Blitz (now out of business) made a CARB compliant spout that was easy to modify. If you ripped the safety lock out with a pair of needle nose pliers you had a reasonable setup. You just had to push down on a large black lever at the base of the spout and it would pour just fine. Venting was a problem and it would "glug" some but it worked OK. I have one of those but the gasket is super thin and has finally stretched out so it leaks at the base of the spout when being poured. The newer ones (pretty much all I can find today*) have a spring-loaded tube inside the spout with a notch on the side of the spout. The intent is that you hook the notch over the lip of the opening of whatever you're filling and push down (or let the weight of the can do it for you). The real-world result is that you're trying to align, mount, and balance a 30 pound can of highly flamable gasoline on something smaller than a pencil eraser. When that inner tube is depressed, gasoline will begin to flow at what seems like 1oz per minute so you get to keep that balancing act going for a nice long time. It also fails to account for when you're not pouring into something with a well exposed and rigid edge, such as a funnel.  Alternatively, if you have 3 arms and the hand strength of a mutant gorilla, you can pull the spring-loaded tab back manually while holding the can and aligning it with the receiving tank and pour like a normal person. I usually involve a leg, a knee, and a buffalo when attempting this. Smaller cans make the weight more manageable, but the spout still sucks.If you modify these spouts by removing the inner spout and spring, they become a simple plastic tube and work fine but then there's no way to close them as there's no cap for the spout.   *This one seems better than most. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000W72GBC It's flat on the front so you can set it on top of whatever you're filling and point the short spout directly into the receiving tank. You press a button on the back of the yellow area to start the flow. If you have to go CARB, this is probably the best way to do it. I've seen them in stock at ACE Hardware in Bellevue, but nowhere else. HD, Lowes, Autozone, and Advance only have the ones designed by a brain-damaged monkey on experimental drugs.

Great price on the Lifestraw Family if anyone wants one. Woot deals don't last long, so hurry if you want it. They're abiout $70 on Amazon. I suspect there may be a version 2.0 out now or coming soon if they're clearing out old stock on woot.   http://www.woot.com/offers/eartheasy-lifestraw-family-1-0-purifier-10?ref=cnt_wp_1_2

I think I found my next gift for TGO Secret Santa.  :D

The unmanned gate was odd. They're safe from the walkers/roamers with their steel wall, but the gate won't hold up to a Mad Max styled Kenworth rolling down on it. They may be safe inside from the dead, but not from the living. Plus those reinforcing butresses just make ramps for the living to scale the wall.   My prediction: there was a thriving community there and something went horribly wrong (a disease most likely). The structures and walls are still there, so it's salvagable unlike Woodbury and the prison. Aaron and Eric, along with any other survivors of their catastrophe, are out looking for more people to rebuild the town. The gate is unmanned because there's nobody to man it. It's the same reason Aaron and Eric are travelling as a pair instead of as a larger group. There is no larger group. I don't think he's lying about people being the most precious resource, and not in a Terminus kind of way. HOw exactly they've managed to clear and keep clear Highway 23 with hardly any people is a mystery to me and possibly a hole in the story.

Yep. Those are Chinese knock-offs. I'll take my real-deal, thank you.  :D   You can tell by looking at the rib down the middle. If it protrudes out past the flat part of the front, it's a Chinese one. Lots of spot-welds too instead of full welds. Check out where the handles meet the body at the rear of the handle to see more spot welds. All that really means is that they'll be more prone to leaking if they get banged around much. I'd be more concerned about the paint used on the inside and whether or not it will hold up to gasoline whatever you might put in one of these. They also have a straight retention pin and not the "L" shaped pins on real NATO cans. Again, not likely to have an issue unless you bang 'em around a lot.   Trust me. If you want the NATO ones w/o the CARB compliant spout, the link I posted is the best place to get them. You might find a place a couple of dollars cheaper, but once you factor in shipping, I doubt it would be more than a couple of bucks a can. If anyone starts looking around, you'll see some with a CARB compliant spout. The way to tell is because the metal portion of the spout is very short followed by a long plastic portion. The real ones are about 50/50   CARB compliant: https://www.forestry-suppliers.com/Images/Original/4705_93172_v1.jpg Not CARB compliant: http://lexingtoncontainercompanysonlinestore.mybigcommerce.com/jerry-can-nozzles-1/   Note that the metal part of the CARB nozzle ends just past the curve of the spout.

I plan to fill them all with ethanol free fuel treated with PRI-G. None of that Stabil stuff for me.   http://www.kansaswindpower.net/PRI%20lab_tests.htm

I'm done with those stupid CARB compliant fuel cans and their nozzles that cause me to spill more fuel than any normal can ever did. I ordered a new NATO jerry can from the link below on Thursday. It shipped the same day and arrived Friday. Free overnight shipping? Yes, please. Their free-shipping was UPS Ground. I expected 2-day delivery from Lexington to Nashville based on prior experience, but overnight was even better.   It's exactly as pictured on their site. Made in Latvia, full NATO specs, rolled and fully welded seems, no cheap tabs/spot welds like on the Chinese crap at places like Sportsmans Guide. These are not stamped with "For non-potable water" or "For non-fuel use only" or anything like that. Just nice new NATO spec Jerry cans. DOES NOT INCLUDE SPOUT. You have to add them to your order, but you don't need one for every can. The spout is a matching steel base with a semi-flexible plastic end with a built-in screen filter. No CARB compliance here.   With the free shipping, this was the cheapest place I could find them. I did find a great deal on a 4-pack of NATO Jerry cans at Overstock.com, but upon further inspection realized they had CARB compliant spouts. Sort of defeats the purpose.   I ordered more today for a total of 4 cans and 2 spouts, plus an extra gasket per can. I'll probably never need the extra gaskets, but they're cheap and I'd rather have some if I need them. They also have 10L and 5L cans.   http://lexingtoncontainercompanysonlinestore.mybigcommerce.com/jerry-can-20l/   They seem to have good prices on Gamma lids too if anyone needs any for their buckets.

Yep. That's how the RV crew found him and saved him, and how Rick and Co. found the RV crew. If it weren't for the flare, we'd have spent 3 weeks roaming the woods looking for Sophia the RV crew.

  They now have a family version. It looks like something they'd sell in the back room of Hustler.   http://www.amazon.com/LifeStraw-Family-1-0-Water-Purifier/dp/B00FM9OBQS/ref=sr_1_3?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1424703136&sr=1-3

  This, though I'm not sure SS109 is the NATO code or not. It may be, but I thought the NATO code is 5.56NATO. The round started life as the Belgian SS109 and it was submitted in the 1970s for testing to become the second standard NATO round (alongside the 7.62x51NATO). I don't know if SS109 was just its original name, or if that was adopted by NATO as the official code.   M855 is indeed the US code for the same round.

Meanwhile......back at The Walking Dead......   I thought it was a good episode. They brought back the fear I've been looking for. That night-time car scene was excellent. When the flare went off and Aaron tripped out, I thought it was because he wanted to get away because something super bad was coming their way. Way to amp up the tension. :up:  I thought it was a solid episode.   Toss in "flare to the face" zombie and we have a winner!   The whole Aaron and other dude (can't recall his name) story makes me think about our discussions about Carl never getting any now that Beth's gone. Noah's not much older than Carl....... :stir: :stir: :stir:

Poor Carl doesn't even get Internet porn. Good luck finding a magazine out in the boonies where they've been travelling. Maybe he'll get lucky and find a Magpul calendar on the back of a door in a gas station repair shop.

It really is a matter of time when preparing. I don't mean "when it will happen." I mean "how long it will last." RED333 is right about long-term prepping. That takes a lot of effort and time spent learning skills. The payoff is invaluable if you're faced with a long-term scenario. If your only concern is a week or two, you can store enough food, fuel, and water to make do just fine.   If your home has natural gas, chances are good that it will stay on following a power outage (major earthquake aside). If you have a genset that can power your HVAC blower motor, you can keep the central heat going just fine with gas heat. It's the compressor for the A/C that draws a boatload of power. Add in a natural gas grill and you're pretty set to make it through from a heat and cooking perspective.   You could pickup a propane heater and a couple of grill-sized propane tanks if not. This one is indoor safe and should give about 4-5 hours of heat on a 1# canister. Two 25# grill tanks would keep it going for 8 to 10 days. It's only rated for 400 sq. feet, but if you consolidate your family into a small area of your home, that should be enough.  http://www.amazon.com/Mr-Heater-MH18B-Portable-Propane/dp/B0002WRHE8/ref=lp_516188_1_7?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1424439152&sr=1-7   Filling the bathtubs with water is a good idea on city water too. Water mains break in winter. For a somewhat cleaner solution and one that won't drain out slowly over time, you could get a few water Bobs. It won't help much in a sudden emergency, but for storms and such it works just fine. http://www.amazon.com/waterBOB-Emergency-Drinking-Storage-Gallons/dp/B001AXLUX2   Stock up on water and a few weeks worth of food and you'll be good for this sort of thing.

Flexible, tough, lightweight, and easy to obtain. Good choice!

  I don't see why. IIRC, the Ayatollah, Khadafi, and Saddam were there too. Kim Jong Il gave the keynote address.

  They've been there for years. Nothing has come of them. Every so often another "BREAKING NEWS!" story hits the pseudo-news sites about how they're Al-Qaeda, Taliban, ISIS, Flavor-Of-The-Month training camps. Forgive me if I'm skeptical.

Yep, or skip the phone books and rig up some football pads, some soccer shin guards on your arms and legs, and you're good to go. Kind of like Glenn's riot gear, but lighter. No need to stop heavy impacts, just teeth. Toss in a hockey neck-guard and you're pretty much zombie proof. Hot in the summer, sure, but you could kit up when you have to face them if you keep good sight lines.

Good thing there was only a run on milk and bread this week. Kroger still has plenty of tin foil.

They're not burning it in protest. The dude towards the right with the Michael Jackson glove was playing the solo from Hot For Teacher and , well, this is what happened.

I can't say I'm surprised. I've seen those before and always thought it was a bad design. I'm somewhat surprised someone shot herself in the head before someone shot herself in the ribs/heart.