jgradyc

How bad will it get? Since we don't know, we need to prepare for both scenarios. I see some great items on your list, batteries, lighters, first aid stuff. One thing I have that I almost never see on prepper lists is several bicycles. Once the gas runs out, a bicycle is the most efficient non-motorized transportation ever built. My concern is that I've waited too late to stock up on desirable non-perishable foods. I only have barely enough to last a month.

Done. Bought two handles...

The coronavirus (CV) is unlike any SHTF scenario I've read about... it's almost SHTF in slow motion... so I've decided to set a $2,000 budget and start prepping for CV. I occurred to me that this is something we all should do, although our budgets might be different so I decided to start this thread. Let's assume that we already have several handguns, long guns, ammo, and a couple of weeks of food, but not much else. How would you spend the money? You can go over the budget a couple of thousand, if necessary. Oh, and what would you do that you wouldn't do normally?

Maybe it's just me, but it's kinda funny thinking of all us guys walking around in public wearing camo making fun of someone else's fashion sense.

This is a very sobering podcast interview of Michael Osterholm, an international infectious disease expert, by Joe Rogan. If you're too busy to listen, he expects this to last another 3 to 6 months. http://podcasts.joerogan.net/podcasts/michael-osterholm

I agree. If I had to get from point A to B when there was still a smattering of civilization, I'd want a pistol I could conceal and a rifle I could conceal in my backpack. I also wouldn't want to be wearing camo or my NRA cap! I'd want to be as inconspicuous as possible. In that situation, I'd go with a folding carbine or an AR pistol. If a threat is more than 50 yards away, I'm retreating.

UPDATE I've been using this bag 3x/week for the past month. It's held up fine so far. I discovered that to access stuff in the bottom of the backpack without gear falling out, I had to lay it down and open it like a suitcase. Or if I knew where the item was, I could unzip the bag just in that spot. Now that I know how to do it, it's not a problem. It's way easier to access gear in the bottom of the backpack than my old LAPG Atlas 24 backpack. The stiffness of the zipper has resolved with time so it's no longer a concern. It's comfortable to wear with 12 pounds. I have no need for more weight so I can't comment on how it would work with 50 pounds of gear. I still wish it had a mesh side pocket on one side to carry a water bottle. That said, I use both side pockets. Since they have zippers, I don't have to worry about stuff falling out. I like it far better than the LAPG Atlas 24, which was my previous gym bag and cost about the same.

I have the 5.11 compression holster T-shirt. It is tight and hot. Access is velcro, so that slows the draw even if you're wearing an unbuttoned shirt. It's okay for the lighter handguns, but for heavier guns, you need to carry something in the opposite side pocket or it pulls the shirt down on one side. That said, it will carry a nearly full size handgun. The problem is... when would it be the best carry method? In summer, it's too hot over an unbuttoned shirt. In winter, I prefer my shirts to be buttoned. I wear mine as a gym workout shirt. I find the wide belly bands to be even more uncomfortable. EDITED TO ADD... I have the original Brave Response elastic belt holster. I wear it over my right hip under sweat pants or other beltless clothing. It's comfortable and can be worn SOB, right hip, or appendix or moved with you sit in a car. It gets slammed by some because the mag pouch is also on the right side just beside the firearm holster instead of on the opposite side, slowing access to the spare mag. For me, that's not a factor in my carry decision. It's a lot more comfortable than a belly band because it can be worn lower on the hips.

Frankly, I thought almost all the ads were lame. A lot of them, I didn't even understand. I asked my wife, "What did we just watch?" She said she didn't get it either. I didn't get the dementia ad. How did google know all that stuff? Who programmed it with all that information? Can it really answer questions like that? If so, that's creepy. The whole ad was creepy.

I've used the LA police gear Atlas 24 backpack as my primary gym bag for the past three years so I decided to upgrade to the LA Police Gear Operators backpack to get a little more space. The Atlas 24 is 2400 cu in. The Operators is 2900 cu in. The biggest difference is that the main compartment of the Atlas bag only unzips halfway down. If you have something in the bottom of the bag, you have to unpack or dig around to find it. The Operators bag unzips all the way like a suitcase. I had thought this would be a big benefit, but the stuff at the top of the bag tends to fall out when you unzip it all the way. There are internal straps and if you strapped that stuff in, it wouldn't be a problem if I used them. This is more of a user issue than a design issue. Maybe I'll get the hang of packing it with more time. On outside pockets, the Operator wins hands down. The Atlas has two roughly equal sizes pockets on the back. The Operator has a large upper pocket and a smaller lower pocket. The upper pocket is similar to a computer bag with slots for pens and other small stuff. The Operator also has two small side pockets. I love the side pockets because they make it easier to find small items that get lost in a bigger pocket: stopwatch, shampoo, padlock, Chapstick, energy bars, coaches tape, weightlifting gloves, etc. I'd prefer that one side pocket be mesh to carry a water bottle, but they are still nice. As far as straps are concerned, the Operator has tie-down straps inside the main compartment and cinch straps on the outside to keep the bag tight when it's not full. I had to laugh when I put on the waist strap. It's huge. I'm guessing it would accommodate a 54" waist with a jacket on. I'll be cutting off the excess. The water protector flap over the zippers is still really stiff and makes the zippers hard to operate. I assume the material will soften up with use. It if doesn't, this would be major flaw. I'm guessing The Operators bag is $53 + shipping and tax. LA Police Gear routinely gives 5, 10, and 15% discounts. I got tired of waiting and bought it with a 10% discount.

The ad is still up? You should report this to the TN Attorney General's office. I learned about a scam and did this. Whether any good will come of the effort, I don't know.

I don't understand why anyone would open carry into a business or in public. Why would you give up the tactical advantage of letting others know that you are armed? Why would you want to be identified as the first person a bad guy would shoot? Why would you want to be hassled and waste time talking to someone about whether or not you had a HCP?

We have xfinity for internet and cable. It's ridiculously expense, but my wife is absolutely addicted to Fox News. She is also technologically challenged. Are there any cord cutting options that provide Fox News? The last time I looked, I couldn't find any.

It would seem that telephone call records would show who was on the phone with Trayvon before the shooting.

I've used Becky White for years. She lives on Hwy 12 about 4 miles west of Briley Parkway going towards Ashland City. She does a LOT of wedding dresses, prom dresses, and she has done suits for me, cargo pants, shorts, waists, hems, etc. She works out of her home. Her number is 615-726-0821. Just say that Grady Cash recommended her.

Happy Thanksgiving!!! Anyone seeing any great deals now?

I don't get it. The only thing I see that it can do is make a wider groove than a circular saw. It can't cut deeper than about... what... two inches?

I'd like a knife that's thin enough to double as a money clip. I have an older SOG Access Card knife that I carried for years, but the clip has lost its spring and I can't figure out how to get it off to tighten it! Any suggestions?

I just saw this one at Best Buy. It's 4k and $100 more, but I'm now leaning towards it. https://www.bestbuy.com/site/samsung-ue590-series-28-led-4k-uhd-monitor-black/5484022.p?skuId=5484022

Is this a decent monitor? It's on sale at Costco for $129, normally $169. My desk can't handle a monitor any larger than this. LG 27" Class IPS 1080p FHD Monitor https://www.costco.com/lg-27"-class-ips-1080p-fhd-monitor.product.100424393.html

I was at Costco today. They have an LG 27" monitor, normally $169 on sale for $129. Their lowest priced desktop was an HP with an i3 processor, 8GB of RAM, and a 1TB hard drive for $399. Their wireless keyboard/mouse combo was overkill... and $57... hard pass on that.

My experience with entry level laptops, mostly Dell, but also HP, is that they have a life expectancy of about 2 years. Of course, when you only pay $250 or so, it's not a bad deal. Although I'm currently using Dropbox, I really like the idea of Office 365 plus the storage. When I actively used a laptop for business, my biggest fear was loss of files. With cloud storage and synced files across a couple of laptops/computers, a catastrophic loss of files is nearly impossible.

This is a much better deal. I'll consider switching over since I already have Office 365. I've used Dropbox for... not sure... many many years.

I'm curious. How far away do you sit when you use this monitor? I've thought about adding a 24" monitor to my laptop, but I've used a laptop for the past 10 years and I'm not sure I'd like a bigger, more distance monitor than my current laptop screen.

By the way, the Black Friday Ads website is pretty cool. It has sneak peeks of quite a few Black Friday ads. https://www.bfads.net/