Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Greetings from Kentucky

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Greetings from Kentucky

    Greetings, y'all.

    I'm Dave, and have recently joined the site.

    I've read the first three books in the "Going Home" series, and have the last four on order (Hurry up, Amazon!).

    As you can probably guess from my user name, I'm in Kentucky (I won't be more specific than that for now, though.). I'm in my 50s, and have quite a few experiences to draw upon, which I'm willing to share with y'all.

    By education, I'm an electrical engineer, although I've been working as a computer programmer for the past 30 yearws (and, yeah, I know that when the NEMP/CME happens, I won't be doing that any longer; But, for now, it's mostly fun and pays the bills.). I've been specializing in cryptography for the past 16 years (but, I can't get much more specific than that). I do know a lot about cryptography, and related fields, such as com-sec, which I'm willing to share.

    Despite my high tech activities, I'm a country boy at heart, and live on a small farm, which always seems to require a lot of work to improve (Ok, who are we kidding here? It requires a lot of work just to maintain.). I have an old horse, although at 29 years of age, he's really too old to get any work out of. Eventually, I'll be getting another horse or two, so I'll have some transportation in a SHTF event (Yeah, I really ought to get a cart/wagon and harness, too.).

    We also have two trucks here, although they're gasoline powered, and, most likely won't be functional following a NEMP/CME event. The diesel tractor should, since it will function with no electricity at all (Ever roll-start a tractor? I have, many times. You just have to be sure you park it on a hill.). I do need to work on getting more fuel storage for the farm, although one has to be a little careful with stored fuel, not only due to the fire and theft hazards, but also because it will go bad. Stored gasoline will jellify over a period of about 3-12 months, unless a fuel stabilizer is added (and, fuel stabilizers are expensive) [1]. Diesel fuel is a bit better about not jelling, but it can have bacteria attack it.

    [1] I've heard rumors that virgin/straight-run gasoline is less prone to jellification, but the octane rating of that is usually too low to be useful as a motor fuel, while trying to find it can be difficult, and it can be quite expensive once you have located a source (Do we have any petro-chemists in here?).

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasoline#Chemical_analysis_and_production

    For most of the 1980s, I was a volunteer on a local governmental emergency response team (No, I wasn't a "fed", nor was I DHS, which didn't even exist back then. This was strictly county level stuff.). We were, primarily, a coordination and logistics team that assisted the local emergency service outfits (fire, police, ambulance, etc.) when things happened that overloaded them. However, I got out of volunteering with the team back around 1990, since that kind of a job is a young man's game, and not only was I getting too old, but my real job responsibilities were changing such that I couldn't just drop everything and run out of the office when the pager went off (and, that wouldn't have been fair to the rest of the guys/gals on the team, not knowing whether I was going to be able to show up or not). But, I have quite a few stories from that era that I can share, since we were called out, on average, about once per month, at least if anyone is interested in reading them (I'll have to emphasize that these will be personal remembrances, and in no way official, and very well may deviate from the actual sequence of events as my memory has deteriorated over that 30 year period.).

    I have been an amateur radio operator for over 40 years, and currently hold an Extra Class license, the highest class available, in the amateur radio service.

    I also target shoot quite regularly, using a variety of calibers, both smokeless and black powder, since I have a range right out back of the house. I really need to get my bow restrung, but just haven't gotten around to it.

    Dave

  • #2
    Welcome Dave from SE WV. How many are in your family that you are prepping for? Your experiences will be helpful to others and there are other engineers and different professionals here as well. We all have talents that we bring to the forum and we have a good time too. Feel free to come to the chat room and visit with us.

    Comment


    • #3
      Thanks for the reply, hsehntr98.

      There's just one other in the family here, so there are only two of us who we have to provide for. However, having said that, my brother, and his wife, and two children live on the next ridge over. The good news is that they're both preppers, too, and we'll be able to rely on each other for some mutual support.

      Actually, there are several of us in this rural area who are preppers, and who bring useful skills to the mix, such as the paramedic who lives across the creek, and the lady who lives beside him who is quite talented with caring for animals. We also have an ex-Marine and his wife not too far away, too, and he specializes in blacksmithing. So, we've got a fair group set up, but we're always trying to expand our experiences and skills.

      Comment


      • #4
        Hi Dave, welcome to the group from southern New Mexico, within about 20 miles or so of the US/Mexico border. It sounds like you're pretty well set. I usually ask a bunch of annoying questions, but it would seem that you've already answered most, if not all, of them.

        I'm jealous of your group. With just the wife and I here, I have no illusions of long term anything when/if SHTF, but at least we will have choices that non-preppers won't. I really only have one neighbor that we see/deal with, and from some discussions that we've had, let's just say that I don't want him knowing of any useful items that we may have stored.
        Defund the Media !!

        Comment


        • #5
          Target shooting is very popular.
          quam minimum credula postero

          Comment


          • #6
            As for the neighbors, I've grown up with most of them, even attending high school with some of them. Most of them are a good bunch of guys and gals, but we do have some that it is not good to associate with. So, you have to be careful in your planning. It's certainly not a panacea, but I think most of us could survive for quite a while on our own if we were cutoff from civilization.

            As for target shooting, I try to make it out to my "range" at least once a month (I say "range" because it's basically the hay-field out back of the house, where I can safely shoot down into the holler.). I'll confess that, during the winter, it's a bit harder to motivate myself. I really need to get some proper targets; as it is now, I usually just take a plastic drink bottle or an aluminum can out and set it up. I can regularly stitch it at 10 yards (e.g., >80% hits), but I need to start shooting at longer ranges. Back in my 20s, I'd shoot cans at 75-80 yards (and, yes, with a handgun).

            Of course, it's also important to practice shooting not only as target shooting, but also drawing and shooting, which I've been working on (No, not "fast draw". That's a good way to shoot yourself in the foot. But, practice drawing your pistol, aiming at the target, and getting a shot off within two seconds.). I want to, eventually, put up some moving targets, probably one on a pendulum or something like that, to practice my ability to hit something that's moving.

            Now, I'll freely admit that I'm no Elmer Keith or Ed McGivern, and I'll never be anywhere near that level of expertise. But, I try to stay adequate. I am visually impaired (mostly blind in one eye), so I have trouble determining range quickly, which is all the more reason I need more practice at differing ranges.

            As for New Mexico, I've traveled through that state, although not quite that far south (e.g., I've traveled along I-40 across it). It's a beautiful state.

            Dave

            Comment


            • #7
              Welcome to the board Dave. Glad you found us. I'd love to have a chat one day about some of your hobbies.
              I'm drunk tonith.

              Comment


              • #8
                I'd be glad to chat with you. The only trick will be finding a mutually convenient time. It seems that I pretty much stay busy.

                Dave

                Comment


                • #9
                  I'd be glad to chat with you. The only trick will be finding a mutually convenient time. It seems that I pretty much stay busy.

                  Dave

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Welcome Dave. From your bio/blurb it sounds as if you'll be doing just fine when the bubble bursts. I wish that I had that sort of support group in my area. We're transplants and have no family here. The neighbors are a mixed bag. Some I don't trust at all and one who I think is prepping but he keeps to himself and we don;t really exchange more than a wave.

                    I hear you about the time that property takes to maintain. We only have 13 acres of horse pasture and it can be time consuming when you take away your regular job and other daily chores.

                    Anyway, I'd love to hear about some of your experiences.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Welcome from MO!
                      Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”
                      Dietrich Bonhoeffer

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        I'm easy Dave, I've got time.
                        I'm drunk tonith.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Ok, we'll bump into each other at some point.

                          Dave

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            pure-gas.org is very handy to find non-ethanol gas.

                            Comment

                            Working...
                            X