I was touring youtube and social media and reading some people comments. They were miscellaneous pages like : gardening, animal life, economic news, TV drama and the like.

It is a sure thing that people will give different and maybe clashing opinions in subjects like "who is the more beautiful actress" to "whom to blame in this situation". However, the level of disagreement escalating to ugly levels makes one think deeply. If this happens while watching something on the screen, I wonder what might happen in real-life SHTF scenario.

Morning is my favourite time of the day. It's the time I can be myself, acting as I please without raising anyone's eyebrows. LOL

You may call it OCD, or wisdom, but I like to find a use for most things instead of wasting them. So, when I boil two eggs for my breakfast I utilize the boiling water before throwing it. If it is winder like these days, I leave it to cool in the kitchen, thus transferring the heat into the kitchen microclimate instead of going in the drain. If it is summer, however, I look in the sink, and sure enough , someone ate something and left the dishes there. So, I pour the hot water in those pans and dishes and leave them soak and that helps clean them.

After everyone wakes up, it's another story. LOL

But on the serious side, it makes me wonder about different people in stressful times, or SHTF. Imagine you give someone a candle in a blackout, they leave it burning even after power is restored. They are in party mood and won't listen to a sermon about "a cheap candle".

One of the happy moments of handyman life is when you make a little gadget in your workshop, and makes a difference in your next projects.

A few weeks ago, I was watching an Egyptian carpenter on Youtube and he showed a little piece of wood that he said makes sawing much easier. So, I went ahead and made one, and it was really useful.

You take a piece of plywood about 8x8 inches. On one edge, you nail/screw a 1" wood strip along that edge, and then do the same on the opposite edge, except you nail/screw it on the other side of the plywood. It looks like a flattened Z letter.

How is this useful ?
When you want to saw a narrow piece of wood, you put it on a bench or sawhorse and start sawing. You immediately notice that it is hard to control the piece you are sawing and hold it in place. Instead, you put this gadget on the table edge, so that the bottom wood strip catches the bench edge, and put the piece of wood in a way that it is held by the far (upper) strip , and start sawing. It is stuck in its place and won't move.

Definitely makes life easy.

With every looming crisis, the same question rises : how much prepping is needed. When Covid started , I already had several boxes of face masks (used for workshop, possible sandstorms, or general safety situations). I went haead and bought several dozens of additional boxes. Now that Covid is almost gone in my corner of the world, I still have dozens of boxes unused.

Now we are facing inflation, and I feel the urge to stockpile stuff, from tuna cans to vehicle engine oil and spare parts (air filters ..etc.). But I am not sure how many, and how much

The same has happened with the normal EDC items. Sometimes I like a knife or a flashlight ..etc. so I buy 2 or 3. Years pass and technology changed everything, so I had to throw away several unused flashlights because they are pre-LED technology and not as energy efficient as the newer models. On the other hand, I bought other stuff and later regretted not buying more of. One example is the current companion bag that I cannot go anywhere without. I bought it for approximately US$ 5-6 , and the store had 4 of them. Now after so many years, I really wish I bought all 4 of them. They were so cheap , so light, and so space-efficient.

So, the same question goes and comes back. How much prepping is OK.

Let's hope and pray that these supply chain and inflation mess doesn't stay with us for long.

This is a problem we all face to one degree or another. I generally tend to stockpile items that ar versatile and broadly useful.

You mention flashlights. I have no regrets investing in improved technology. I am very happy with my current flashlight/headlamp assortment, many ties more useful than the POS headlamp (incandescent bulb, carbon/zinc batteries), dim and unreliable, that I used to fight wildfires years ago.

Hi, I'm chaosmagnet, and I'm a flashaholic.


--- Hi chaosmagnet!


I tend to buy flashlights because I want them, and then find some that I don't want any more and give it away.

Hi, I'm chaosmagnet, and I'm also addicted to radios.


--- Hi chaosmagnet!


For radios and accessories, I'm more likely to keep those. I have given away some to my kids (I now have two kids with ham radio licenses). While I haven't tracked it carefully, I'm probably spending about as much on both, by which you should understand I have a lot more flashlights than radios and radio gear.

Last two days I have been watching You Tube videos about stock investment. One of them explained "value" stocks: they are stocks traded at less than their real value, and you buy them knowing they are a bargain. The guy gave an example of stocks being sold at the beginning of Covid problem in 2020 when most people were on the pessimistic side

This added a twist to the above question
It made me wonder if it was more prudent to take advantage of the looming crisis to buy as many stocks as I could, instead of face masks and cans of tuna.

This actually summarizes the difference of my lifestyle compared to that of my older brother.

First, Chaos, you must free yourself from the prison of your addictions. PM me and I'll give you an address to send all of your flashlights and radios to.

Only then shall you be free of this burden.

p.s. We may have to do this cure repeatedly over the years, but I'll be there for you.

You're a good friend. Too good, actually, for me to burden you this way. I'll have to tough it out.

LOL

I do have older (non-LED) flashlights that would keep
They are cleverly designed to work as battery-operated 'candles'
The head can be screwed/unscrewed to change the lens focus , but when you unscrew the head all the way , it comes off.

The head can be fitted on the other end of the flashlight as a base. This allows the flashlight to stand up, and the light bulb is exposed, so it looks and lights similar to a candle.

I have two of these and they are kept as a backup for LED flashlights