The Public Library As A Survival Resource

I am a huge proponent of the public library.  I try to go there at least once a week to check out new books, CDs or audio books.  They even have DVDs now.  My towns library is not large but it is well stocked with a variety of material.  I can get information on navigation, growing crops, working on engines, gunsmithing, forges, carpentry, amateur radio, the list goes on and on!  If you have not been to your library in a while check it out. 

I have also noticed that our library has a meeting area that various groups can use.  It would be a great place to have a Prepper meetup or a workshop on various skills.  It is also a good place to meet like minded people as you see them in the stacks checking out similar books to your own.  So in this digital era, think outside the box and re familiarize yourself with a vast network of knowledge that will still be accessible when/if the grid goes down.

Prepper Recipes: DIY Electrolyte Replacement Drink

Just found another great site today.  I highly recommend that you check it out.  One of the articles that caught my eye was on making DIY electrolyte replacement drinks.  This weekend we are going to try and make some as a family to have over the long holiday.

There are a couple of versions that she listed.  My wife will like the sugar free version, but I think that I will make a batch of the sugar variety for my daughter and I. I will provide an update once we have tested a batch of both.  It should be a learning experience and fun too.

I am especially interested in this as I have seen similar concoctions used by elite soldiers and Dr. in austere locations to replace vital fluids in cases of extreme dehydration.  So if this works and is tasty I will be adding a few packets of this to our GOOD bags too.

Below is the recipe from Tess at Ready Nutrition:

Sugar Option 

This option is made with sugar: When you work out, your body does not only lose water and electrolytes, it burns energy as well. To make sure you can keep your activity level up, it is a good idea to add some kind of sugar to your drink.
2 quarts of water
5-10 tablespoons of sugar
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of baking soda
½ teaspoon of salt substitute (potassium salt)
1 pack of sugar-free drink flavoring

Sugar-Free Option 

Sugar free: Although adding sugar to your drink will help you keep your energy levels up, it’s not a good option for everyone. People on a low-carb diet or people with diabetes, can choose a recipe that doesn’t add sugar to the electrolyte drink:
Version 1
1 quart of water
250 ml of orange juice (citrus juice is a natural source of potassium ions)
3 tablespoons of lemon juice
¾ teaspoon of salt
Version 2
2 quarts of water
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of baking soda
½ teaspoon of salt substitute (potassium salt)
1 pack of sugar free drink flavoring
Artificial sweetener to taste

Weekend update: skills training and quality time with the family

Today I went on a bit of a drive with the family.  We wanted to see how much the Missouri had risen since they opened the floodgates again.  It is amazing.  We took lots of pictures that I will post in the next day or so.  Besides spending quality time together, my wife and I had an ulterior motive for taking the route we chose.  It was one of our  potential GOOD (Get Out Of Dodge) routes. 

Since we live near the river we wanted to see how it might affect our travels should we need to head out.  As mentioned in the fine video by AnalyticalSurvival found here, we have multiple LP and RP setup throughout the area.  Periodic "drives" are fun for our daughter and let us stay on top of our routes.  It does not do us any good to have multiple potential destinations if we do not know about the current conditions of the routes to them.

Another benefit of taking these rides is that they are spontaneous and allow us to practice quickly and efficiently loading into the vehicle as we would in a GOOD situation.  These situations also allow us to practice our navigation and map reading skills.  Today many of the roads we would normally take were closed due to flooding or by military or government roadblocks.  This forced us to improvise new routes and sharpened our skills.  Better to sort these things out now than when the SHTF.

Lastly this is just one other way that I can practice an important set of skills that will be necessary in any sort of SHTF event.  Practice and hands on training are key to being able to get you and yours out of a bad situation. 

Skill practice: Building an expedient cooking stove

Over my lunch time I decided to try my hand at making a penny stove with only my multi-tool and a sharpie.  I have been looking at various sites on the internet about homemade stoves and this one seems to be simple and efficient.  Also it is very inexpensive. 

This one cost all of $0.75 to make.  If you found the cans it would be free.  I am not going into any details on making the stove.  Other sites have more than enough information on how to do that.  I am going to focus on the hands on aspect of this project. 

In a very short amount of time (I have 30 minutes or less to eat) I was able to clean, design and build a working stove.  Now aside from this stove being useful to me down the road, it gave me an opportunity to practice a useful skill.  Prepping is about more than storing.  It is about taking any opportunity to practice your skills and to learn something that will increase your chances of surviving a catastrophic event.

Now my stove is not the prettiest, but it works.  I encourage all of you to find the time to practice a skill at least once a week.  Involve your family so that you all learn something.  This kind of sharing will pay off huge when TSHTF.

Knowledge base rant

The image above is from a humorous T-Shirt, but the idea got me to thinking.  After a major catastrophe day to day life may be similar to that of someone from our distant past.  Think about it.  Without power how would you stay warm, cook, clean, communicate?  The list goes on and on.

Just 50 years ago only the farthest thinking individuals would have conceived of global wireless communication.  Now it is something we take for granted. As preppers we tend to stock pile things we think we will need to survive and thrive in a SHTF or TEOTWAWKI event.  I see tons of sites selling food stores, guns, ammunition, shelter, generators, all sorts of consumables.

How many of us know how to repair that $1000 generator once it breaks?, How many of you know how to make medicinal remedies once the Aspirin or penicillin runs out? Me either.  Do you think that just having a book about generator repair will help save you?  I am not telling people to not buy generators or other technological wonders that will increase their survivability.  On the contrary I think that technology is great. 

What I am telling people is that they better know how to repair their technology and make the other things they rely on if they are willing to base their lives and the lives of their loved ones on it working or being there for them when they need it. Now I know that somethings we may not be able to repair or create on our own.  But in general I think that given the knowledge and the experience a person could make do.

Thus the t-shirt comes to play.  If you look closely it tells the details about many of the major technology advancements in known history.  Now don't get me wrong, I would no more base my survival on this t-shirt as I would on a generator.What I am  betting my life on is my ability to learn (both prior to an event and in the days following).  That is why a large prepping goal for me revolves around acquiring skills and practicing them. 

Part of my prepping has been to build a broad and deep knowledge base.  I have a library both paper based and digital like many preppers do. I take courses and study when I can. However, the main focus for me is not simply collecting the books, or the filing away of knowledge.  It is knowing how to apply the knowledge with hands on experience. 

You would never bet your life on an unfamiliar or untested firearm or other survival implement.  Would you go into the woods for a weekend with only a knife that you had never used? So why would you trust your life to knowledge that you had never applied?  Now I know that we all do not have the time or resources to learn everything.  That goal is unrealistic at best. 

What I do advocate is that you take stock on what is important to you or your group.  Once you know what you need to know about then you can start working with your family and other preppers in your network to get hands on training and experience to support those needs.There are many resources available in both rural and urban communities to help you get hands on knowledge with technology, tools, crafts, and any other number of critical skills. 

I happen to enjoy tinkering and seem to be wired to understand mechanical and electronic device (better than people my wife would say).I grew up taking things apart and putting them back together.  This has helped me to feel comfortable repairing that type of equipment.  However I couldn't repair or replace a damaged pair of pants to save my life (with any level of competence).

My wife on the other hand can sew very well and feels comfortable with it.  I am learning from her how to sew.  I will never be as good as her but my skills and knowledge will improve.I will be more capable from having actually sewn an item rather than just reading about it in one of the books on my shelf. 

She is also teaching me how to operate the sewing machine.  It was a hand me down that works well, but occasionally like all machines needs work.  This is where my understanding of mechanics and electronics comes in handy.Not only can I fix or maintain her machine, I can teach her how to do it.  She may not be as good at it as I am but she will have that hands on experience, which in turn will give her more confidence if there is an issue and I am not there. 

This sort of cross training is one of the reasons that makes the Special Forces so formidable in everything that they do.  I am not and would not compare myself or my family to those men.  It is apples to oranges.  However, we can learn from their example.  Get hands on training.  Practice your skills.  Teach others around you. Become a force multiplier.

Remember the old saying, if you give a starving man a fish you have fed him once.  If you teach him to fish he will eat for a life time.

2011 Prepping Goals: update

One of my goals was to take a course once a month to help fill in some missing skills and knowledge.  I am fairly comfortable in the outdoors and I have already completed the CPR and First Aide training.  Since I work in a decent sized city I thought I would start taking some courses that might pertain to life in a city.  I recently came across the EMI courses offered by FEMA while searching for classes to take either over the internet or locally.  After looking through the catalog I decided to take the Active Shooter course.  It is not long, about an hour, but it is packed with some great information.  Here is a link to the site: http://training.fema.gov/IS/crslist.asp

Above is a copy of my certificate of completion.  I have removed any personally identifiable information but you can see that it is traceable for credit as part of a college course work related to incident management or disaster related fields.

Go-Bag design concept

As I stated one of my goals for this year is to design and construct a set of Go-Bags for my family.  I have been carrying a Go-Bag since I was a kid and just didn't know it.  I learned early and often to always be prepared.  I want to make sure that whether I am with them or working my way to them that my family members have the items and skills to be safe, comfortable and make it through any situation (within reason). 

A first step towards this goal is the actual bag selection.  I already have a few bags that we use for hiking and day trips and I know that they are a good fit for my wife and daughter.  I plan to use these bags for my first iteration of the Go-Bag for each of them.  I have made this decision for a few key reasons. 

First as I said they are already comfortable with the packs.  Secondly I have them on hand so I do not have to spend money on them.  This frees up more resources for other necessary purchases.  Thirdly they do not look tactical in anyway.  We live in the Midwest in a decent sized city.  So these packs help them blend in better than one of the tactical packs would.  A final consideration was the colors.  I chose a different color for each of us and based on that color I can identify at a glance where each person is.  This helps me to keep them in sight without having to think about it too much.

As far as contents go this is what I am thinking of at the moment.  I believe that the packs should contain the following core areas:

• communication
• medical
• fire
• mess kit
• food
• water
• shelter
• tools
• comfort items
• important documents
• self defense items
• food procurement

I will break down my thoughts on possible items for each grouping now.

Communication

• cell phone with headset, adapter, data cable
• 2way radio/hand held cb radio
• crank powered emergency AM/FM/SW weather band radio
• extra batteries for radios if needed
• radio frequency guides and schedules for contact

Medical

• IFAK (Individual First Aid Kit)
• OTC medications
• Prescription medications
• prescription glasses/contacts
• medical history (could be in important documents as well)

 Fire

• weather proof matches (strike anywhere)
• butane lighter(s)
• emergency candle(s)
• Magnesium firestarter
• fero rod with striker
• tinder kit
• lint with petroleum jelly in baggy

Mess Kit

• canteen and cup
• spork
• esbit stove
• esbit tabs for stove

Food (X3 days)
breakfast

• instance oatmeal packet || breakfast bar || peanut butter
• crackers
• dried fruit
• carnation drink mix
• tang drink mix
• vitamin packet

lunch

• tuna || packaged meat || TVP
•  crackers with cheese
• gatorade mix
• protein bar
• fruit roll-up

snack

• granola bar
• trail mix
• drink mix
• gum 

dinner

• rice & beans|| cup of noodles|| tuna/packaged meat || TVP
• tea || coffee

Water

• purification tables
• filter straw
• liter cache/collection bag
• liter canteen (see above)

 Shelter

•  tarp
• poncho/liner
• AMC emergency bivy

Tools

• flashlight - rechargable or with extra batteries
• fixed blade knife
• multi-tool
• folding saw
• wire
• duct tape
• electrical tape
• rubber bands/old innertubes

Comfort Items

• TP
• extra socks
• extra underware
• extra tshirt
• rain gear (pants and jacket)
• hat (style depends on weather)
• sunglasses
• work gloves
• weather specific items
• book
• ipod type device
• family photos

Self Defense

• mace/pepper spray
• asp baton (depends on child versus wife)
• firearm and ammunition (again depends on whose bag it is in)

Food Procurement

• fishing kit
• snare wire
• mouse type traps
• slingshot
• mesh bag

So these are some of the things I have been thinking of including.  I also want to get some feedback from my wife and daughter to customize their kits to their needs and level of comfort.  The overall goal should be to have everything they need without over burdening them.

2011 Missouri River Flooding

These are some of the pictures of the flooding that is occurring here.  These pictures are over a week old so the river is much higher now.  I will try and get some additional updates from closer to my home.

The water level in the picture above shows that the river has risen almost halfway up the supports. 

Even thought the water was high and alerts were sounded many people walked over the pedestrian bridge between Nebraska and Iowa.  Some out of curiosity's sake and others out of necessity because many of the road ways were/are temporarily closed.  I wonder if this is what it would look like in a SHTF/TEOTWAWKI situation with people leaving cars behind to walk out of an area on foot?

 

The picture above shows one of the many levies that was hastily constructed along the Missouri.  It is now mostly if not completely under water. 

DIY Project: recycled cardboard candle

A good friend of mine gave me a cool and useful gift a while back.  It was a homemade candle usable as a cooking stove or shelter warmer.  It consists of a tuna can (eat the tuna first), filled with a roll of corrugated cardboard, infused with the wax from old Crayons.  The cardboard and wax will burn well and hot for a long time. See the images below.

This is a close up of the "candle".  Notice that the cardboard is charred but still a viable fuel.

The "candle" is roughly 3 inches in diameter and 1-1.5 inches deep.  I have a larger tin that would support larger pots more safely as well as provide much more heat and light in an emergency scenario.

I added this nice rubber pad to the bottom of my "candle" so that it would not slide on a smooth surface.  Also it prevents the metal container from heating up and damaging a surface.

After using it a few times I have decided to build a few of my own to put in my vehicle, Go-Bags and around the house.

Look for a future post with component list, steps and pictures.

2011 Prepping Goals

Better late than never.  I actually have been working on several of these items over the last 6 months, but I have not posted updates.  I will be posting weekly updates on my progress.  Without further ado here is a list of my top 10 prepping goals for this year.

1. build a Go-BAG for all members of my immediate family
2. purchase at least $30 worth of preps each pay period
3. get first aid certified (completed)
4. get CPR/AED certified (completed)
5. take at least one training course per month (good so far)
6. exercise at least 3 times per week
7. practice a skill at least once per week
8. gather resources when available
9. work to pay off debt
10. get my family involved in prepping