Thoughts on 2019 and beyond.

     Back in the 80's when I was able to first look at the world with a somewhat educated brain cell I could see that the Soviet Union and the United States of America wanted to play a game of catch with ICBM's.  Being a kid of that era where World War 2 and Vietnam were still very fresh in a lot of peoples minds I turned into a sort of history junkie as it relates to conflicts.

     I have come to a conclusion that people like to control other people and force themselves either directly or by proxy and it seems that the end is always the same, we dominate, subjugate and kill ourselves to force a way of life and even an opinion with reckless regard.

     We have a whole host of things to worry about as part of the preparedness community and for me that was initially nuclear warfare and while it still is on my list along with a whole host of other things that I am sure many of you share I usually take the sum of all those potential scenarios and come out with a common denominator of a plan that will work best for all events. I am now working to further tailor that plan to include what I see is a huge disconnect and deepening division of the general populace of this country especially as it relates to politics and what that might entail.

     As a core basic it is my belief that a general plan should include the following basics:

• Food
• Shelter
• Water
• Protection
• Communication  

     This combination while very general should cover what you will need in most situations, again this is just a basic outline and it will vary greatly depending on geography, population density, personal capability and so on. 

     Survival is not always about heading for the hills or  rooftop or even getting deep in the bunker, surviving is also about having that situational awareness to know that something is not right and you need to do something in a rapidly executed fashion. If it dos not feel right DO SOMETHING NOW!

     Circling back to the current political climate and division we are seeing a level of non-tolerance to the opposite at levels that I think will spiral even further out of control, it seem that cooperation and even talking to an other side is falling by the wayside and turning to censorship and outright violence at the drop of a comment. With the advent of social media and a I want it now and do not want to work for it we have a specifically educated population segment that goes down a very narrow road that has been proven time and time again to self destruction and this should not happen when as a very technically astute society have in the palm of our very hands the knowledge of the world if we just type www. But we don't, we instead decide that our own moral superiority gives way to the reality and fact that history repeats itself. 

Prepping Frustration

     I have noticed from several blogs and forums the frustrations of new preppers to the art of preparedness, it happens. Prepping to many people can be a bug that bites many people pretty hard and fast and therefore it can be discouraging when they try and compare themselves to others who have been in it longer. For myself I would rather use the analogy of a marathon because it can be a very long race to getting prepared with the difference of there really never being a finish line so you need to work it in a steady pace and try to not overwhelm yourself, it takes time for some things to come to fruition especially if it is skills that you are working on. Speaking of skills versus gear I have my own process on those, Gear is sometimes the easiest to procure because it is mostly a mouse click away and it is a pretty good way to get your foot into the door. Skills though can sometimes take years to master but unlike gear they are always with you and you generally never loose them. Now one wonders why a person would not just stock up on some gear and call it good? That requires another explanation.

      In the grand scheme of things I generally put a person with gear as able to survive smaller, shorter less intense scenarios, typically these would be events lasting from a few days to no more than a week or two, Think of how long your BOB would last you here.  Now  lets look at an event lasting several weeks to maybe several years, is your gear going to last and provide for you for that time frame? most likely some items will but not all and that's where good skills will come in such as medical training, gardening or even basic hunting skills, do you see the differences?  

     Keep in mind that I believe a person or group that has a mix of both gear and skills will be better off in the long run but it is a balancing act for sure and again it can be very overwhelming so If you find yourself getting frustrated than one thing I found that has helped me is to temporarily move to another thing on the list such as a different skill or the research of another item or even take a break altogether, bear in mind that this can be very consuming but try to no let it consume you completely. Another thing to try is to divide and conquer ( You should be anyway ) This really is something that is very hard to do by yourself, is your spouse on board? Are your closest friends involved?     

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Countdown to Winter

     Winter will be upon us in the blink of an eye, many of the trees here in my area have already changed their color and some have also completely lost all their leaves, time to get ready.

I would like to focus today on being prepared with respect to your vehicle, we spend a great deal of time in our modes of transport and we should be prudent with some basic supplies that we should keep in them. It should go with out mention that first and foremost your vehicle should be in proper working order to start with, regular maintenance should always be in your mind because nothing can be more disheartening than being broken down due to something that could have been taken care of at an earlier date, common sense really helps here.

Two things that I really like to keep track of are proper radiator mixture and your battery condition.

An improper radiator mixture has the potential to ruin you whole day, you do not want to walk out in the morning only to find that your radiator has been split due to freezing, or worse yet you blow out your freeze plugs in your motor. Don't laugh people it happens every year but it is one of the easiest things to prevent with a little forethought so please get your antifreeze checked.

Another area to pay close attention to is your battery condition, this really comes into play during cold weather as a battery looses some of it's performance as the temp drops. It really sucks to jump into your car and turn the ignition only to hear CLICK CLICK CLICK. Fortunately this is another issue that can be headed off pretty easily, most reputable auto parts stores will provide a free battery load test that can measure the quality of your battery performance according to the manufacturers specs. Free maintenance here so please take advantage of it. Also while your battery is being tested they will usually look at the cables and more specifically they will look at the connections as this is where corrosion usually develops.

Now luck being what luck is, both good and bad that little guy Murphy will make an appearance and screw things up one way or another. Having a few basic supplies in your vehicle can make the difference between having a minor inconvenience or a major life threatening situation. Face it we all have a few nooks and crannies available to us that we can store a few thing to get us by in the case of a breakdown, why would we not. Below  is a rough list that can be tailored to your needs and location.

• Spare tire, yeah it happens. You have a jack as well right? Lug nut wrench? While you at it are you sure you can change the tire by yourself? Try doing it in your driveway and see, it would be much better to fail their where you can get help in doing it right than finding out the hard way on the side of the road.
• Jumper cables? That's like AMEX, you should never leave home without them. As with this item there is a proper way to do it and the internet is riddled with instruction on there proper use, your local auto parts store will help as well. Some jumper cable manufacturers also have written and pictorial instructions that come with their product.
• Communications, I generally like to have at least two forms and the first being my cell phone and 9 time out of 10 this will work for you. My backup for me is a CB radio due to the fact that it is a stand alone system and it works when cell phone may not, the limiting factor though is that you need to have   someone with in range of you for it to work. Another good option if you do have to travel in bad weather is to let someone know where you are going and what time you are supposed to be there and check in when you do get there because if no one knows you missing than they can't report it, simple common sense. 

The next group of items I would recommend are the ones you can really tailor to your own needs.

• Blankets, If your car stops running it will get really cold real quick.
• Snack foods, what can I say, comfort foods come to mind.
• Water, this can be a tough one due to freezing so you may need to add it daily before you go out or go without.
• A small first aid kit because you just never know, I would also include a 1 to 3 day supply of any special medications you may be on.
• Flashlight, maybe a combination flashlight, radio, signal device, more here is better.
•  Spare jacket, socks, gloves.

As you can see the above list is very basic and it can be expanded upon greatly but everyone has different needs and circumstances to consider.

Do you have a list of items that you like? please feel free to chime in.

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Top 5 Survival Skills Review

     First I appreciate those who commented on the previous article on what Your Top 5 Survival Skills would be when the SHTF. Please keep in mind that there is no one perfect list that will fit everyone or every situation.

     Many people like to depend gadgets and gear and while they are very helpful and make many things easier I believe that we are now far too dependent on them. Gadgets and gear are really great for the short term and the novice but for longer natural and man-made disasters you will need skills that you just can't buy off the shelf. The following list are what some of the readers of this blog have contributed.

• Water purification methods
• Fire making 
• Shelter
• Food preservation
• Emotional skills, ways to stay calm and rational ( If you can't think then how can you function? )
• Building or repairing without power 
• Hunting skills 
• Marksmanship/ Security and being able to defend yourself and your family
• Medical training 
• Navigation

     The above list while very basic can be expanded upon to fit ones needs or situation. I would again like to thank those who contributed to the list, each contributor is a blog writer in their own right that you may or may not know and not all are in the survival field so if you have a chance please give them a visit.

• Sweepyjean and her site  http://sweepyjean.wordpress.com/
• BadVooDooDaddy and his site The Retreat
• Chinasyandrome and his sites  

THE AMERICAN MINUTEMAN
American Apocalypse
Enemy of the state

• Mr.B and his sites

In the MIDDLE of the RIGHT


Made in America

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Your Top 5 Survival Skills

     Skills, we all know how important they can be. Gadgets and gear can make a bad situation easier but I would rather have an inventors that relies heavily on skill sets to get by in the long run.

     So because we all think just a little different I would like to know what you all have in mind for your top skills to have in a SHTF type situation. Who knows some of us might have something in there someone else might find important. So go ahead and post in the comments section and Lets see what we are all thinking.

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