Guest Post: Chapter 6 of Archer Garret's Newest Nine of the North (book 3 of the Western Front)

The Nine of the North (NotN), the third book in the Western Front series (Book 1:  the Western Front;  Book 2:  Kratocracy) and the fourth book in the series' universe, should be released in about a week.  Chapters 1-5 are available here.  Chapter 6 is available exclusively at TSLRF, and found below:

Chapter 6

 Texas State Capitol; Austin, Texas

The entire team sat in stunned silence as the final coded message was translated for them:

| Plane Down | 31^o15’35.37”N | 87^o44’03.41”W |

Reese leaned back in his chair and gazed around the room.  The governor’s aides and advisors all looked completely immobilized.  They had no answers; there was nothing they could do.

Nothing they can do.

This isn’t their specialty, but it is the specialty of someone in the room.  You, Reese.

Governor Baker’s booming voice interrupted Reese’s thoughts.

“Get me Morgan West on the phone, now!”

A young aide leaned across the conference table and dialed the old pilot.  The phone had barely begun to ring when the gruff voice echoed through the room.

“Morgan.”

“Morgan, this is Governor Baker.”

“Yes sir.”

“The plane’s been shot down.”

“I know.”

“Do you know the status of the pilot?”

“I was in communication with him immediately before ejection.  To the best of my knowledge, he was successful.”

“What’re the chances of survival from an ejection at that altitude?”

“About as good as any.  As long as his suit wasn’t damaged during the ejection, and all else went as it should, he should be fine.  His chances are good.”

Reese interjected, “His chances of surviving the crash are good, but once on the ground, he’s the most wanted man east of the Mississippi.  Washington will stop at nothing to find out who stole that plane.”

Morgan replied solemnly, “He’s right, governor.”

Baker massaged his temples with his hands as he asked, “Was there anything in that plane that would implicate Texas?”

“No sir,” Morgan replied.

“Nothing but Lobo,” Reese added.

A blanket of silence settled over the room.  The sense of inaction that surrounded Reese infuriated him.  He knew what had to be done.  He looked to each person in the room, but their eyes were closed, or their heads were averted down, or they mindlessly busied themselves with their notes.  Finally, he looked to the governor at the head of the table.  Baker stared back unblinkingly; he knew too.

“Scott, if they find him, it might be what Washington needs to justify a war.  We still don’t have public support of the other western states.  We’re too weak yet to take Washington on alone.”

“I know.”

“Then give the word.”

The governor stared down the table at his friend for several moments, before replying, “Reese, we can send someone else.  You’ve done so much already.”

“This is what I do, Scott.”

Baker turned to the others and said, “Everybody, give Reese and I a few minutes.  Morgan, thanks for your help; keep your phone close by.”

“Yes sir.”

After the last of the group filtered out of the room, the governor arose from his chair and began to pace the room.  Reese took a sip from his lukewarm coffee and waited to be addressed.  Finally, Baker spoke.

“You got a plan?”

Reese shook his head as he replied, “Nope, but I can make one up as I go right now.”

“Let me hear it.”

Reese took several moments to gather his thoughts before beginning.

“Well, we certainly can’t show up in spurs and boots and scoop him up.  Can’t look the part of a rescue team, especially one from Texas.”

“Alright.”

“And we can’t drive across three states in Humvees either.  They’d see us coming from a hundred miles away.  And that’s assuming we could even make it there.  There’s no telling what we might encounter along the way.”

“We don’t have that much time.”

Reese nodded in agreement.

“Could you fly in?”

Reese thought for several moments before replying, “We’d need a chopper’s flexibility to extricate, but the crash site is too far way.  We’d be pushing well past the range of any of our birds.  We could fly the mission from a ship in the Gulf, but that’d be too dangerous.  If they found the U-2 at eighty thousand feet, they’d surely find a ship bobbing in the water.”

Reese arose from his seat as well and stood silently beside the table.  He rested his hands atop his head and closed his eyes.  He breathed deeply as he searched for an answer.  All the while, Baker continued to pace the room.

Suddenly, the governor stopped mid-stride and turned to Reese.

“We’ll just go by boat.”

“It’s not that easy, Scott.  We can’t just cruise across the Gulf and then up into the mouth of the Mobile Bay.  Movement is restricted all across the country, especially around this crash site.”

“What about my contacts in Pascagoula?  If they could set you up as the crew of a barge, you might slip through under the radar.  In the meantime, we can be assembling some forged documents for the team – make you look like a legitimate outfit.”

 A smile began to creep across Reese’s face as the governor spoke. 

“That could work, Scott.  The team that’s been training up here is as ready as anyone.  I’ll take the best men and leave for Pascagoula as soon as possible – if they’re willing to help.”

“I’ll make the call to my contacts; see what they can do.”

“You’re getting good, governor.  Maybe you should’ve been a spook.”

“I’m learning from the best, Mr. Byers.”

Reese smirked, but then furrowed his brow and asked, “Say, any thoughts on how we’ll get back?”

Guest Post: The Case for Cheap Led's

Hey Ryan, glad that you made it back to the US and that your family is doing well and is ever-expanding. I wrote you a while back about experimenting with the Walmart LED landscape lights as a backup light source:

Not wanting to spend $200 plus on a solar charger and LED lighting system, I decided to experiment with some alternatives. I bought a couple of the LED lights with solar chargers on them. Both of the types were found at Wally-World on the cheap( Ryan, I think I sent the first message last fall). I paid $3 for the little single LED light and about $5-8 for the large 3 LED spotlight. My thoughts were to have a functioning part of daily life have a dual role in case of an emergency.

What I found was interesting. On the little guy, if you twist the cap a half-turn, the top comes off. This is the guts of the whole light. The solar charger is on top and the LED on the bottom. Second, I noticed a battery door with a Phillips-head screw in it. After this was opened, I discovered a AA rechargeable battery ran the whole thing. BONUS! When I took the top in the house and walked from room to room with the single lumen, it lit a room fine. Of course it was dim but it was great for just illuminating the room. I found it worked even better if I reached up and set the light down on top of a ceiling fan blade. Months after starting the experiment, the little guy still stays lit until sometime after I go to bead.

The big-guy didn't do as well. It was sealed at the battery box and didn't last nearly as long- even on day one. Part two was a functional failure before it even got started.

In the end, I found the cheap single lumen landscape lights a viable dual function survival tool that keeps itself charged at all times and stays in the front yard until the lights go out. It then gets un-capped and brought in to supplement the lanterns and candles. The kids can't burn the house down and it also keeps some recharged AA batteries around....no matter what I have forgot to buy or keep charged. My next plan is to grab about 5-10 of these and take the batteries out of them. I'll store them in the Lights-Out box in the basement so that I can go put the batteries in them and stake them in to the ground if it looks like the power will be out more than one night. I also want to try putting a couple of lights under the one that is on and see what it takes to trip them on and off using each other's light. I want to try and make a daisy-chain of the lights that will turn each other on as the one before it runs out of juice. Total cost $3 to infinity. 

Thanks, Man 

Take care and post this some time you need a break!

Guest Post: 4 Reasons There Will Be A Food Crisis

4 Reasons There Will Be A Food Crisis

There are 4 reasons there will be a food crisis: end of the world as we know it (a zombie attack!?), a natural disaster, an economic collapse and an EMP attack!

1. The World ‘Will End’

Well it’s 2012 and you know the hype about the world as we know it ending precisely on the 21st of December of this year. The Mayan civilization has used a Long Count Calendar that spanned roughly 5125 years and the last cycle will be ending on the 21st of December 2012. Different people have studied the Mayan culture and there are also varying interpretations as to what will happen when a great cycle of the long count calendar ends. The most popular interpretation is that the end of the Mayan calendar will mark the end of this world. How does this make it one of the 4 reasons there will be a food crisis?

Scientists have for years been arguing that the end of this world happening in a couple of months is highly unlikely. The thing is, many people will still choose to believe that Armageddon is coming. The result: panic! People will start hoarding food and water, building underground shelters, buying gold, etc. Even if you don’t believe in the hype, many others will and this will affect you and your family.

Stores will run out of stock and it’s likely that you’ll be facing empty shelves at the grocery a few weeks before the dreaded date. So if you don’t want to be caught in a food shortage dilemma, start building your food store now to make sure your family has enough food until people regain their senses back.

2. A Natural Disaster

A sudden natural disaster is also one of the 4 reasons there will be a food crisis. There are now ways to predict the weather but these are not always reliable. And even if we receive a storm warning early, there is still no perfect way to prepare for anything that could happen. And there are also sudden, unprecedented events like earthquakes that can be followed by a tsunami, really dangerous if you’re near coasts.

A natural disaster can flood or damage major highways and roads, stranding people within the affected area and keeping a lot of emergency responders and volunteer workers from extending much needed help. In the event of a massive flood like what was seen in New Orleans after Katrina, a lot of the food and stocks in stores would get damaged. Hunger would prevail for days due to lack of food and death could be caused by lack of potable water.

3. Economic collapse

An economic collapse could happen to the United States. The dollar is not as strong in the world market as it used to. If the Eurocrisis has not happened, the US dollar might no longer be the world’s reserve currency. Also, the government debt has now reached $16 Trillion, so very near the $16.4 Trillion debt limit.

The dollar is steadily weakening as we are faced with mounting economic woes like bankruptcies, increasing national and international debts, unemployment and the failure of Obama’s stimulus program to stabilize U.S. economy.

A sudden economic collapse is among the 4 reasons there will be a food crisis because prices of everything from fuel to food would soar, the dollar would inflate and food as well as other product importation would become limited. Fewer department stores would be able to stock their shelves yet more people would flock to buy whatever are in the limited supply.

4. An EMP Attack

This is a threat that many Americans don’t know about or take for granted, but it’s actually the worst among the 4 reasons there will be a food crisis. EMP or electromagnetic pulse is produced when a nuclear weapon is detonated high above the United States. Other causes of EMP can be natural like when a geomagnetic storm is caused by massive solar flares.

The effects of EMP will not hurt humans in any way but will damage and cripple a great number of our infrastructures including power, water infrastructure, food production, processing and distribution, transportation infrastructure, communications and the financial infrastructure.

EMP can knock off the National Power Grid which in turn would cause food processing and distribution to stop. Since EMP can damage any electrical equipment that stands in its way, power plants would stop working, farm machineries would stall, a number of vehicles would be affected, phones would become useless and even life support systems would stop.

An EMP attack could trigger a food crisis by reducing mass production, slowing down processing, decreasing the shelf life of perishable foods and crippling food transportation means.

With these 4 reasons there will be a food crisis enumerated above, you should by now have an idea how vulnerable our local food supply is. It’s a good idea to start preparing for the inevitable and begin building your own survival food store. You can discover how you can prepare and survive any food crisis here.

With over a decade in survival experience, Rod Davidson offers priceless advice and life saving survival strategies thru his free newsletter. Rod has dedicated his life to making sure he and his loved ones are safe when a crisis hits. He now will teach you how to do the same.

Sign Up For Free Here

TOR here: First I would like to thank Rod for taking the time to write this post. Second I think it is important to put things in perspective. 

It is worth noting that survivalism and it's better polished cousin preparedness are full of things we might need or use some day. I may need a winter sleeping bag or a NOD or a sweet rifle some day then again I might not. On the other hand tomorrow we are going to want to eat 3 meals and a snack or two. I can say with a high level of confidence that we will want to do this just about every day we are alive and kicking. 

In particular buying food that you actually eat which has a fairly long (shelf stable) life just makes sense. If we eat a big jar of peanut butter every other week then having a few can't be a bad thing. Assuming you have some basic food rotation in place this stuff never goes bad. Having a few weeks or months of food that you regularly use makes sense for all sorts of reasons. This lets you wait until sales and lower food costs. Also if inflation is a concern, which it should be!, then you can go all Alpha Strategy (the post lings to a free download of the book). 

The longer term storage stuff like those 5 gallon buckets with mylar bags full of wheat, beans and rice or various freeze dried products store just about indefinitely. One could consider them the insurance portion of your food storage plan. One might sock them away in a safe place just in case they may be needed. 

There are probably a lot more reasons to put time and money into food storage but right now I cannot think of them.

Anyway I hope you enjoyed the guest post.

Guest Post: Hearing Education for Hunters, Shooters and their Families

Hi my name is John O'Connor, I am a father, outdoorsman and passionate about living a healthy lifestyle.  Over the past few years I have become more and more interested in hearing loss.  My father and grandfathers, who are and were all hunters, are affected by hearing loss.  I feel that there is a general lack of understanding around the issue and it is our job to spread awareness where we can.  Check out my new blog at bloggingwjohno.blogspot.com!

Hearing Health Education for Hunters and Their Families
People enjoy hunting for a variety of reasons.  Some people simply enjoy getting outdoors and walking through the woods or scheduling a hunting trip in the mountains so they can experience nature at its finest.  Other people are lifelong target shooters and people who have advanced hunting skills who enjoy the challenge of a hunt.  No matter what drives you to hunt, there are numerous benefits that can surface from engaging in hunting.  Hunting allows friends to bond and parents to teach quality skills and firearm safety techniques to their teenagers.  When you go hunting, remember to take safety precautions to protect your hearing as well.
How Is It Possible for Hunting to Damage a Person’s Hearing?
Many people are familiar with the fact that being around consistently loud noises bring on damage to hearing.  However, not everyone is aware that just one single shot from a gun can cause permanent damage to a person’s ears.  My father who has been a hunter for many years, often when out in the woods or at the range did not pay much attention to his hearing protection. Now much older, he is affected severely by hearing loss. His doctor said that hunting was not the only cause of his hearing loss but that it was a major component. He still enjoys going to the range but always has his hearing aids in and remembers to bring the proper hearing protection with him.
The decibels of a firearm can reach more than 100 decibels of a person’s voice.  At an average of 160 decibels per shot, it only takes one shot to cause harm to a person’s ability to hear.  If a person goes hunting on a regular basis and is consistently around firearms that are being fired without any type of protective hearing, the chances are great that the person will suffer significant hearing loss.  This can happen to children, teens and adults.  
Hunter Safety Options to Protect Your Ears
It is not a big investment to protect your ears when you go hunting.  Purchasing foam or rubber earplugs can be a great help to providing quality protection when you are hunting.  If you want premium protection and also want muted sounds amplified when you hunt, you may consider investing in a pair of electronic earmuffs.  [TOR here: they really aren't that expensive these days. I think mine were a bit over $20.] Standard earmuffs provide excellent protection to a person’s hearing and are typically considered comfortable to wear by a majority of hunters.  Electronic earmuffs provide the same protection but also have circuits built into them that pick up on low sounds such as voices.  
It is a good idea to keep both earmuffs and earplugs on hand so you have them ready whenever you go hunting. If you often go hunting with your children, you can use this opportunity to teach your them about great safety habits to get into so they can learn how to protect their hearing.  

TOR Here: First I would like to thank John for writing this post. Second I strongly recommend using quality hearing protection whenever you shoot. Modern electronic hearing protection will only block (dull really) the bad noises but still be able to hear other noises. Lot's of folks keep a pair by their home defense weapon's which is a pretty good idea. If you have ever heard a firearm discharged in an enclosed space the reason for this is pretty evident. 

How to Get Started with Food Storage- A Guest Post

The future can bring any number of things - outages, natural disasters, unemployment. If you are reading this blog, you are probably already aware of the need to prepare yourself for the future. Knowing and doing are two different things however, and although you may know the importance of creating an emergency food supply, you may not know how to get started. Putting together enough food to sustain you and your family for any period of time may seem like an ominous task, but it is actually easier than you think. All you have to know is where to start.

Make Some Space

You cannot start to collect food if you have nowhere to put it. Set aside some space in your house or apartment. Remember that you will be storing this food for weeks, months and probably years, so make sure that you store it somewhere out of the way. Bear in mind that you have to have at least enough food to last you and your family for a few days, if not weeks, so make sure that the space is large and easily accessible.

Work Out How Much you Need

Before you work out how much space you need to store it, you must first work out how much you need. Most government sources recommend storing at least 72 hours worth of food for each person in your household. (TOR here: In the PNW the typical nasty ice storm messes things up for about a week or 10 days. As Hurricane Katrina showed you might be on your own for more like 4-6 weeks) A good way to work out how much you need is to take note of your daily routine, and how much you eat for each meal, as well as between. Eventually you should be able to put together a supply of food that you will enjoy eating.

Know your Resources

There are a lot of resources available to make things easier. Try looking into a few of the food storage companies around and see how they can ease you into your food storage. Many offer ready made stores that you can select and purchase at your leisure.

Put it Together Bit by Bit

The task in front of you is much more daunting if you try to put your supply together all at once. The best way to collect your food storage is to do it bit by bit. Buy one or two extra items with each trip that you take to the grocery store. This will help you to create your supply with minimal effort, as well as little extra cost.

Have Fun with it!

There is no use in having a ton of food that you do not want to eat. Should the unexpected happen, you will not want to spend days eating something that you would not normally eat, and may not even like. There are a lot of delicious options available for you to choose from, so have some fun as you shop around for your perfect emergency food supply.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: ”https://plus.google.com/u/1/106188310761824467746?rel=author” Lee Flynn is a freelance writer and expert in long-term food storage.

Guest Post: Preparing for an Uncertain Future: One Families Story

There was a time when local law enforcement was a symbol of good citizenship, honor, and service to the community. This is no longer that time. Now we are hard pressed to turn on the news or read national headlines when checking our email without hearing yet another example of police brutality, unconstitutional search and seizure, and even the death of innocent citizens at the hands of our “trusted authorities” who do as they are told instead of upholding and defending the rights of the people.


But I don’t need to expand on this issue because if you have been following Ryan for a while you already know all about it. When Ryan asked me to write a guest post about our family’s experiences, my husband and I felt it was important to share with you how we, one American family, are preparing for a police state.

A combination of events led us to be awakened to the harsh reality of our country becoming less and less American, and that most Americans remained unaware or refused to acknowledge their own part in this progressively reckless society. Because of this, and our enlightenment of oncoming economic depression, our family began researching the best ways to protect ourselves. The eight things we began doing that stick in my mind include, in no particular order:

• Creating a backup plan for different emergency scenarios (eg. Natural disaster, job loss, or martial law). We figured out what supplies we needed, how we would travel, where we would live, and who we needed to remain connected with.

• Beginning a food storage. We spent an extra $20 or $30 a week on basic food necessities and extra food items we enjoy, with a goal of saving up a year’s worth for our family.

• Staying away from debt. We have no credit cards, continued to pay on our second mortgage during my husband’s 11 month unemployment because we could afford it, only got a small car loan when we had a short term plan to pay if off (and did) and prefer to borrow from family as a last resort instead of from a government institution that things they have control over our lives. Debt is enslavement.

• We invested in equipment that would help us in a bug-out situation. You can see part one of our video series here.

• We remodeled a run-down camper to use as a backup home, and placed it on family land. It served as a great camp (and now, storage), but gave us assurance that despite a variety of potential emergencies, we would have a place to go. Here is the post I wrote after our first weekend there.

• Drawing a line in the sand was an essential part to preparing for a police state. When should we take cover and when should we take action? How much of an attack on our liberty are we willing to take before enough is enough? This is a very individual and personal decision; your line may be in a different place than your neighbor’s, but it is still an important one to make so you aren’t trying to decide when it’s too late.

• Among our equipment purchases were defense weapons. Every American has the right to personal defense and offense using a weapon of their choice against any enemy who is threatening their safety or property. This is protected by the Constitution, and is essential if you are going to draw a line in the sand.

• It is also important in a police state scenario to know the people in your community. Even if you live in a rural area, the battle will come to you. You need to know who you can trust and network with, and who you can’t trust and need to be aware of their movements and actions. This ties in with the line in the sand as well.

While there are an increasing number of isolated, police state-type abuses occurring around our country, our family has yet to be faced with it ourselves. In the meantime, the precautions we have taken do influence our lifestyle.

For example, we attempt to remain up-to-date on the state of law enforcement and people’s rights, so we will see it coming before it hits.

Abuses of citizen rights also affect how we vote. We will no longer take the party line, voting instead for maximum freedom, even if its name doesn’t match the ones on the ballot.

Our parenting has also been influenced. Our (soon to be) four children are being raised to understand their rights, the difference between good and bad law and good and bad authorities. They will know how to defend themselves against psychological and physical invasions by the media and government, and be skilled in daily life necessities such as resourcefulness, use of tools, and farming.

Many of our loved ones have become aware of this deceitful government’s intentions because of our actions, but we still find it necessary to keep spreading the word, encouraging people to protect themselves, to prepare for the unknown, and not to be dumbed down by the media. We encourage you to take similar steps to prepare your own family, and keep spreading the word because now is the time to wake people up to what is already beginning to happen, and make sure they are on the right side of that line before it’s time to take action.

__

Naomi is the author of Inspired Birth: A Fresh Perspective on Childbirth for Christian Maternity Care Providers, and blogs regularly at American Family Now and Birth a Miracle Services. She and her husband live off-grid with their three children and have one more on the way.

BUILDING UP YOUR CONFIDENCE AND SKILLS IN THE SEWING DEPARTMENT

When the SHTF it's unlikely that the big box store from which you buy your pants and shirts is going to be open for business.  I strongly feel that in order to be a well-rounded prepper you need to learn the the basics of sewing.  This is the story about how I got on the road to learning the absolute basics. 

I started off buy making patch work quilts by hand.  Patch work quilts are easy because they only involve straight lines.  You can use just about anything to make a patch work quilt - old work shirts, old bed sheets, clothes the kids have outgrown, etc.  Start small so you don't get overwhelmed or frustrated.  Make a patch work quilt that would fit a twin size bed.  If that sounds like too much work think about making a lap quilt.  Curtains are also a great project for beginners because they usually need only simple stitches and straight lines.  Curtains can be made in an afternoon.

The next thing I did was buy an old Singer sewing machine and I made patch work quilts on the machine.  I bought a sewing machine that only had the easy and basic stitches.  There are a lot of sewing machines on the market ranging from a $125 (for a used one) up to several thousand dollars.  I suggest putting off a purchase of an expensive sewing machine until you feel comfortable on a basic model.

My next step was to buy sewing "projects" that came in boxes.  For example, I made two teddy bears from a sewing kit that I bought at the fabric store.  The kit was inexpensive and the instructions told me exactly what to do.  The kit allowed me to understand the importance of patterns.  It also helped me to understand how sewn objects are put together.  As silly as it sounds that teddy bear kit was a real confidence booster for me. 

Another great way to understand how clothes (or other sewn items) are put together is to take them apart piece by piece.  Learn how they are constructed by deconstructing them. 

A few days ago I bought another sewing kit with instructions and material for an apron inside.  My confidence waxed and waned as I worked through the project.  The lady at the fabric store told me that it only took her an hour to complete the project.  It has taken me a day and I'm still not done, but I must admit that the apron looks pretty good.  By using this kit I was able to learn even more about patterns and sewing techniques such as how to sew on a ruffle.  My confidence is slowly rising even further.

My next (and last) step will probably be to buy a simple pattern to make a shirt or maybe a skirt.  I'm excited because it's taken me a while to get to this skill level.

I began sewing about 3 years ago.  Sewing is part art, part science, part skill, and part luck.  It is not something you can learn overnight!!!  Start small, stay within your skill range, don't give up, go slow, and only work on projects that look fun so you will stay interested.

If TSHTF and the big box store and the local seamstress is AWOL it's important that you be able to know how to make basic clothing.  Food and firearms are important but clothing to brave the elements is essential also.

by Sam In The Trailer Park


TOR HERE: I just want to thank Sam for the post. On another note I am pleased to announce that her trailer park still hasn't been wiped out by a tornado.

Guest Post Book/ Movie Review of The Road

A Review of  The Road By Cormac McCarthy or as I Like to Call it: How Not to Survive After A Disaster.


I read the novel The Road, by Cormac McCarthy and then after a few days of letting the story marinate, I watched the movie. Frankly, the book is better (it always is) but the director did a fabulous job with the movie. Obviously, large parts of the book were left out of the movie in the interests of time and flow, but the movie didn’t suffer for the editing. I am not going to lie, I cried like a little girl in some places. In other parts I wanted to jump right into the book and shake some sense into the main character, the man. In a survivalist situation, when you are doing everything you can to avoid being eaten by roving gangs of cannibals, who in their right mind makes nightly fires? Why not just stuff a moldy apple in the kid’s mouth, set him up on a platter and ring the dinner bell?

The book and movie should certainly not be taken as a manual on how to survive in the aftermath of a global cataclysmic event. As a piece of literature that explores issues of humanity, father and son relationships and questions our morals and ethics in the face of tragedy, it is a good read and may even get you thinking. It will certainly put you off light colored meat for awhile and have you hoarding all the fruit salad and ammo that you can.

From a preparedness point of view, this novel is incredibly disappointing. Through flashbacks, the reader is given multiple glances into the lead up to the disaster, as well as the time immediately following it. The man is knowledgeable enough to know that he needs to fill the tub with drinkable water before it is shut off, but doesn’t seem to do much disaster planning. The boy is born just after the disaster and the story begins when he is about nine or ten. One of the flashbacks shows the family still at their home and the child is about seven years old. We aren’t told what they have been doing in the interim, except that they have used all but two of the bullets in their one gun. They have a home with food and clothing and creature comforts that they leave for an unknown reason, yet they haven’t banded together with any of their neighbors or friends?

They even stumble upon an emergency shelter loaded with clean food, water and shelter and leave it to continue on his quest for the coast. In the presence of such a hoard of food, I find it incredibly difficult to imagine that a starving man and child would be able to walk away from it. As a literary device it works well to show how humanity can snap back in place when essentials aren’t in scarce supply, however, common sense dictates that he would make camp in the area and continue to forage food and supplies to ensure that he and the boy built up their immune systems and energy reserves. The shelter is stocked with bullets that do not work with his gun, so he leaves them there, rather than cart them along as items to barter and trade or use in an improvised fashion for self defense. 

Rather than continue to rag on the book for what it didn’t do, I would rather focus on three things it did do that put me into quasi panic mode and made me reevaluate my plans.

1.    Made me conscious of how little I have prepared myself for life without verifiable maps and the ability to navigate without a GPS. The Man and the boy follow the highways and open road on their quest to find the coast. This is incredibly dangerous as it leaves them open to attack from all of the threats present in the book. They do not seem to have a choice as their shopping cart could not make it through the brush of the forests. I had to question how I would have handled it differently. Would a simple plank frame sledge dragged through the forest be any better? It would leave tracks and be easy to follow and difficult to handle. Would a compass still be a viable guide?

2.    Kill or be killed? Is holding on to their morals really the most appropriate way to survive? When they meet up with other people on the road, they often give the strangers the benefit of the doubt, leaving themselves open to attack. Why didn’t they form an alliance with at least one other adult for protection? That way they wouldn’t be sleeping unguarded at night, the boy wouldn’t have had to remain alone unguarded while the man foraged for wood and food and they would have had far more options for self defense.

3.    In an apocalyptic situation, is survival really the only consideration? What about rebuilding a civilization? The book mentions communes and cannibalistic tribes as well as nomadic gangs of men and permanent homesteaders farming people. But are there no groups of like-minded people with knowledge and skills available to create a safer community of refugees? By merely surviving are they in fact ensuring their extinction? In living a day to day hard scrabble existence, they cannot plan for the future. How is the man such a dead shot when he has been carrying around two shots in his gun for over three years without shooting it? Practice is essential for any type of specialized skill. Gardening and animal husbandry are impossible thanks to the bleak conditions and the need to continually move along. How has this scenario changed my preparations for potential disasters and emergencies? Hugely; I am rethinking most of my plans and reassessing my viable skills.

All in all, both the movie and the book got me thinking long and hard about the steps I have taken so far to prepare and the things I still need to do. The biggest item I am lacking is knowledge. Educating myself more about homesteading practices, basic outdoorsman-ship and personal health care and protection would be far more useful than a majority of the gadgets that I have stockpiled. I may end up somewhere far from my stash, but I will always have the training in how to create a natural water filter or know which potential vegetation is edible and which is akin to hazardous waste. The book and the movie are certainly not for the faint of heart and will not help you sleep better at night, but they will get your brain working and inspire you to do a better job of prepping for the potential future.


Lucas Gregson is a Personal Security Plan specialist with a keen interest in prepping and home security. He advocates for sensible self defense training and the enjoyment of a good book but not at the same time.

Why Ammo Cans? By Brian

Since you're reading TSLR, you're likely like me in that you're worried about the direction our country is headed and you'd like to protect yourself in the event that things go south - quickly.  Ammo cans are absolutely the best storage option for this sort of thing.  Simply put, you want one of these cans holding your valuables in a time of crisis.  Think of them like a portable safety deposit box.  The ones made after WWII are built to be air-tight and water-tight.  That means you can store just about anything you'd like in them for long periods of time, whether that's ammo, food, shotshells, a gun, a radio, or  medical supplies. Just drop in a pack of silica gel to absorb excess moisture and you'll be ahead of 99% of the populace when it comes to storing emergency supplies.

-Brian is with LuckyGunner.com, a sponsor of TSLR.  Currently, LuckyGunner.com has a special price of $9 being offered on ammo cans, specifically their highly-rated 50 caliber surplus ammo cans from Lake City:  If you buy 10 cans or more, the price is only $7 per can through October 7th.

TOR here: First of all I want to thank Brian and Lucky Gunner for supporting us. Believe me when I say our advertisers really do make this place a lot more active and interesting then it otherwise would be. Anyway onto ammo cans. 

Ammo cans are definitely one of those things you can't have too many of. Just writing this makes me want to order some more ammo cans. They are so darn useful. Personally I use them primarily for their intended purpose to store ammunition. Buy yourself some ammo, put it into an ammo can, toss some silica gel in and you can forget about it. One word of advice though. Inventory and label the  cans before putting them away. Otherwise when you come back in 6 months or a year to grab a box of JHP's for your pistol or target loads for the shotgun you will have to search through a bunch of cans. Not saying I've done that, just that I imagine it could happen. You could easily use a label maker or write with a marker on a piece of tape so one look on the outside could show what the contents are. If you are want to be more discrete or the contents are complicated (versus say 1,500 9mm FMJ) then label them with a number and keep an inventory elsewhere. 


The more I think about it the more uses for ammo cans there are. They are tough, cheap and waterproof. If you want to use them to store fragile stuff then just get some foam or whatever. I know a fellow who keeps his silver in ammo cans. They would also be a good place for all those mags you bought for redundancy or as tangible investments.


I'm sure the ammo cans from Lucky Gunner are totally fine. However as general advice if you buy ammo cans elsewhere just make sure the lid fits properly and that the seals on the top of the lid is intact and soft. Sometimes you will come across ammo cans that are a little bit rusty. That isn't a big deal. Just get some sand paper, or use a metal bristly attachment for a hand grinder and remove said rust. Get a can of spray paint and touch up the spots with exposed metal. I've gotten some real good deals on ammo cans at surplus stores that just needed a half hour of effort to be serviceable.


At a minimum I suggest having enough cans to store all your ammo.


Got ammo cans?

The Crazies – A Movie Review from Survivalist Perspective

This is a guest post by Ranger Man of SHTF blog.
I’m not a big fan of television or movies, but when 2 different people that know me and my SHTF tendencies said, “you need to watch The Crazies” I paid attention and ordered it up. If you’re looking for a movie that will give you lots of TEOTWAWKI knowledge, The Crazies isn’t it. Approach the movie as SHTF entertainment and you probably won’t be disappointed. I wasn’t.

Generally speaking, I’d put this movie on par with 28 Days and 28 Days Later both in plot and genre. Without giving away movie secrets, generally what happens is a military plane carrying some bio-chemical agent crashes in a town’s drinking water supply. The agent flows down stream and adds a new meaning to “there must be something in the water.” The unnamed agent essentially makes people … crazy – zombie-like crazy, where your only purpose in life is to kill others.

The friends that recommended the movie both told me “you watch it and think – that’s exactly how the military would respond.” They were right; you are left with that impression. The military cuts communication to/from the town, seals all roads out, and swoops down on the town, rounding up people and separating those with high temperatures to determine who might be infected, and tagging/segregating the rest. What starts as a systematic approach to containing the situation goes to hell when a few hillbillies ram the fence and start firing at military personnel, either because they’re infected or because they want to release loved ones. The crowd then bum rushes the fence and everything goes downhill. Let me say this, though – if this chemical agent was real, how the military responded to this incident is exactly how I’d want them to – take no shit, because otherwise the world would certainly end.

Movies like this are not typically something that rank high on my “must watch” list, because I don’t like the suspense/thriller/horror movie-induced heart racing feeling when you know something bad is about to happen, but you’re still going to jump anyway. I handled it better than my wife, though. When the movie ended she promptly proclaimed, “I get to pick the next movie, and it’s going to be a romantic comedy.”
There ARE a few SHTF bits of knowledge you can walk away with, though …. well, two:

1.      Police tire spike strips (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spike_strip) are pretty freaking cool when you need to get a vehicle stopped. Unlike in the movie, I doubt they send a high-speed vehicle flying in the air, however. If you had to secure the driveway to your home, a tire spike strip might help.

2.      Don’t walk the highway when killers are looking for people. Why do people do this in the movies all the time? I know why, because they’re easy to follow and provide a direct, fast path from point A to point B. The downside is everyone watches them.

Since watching the movie I’ve discussed it with a number of non-preparedness minded people and I often hear “that could really happen.” I wouldn’t go that far, but to the extent The Crazies might scare someone enough to take a few rational preparedness steps toward self-reliance, perhaps that’s the best way to use it from a SHTF perspective – convincing spouses to gear up!

-    Ranger Man the author of SHTF blog

Demon Rum

By DW    

     First:

     A true story.  A friend I work with told me about his divorce that happened several years ago.  One of his friends was sleeping with my friends wife.  After the divorce was final, he told his ex- friend to make a reservation at the hospital.  It was not going to happen then, but someday, yes someday they were going to have it out.

     Time went by, and like a lot of guys after a divorce, he started hitting the bottle.  One night he is at the bar drinking with two of his buddies, and he decides its time.  He calls up the ex-friend and tells him to come on over to the bar and lets settle this thing, he has half a beer left, he will be waiting for him.  He waits, finishes his beer and its a no show.  Calls up the ex-friend and tells him, he is on the way.  Tells his two buddies they are going for a ride with him.

     Arrives at the house.  One buddy stays in the car, the other one goes with him.  Kicks the door in.  Inside, the guys brother is there.  He doesn't know what the heck is going on.  My friend is all "likkered" up and beats the H*** out of him.  (one on one, not two on one)  Next up is the ex-friends wife. (She does not know what is going on either) She is on the phone talking to 911, screaming that he is going to kill all of them.  He grabs the phone out of her hand and smashes it, then slaps her around some.  Next up is the main course.  The ex-friend is found hiding in a closet.  Drags him out and starts ass kicking process.  No sooner does it start and it seems  like twenty of those cars with the lights on top are coming down the road making LOTS of noise.  Time to leave!  He gets out the door and gets about 30 feet before they get him.  Free police car ride.

     Second:

     I heard his tell once about arresting a boy for possession of whiskey in the Territory. It was against the law then to take any sort of liquor into the Territory; officers were very strict about enforcing that law, because the United States Government didn't want the Indians to get hold of any alcoholic drinks.

     The above is from: http://www.brightok.net/~lguthrie/Pioneer%20Indian%20History.htm

     Conclusion:

     A lot of people think it is a good idea to stock alcohol either for personal use or barter.  There is going to be a lot of pressure, stress and grief during a crisis or break down.  Know who in your group is suicidal or violent under the influence of alcohol.  Keep tight control of the "likker."

     I want to thank Ryan, Chad and Ryan for allowing me to post this at their site.

     If you like this post please visit:  http://newdawnsurvival.com/blog5

TOR here: I just want to thank DW for the guest post.

First of all I just want everybody to thank Chadow for helping keep things moving during this busy time of mine. Also I should probably insert a disclaimer that I am not a medical professional and this is for informational purposes only. Prior to doing anything medical you should consult a doctor or better yet a panel of doctors to insure that said action is safe and will likely get the desired results. Consider yourself disclaimed. On yeah and check out one of our advertisers today. Guest post follows.

Since Ryan has a new family member to care for, I thought that I would write a couple of articles on a topic that he might appreciate. Medicine administration for every family member. I'll write these so as to be easily printable so that people can reference them. Too often people write survival med articles as if everyone was carrying an AK and weighed 200 lbs. This just isn't the case for the average person looking to prep.

First article: Fever

Dosing: All dosing is in kilograms per kilogram (mg/kg) or milliliters/cubic centimeter/kg (cc/kg). weight in pounds divided by 2.2= kilograms

Considerations:
Infants- Infants have a rapid metabolism and a higher percentage of body fat and water percentage as a ratio of body weight. This translates to some meds actually being in HIGHER dose to be effective.
toddlers through adolescents- Meds are generally safe along this range and are safe if normal precautions and calculations have been made.

Elderly- All meds leave the body one of two ways. They are either metabolized by the liver or excreted by the kidneys. Considerations for decreased function of these organs may need to be considered for this age group. In general if, say, your kidneys did not work well; you would either decrease the dose or give it further in duration apart because it will stay in the body longer.

Fever: Natural reaction to the body when infected by a foreign organism. It is an attempt by the body to either hinder its growth or to kill it while the body increases its immune response to said invader. Somewhat similar to an allergic reaction, but in a systemic way with other symptoms (cough, sore throat, burning on urination). Bacteria and viruses can cause rashes. Allergic responses usually don't get a fever. No normal person can tell whether a fever and a rash is a bacteria or a virus when it first occurs. It is a "wait and see" game.

Good: The body is doing its thing. It is fighting back. If the body temperature drops to 97-95 degrees while you know they are sick, the body is failing. This is an emergency. A fever in and of itslef is not bad. A fever works, it kills bad bugs.

Bad: A fever uses lots of energy as the body ramps-up for the fight. Too high of a fever can cause seizure. No two people and no two illnesses will get a seizure at the same temp. I've seen seizures at 99 and 105 degrees. A fever out of control can ruin a brain-- above 104 or for a sutained period.

Considerations: If someone had a fever but are acting somewhat normal, leave it alone to do it's thing. It will probably help. If a person is becoming symptomatic (ie. lethargic, rapid breathing, hallucinating, not eating or drinking, loud crying), an antipyretic my be warranted.

Meds:
Tylenol (acetomenophen)-- general dosing for all ages. 15mg/kg every 6 hours. Maximum dose in 24 hours is 4000mg for a muture person. No one argues about this one and it is given to babies as well as adults.

Motrin (Advil, Ibuprofen)-- 10mg/kg every six hours. Conservative pediatricians will say not to give motrin until 6 months of age due to its taxing of the kidneys and considerations do exist for the elderly. In the ER, this can be a gray area for the short term, but a very real consideration for multiple days of dosing.

Aspirin-- The wonder drug. Just don't give it to children as it may cause a neurological condition called Reye's Syndrome. Also, you need to choose between motrin or aspirin as the are both NSAIDS (nos-steroidal anti-inflammatories) and have to be excreted by the kidneys. You don't want to overdose your organs. The dosing is highly liberal, but I would only take 162 mg ever 12 hours as it will thin the blood.

The math: Notice that you can give both tylenol and motrin every six hours. Tylenol is metabolized by the liver and motrin by the kideys. This means that in periods of high fever, you can give tylenol and then three hours later motrin and then three hours later motrin again. It is still only every six hours for each med, but beacusemachanisms of action, you have something to give more often. Likewise, if no meds have been given for some time and then they spike a 105 fever, you can give a FULL dose of both tylenol and motrin to bring it down rapidly. But then you will have to wait 6 hours for a dosing of either.

Other Methods: Undress. Despite myth, you do not cover a person who has a fever and is chilled with blankets. They are chilled bacause of the sensation at the skin of all of that heat bleeding off. Don't cover them, you'll just help to cook them to medium-rare. You may cover the person when they have broken in to a full-body sweat. This means that the fever has broken, at least temporarily. Change their clothes and cover them so as not to become hypothermic and they may be able to sleep a while. Tepid cloth wiped over the head, back, and stomach help bleed off heat. For children, a tepid bath works great. Give them a cup and let them drink the water, too. It will be a fun game and help with hydration. Ice packs to the armpit, groin, and neck helps rapidly bring down a temp. People will resist this.

Nutrition: Water and sugar and salt. With and increased metabolism, hydration is key. Also, the person may not feel like eating, but they need the calories. Candy and sugar should be broken out for just such an occasion. Get rid of the diet sprite and G2. I have seen recipes for tepid water, 1/2 tsp of salt, and a tbs. of sugar mixed together and chilled. This way, every time the person takes a sip of water, they get some good stuff with it--even if they vomit some of it up.

Realize that in an era of no antibiotics, people will fight infections for extended periods. Support may have to be given for some time. Don't be afraid of the fever. Watch it and don't let it get out of control. Save your meds for when they are needed most and at the best time.

-Chadow


TOR here again real quick. Please give Chadow a round of applause.

Guest Post: Preventing Diabetes

See How Easily You Can Prevent Diabetes Through Blood Glucose Testing

The pancreas is a body part which Type 2 diabetes affects. When we take in food, the sugar in it turns into glucose then goes into the blood stream. When it gets in blood cells, the pancreas lets loose insulin that allows our body to use up the glucose like fuel. People who have a Type 2 diabetes condition will find it difficult to make as well as use insulin. Your body contains plenty of glucose; however your cells are unable to find them.

The American Diabetes Association has the duty of looking for information regarding this important medical condition. 23.6 million Individuals living in America currently have diabetes, and because of this the country is seen as very unhealthy. Ninety percent of this figure has been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. Diabetes and the tendency to be overweight usually run in the family. If there is too much glucose in your body, it could result in serious internal organ damage and affect one’s nervous system. 

Living with Diabetes

The easiest and the most efficient way to treat your Type 2 diabetes is through healthy living practices on a daily basis. Among these practices include eating healthy and engaging in exercise. The healthy practices that you regularly do will have an enormous lasting and positive effect on you.

To avoid health complications, many doctors have recommended that you ensure that the glucose levels in your body are within the appropriate range. The blood glucose level in your body can easily be monitored simply by using the finger prick test. Such a test is as good as an HbA1c test when it comes to checking and tracking your glucose fluctuations. This HbA1c test is able to determine the levels of glycated hemoglobin in your body, as well as know if the glucose levels are on the high side. The average level which diabetics maintain, as per the A1c test results, are at seven percent. One can experience a 40% reduction in the possibility of developing risks if people simply ensure that their a1c levels are kept at seven percent.

Over-Controlled Levels

A lot of studies nowadays indicate that keeping one’s a1c levels lower than seven percent could actually be a bad thing. There was one study which was done in Seattle’s Lancet and Swedish Medical Center that found out that there is a higher death risk for people whose levels are median at best and people who take insulin. On the other hand, other tests show that a seven percent a1c level is still quite healthy. While physicians take into account their patient’s medical history before the planned treatment, a 7% level of a1c is still good according to endocrinologist Matt Davies.

About the Author - Kristina V. Ridley writes on glucose meter  , her personal hobby blog focused on helping people get free information to prevent diabetes and test blood glucose at home.

TOR here: First and foremost I would like to thank Kristina for writing this article.  We have talked a bit about diabetes here in the past. It has massive implications for potential survival during a prolonged crisis and if you have it then some common sense preparations would be prudent.

I do not know a lot about diabetes. However for those who don't get it during childhood I believe it comes largely from excessive body fat and prolonged unhealthy diets. Yet another reason to eat somewhat reasonably and maintain a healthy body weight.

How To Make Questionable Water Drinkable

There are several ways to make questionable water drinkable.  Below
are just a few well known methods.  I am NOT an expert on this topic.
Entire books and websites could be devoted to this one topic. The
purpose of this article is simply to give people a very quick overview
of what options are available to make questionable water drinkable.  I
encourage people to click on the links I have provided to read more in
depth about this topic because it is incredibly crucial.  Now is the
time to educate yourself, your family and your loved ones on this
vitally important topic.

1.) SteriPEN      www.steripen.com

The SteriPEN uses ultraviolet light to destroy viruses, bacteria, and
protozoa.  The SteriPEN can purify 16 oz. of questionable water in 48
seconds. According to their website, "SteriPEN utilizes C wavelengths
UV (ultraviolet light).  UV-C light is a short wave light, between
x-rays and visible light wave lengths, which destroy the DNA of
microbes in seconds".

Advantages to SteriPEN:

a.) lightweight
b.) compact
c.) you can use a container made of glass, ceramic, metal and nearly
any plastic with a SteriPEN

Disadvantages to SteriPEN:

a.) requires batteries
b.) does not filter out debris
c.) depending on your budget this can be expensive - the price range
seems to be between $60 - $100 or so
d.) will not decontaminate threads in your screw top water bottle
e.) you can only use clear water with a SteriPEN because cloudy water
inhibits its effectiveness

2.) Boiling Water     www.epa.gov/safewater/faq/emerg.html

Boiling water kills most types of disease causing organisms.  Boil
water for one minute, let cool, and then drink.  At altitudes above 1
mile, boil water for 3 minutes.  Some websites suggest boiling water
for up to 10 minutes.  Again, now is the time to start doing research
on this topic so you can decide for yourself how long you think it is
necessary to boil water to make it safe.

Advantages to boiling water:

a.) no special equipment or skills needed
b.) currently relatively inexpensive (so long as fuel is inexpensive
and plentiful)

Disadvantages to boiling water:

a.) water must be filtered first if filled with debris
b.) water may have flat taste after boiling (if it's a TEOTWAWKI
scenario then who cares)
c.) requires fuel (wood, propane, electricity, etc.)
d.) boiling water may give away your location especially if you are
doing it outside with a wood fire
e.) you may lose precious water during boiling process because of evaporation
f.) may be time consuming (especially if you need to build a fire)

3.) Potable Aqua Iodine Tablets       www.potableaqua.com/faq.shtml

Iodine tablets kill bacteria, viruses, and giardia.  Iodine tablets
work by "penetrating the cell wall of the microorganism, therefore
rendering it inactive".

Advantages to iodine tablets:

a.) relatively cheap (approximately $6.50 for 50 tablets). Two tablets
treat 1 quart of water.
b.) lightweight
c.) portable
d.) can be used to treat cloudy water, low temperature water, and
water with extreme PH

Disadvantages to iodine tablets:

a.) must wait at least 30 minutes before drinking
b.) not effective against Cryptosporidium or chemical contaminants
c.) should not be used on a long term basis (6 weeks is the limit)
d.) opened bottles of tablets go bad after one year
e.) tablets may add strange taste to water
f.) must filter water to remove debris
e.) women who are pregnant or people who have thyroid problems should
consult a doctor before using iodine tablets (this may be impossible
in a TEOTWAWKI situation)

4.) Chlorine      www.epa.gov/safewater/faq/emerg.html

Use non-scented household chlorine bleach to treat water.  Chlorine
kills microorganisms.  (I was unable to find out exactly what chlorine
does/does not kill and it how kills it. If anybody knows, please
post.) Click on above EPA link to view the chart regarding how much
chlorine to use to treat water.  Mix water treated with chlorine,
cover, and let stand for 30 minutes before drinking.

Advantages to using chlorine:

a.) relatively cheap
b.) fairly easy

Disadvantages to using chlorine:

a.) water may taste strange
b.) must filter out debris

5.) When there is nothing to treat water, but water is still available
then try to gather fast moving water rather than stagnant water. Stay
away from water that has floating debris, an odor, or a dark color.
WARNING:  Do this only in a TEOTWAWKI situation.  Even clear water
with no debris can be contaminated with nasty stuff.

Like I previously stated, I am NOT an expert on this topic.  If anyone
has anything to add to this post (i.e. corrections, clarifications,
personal experiences, etc.) then post away!  Today is the day to talk
about this topic before TSHTF.

P.S.  Once my Go Berkey Water Filter arrives then I'll do a review of
that.  Can't wait!  :)

Sincerely, Samantha In The Trailer Park