I was perusing a forum, where I am a member and one of the other members posted a link to a VERY informative article about just how many calories you can ACTUALLY get if you tried to "Live off the land"
The article is: Living Off The Land: Delusions and Misconceptions About Hunting and Gathering
And his blog is now added to my Preparedness Blogroll, or you can go look at it yourself here: Wood Trekker
I'm going through his archives right now and I'm seeing a LOT of good stuff. So check it out yourself.
The Replica Prop Forum
Very cool site I am also a member of
Showing posts with label preparedness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label preparedness. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 14, 2016
Monday, October 17, 2016
Thursday, June 2, 2016
Firearms for survival/preparedness/personal protection
I've seen a couple of posts from here, there, and a few other places, about the BEST or MINIMUM battery of firearms that you NEED to have.
You may notice in the title I listed Survival, Preparedness and Personal Protection. Those are three different, reasons and needs for a firearm, with 3 different requirements. Some might quibble that Preparedness and Survival are the same thing.
NO!
They are not.
You can PREPARE for a SURVIVAL situation, however life may conspire against your preparations, and you will find yourself miles away or on the opposite side of locked door from your preparations.
Personal Protection is something that while it overlaps with the Survival and Preparedness is still a different kettle of fish.
Personal Protection could be the small .25 ACP, .32 ACP or ..380 ACP Bryco/Lorcin/FN Belly gun, or it could be a Glock/M&P/1911 in 9mm, .40 S&W, 10mm or .45 ACP and/or everything in between.
You could be just as well served with a small Walther TP-22 that you can shoot well than with the Glock 21 you can't even hit the barn with while standing inside the barn.
Each situation is different.
Personal Protection is your immediate person. What you carry on your body that is NOT visible to others. It has a hard limit, as to what you can easily conceal on your person while making it so you do not stand out as a threat or a target.
Preparedness, is the safe full of guns in the back of your closet, the 6 months of food, the hundreds of gallons of water, all of your other preparations in the event of a breakdown of civilized society either by a natural disaster or a concerted effort, like a riot or terrorist attack.
Survival is only what you have either on your person or available to you in your vehicle or your home that you still have ACCESS to.
Did you note that?
That you still have ACCESS to.
You can have all the preps you and your family could ever hope to need, IF you are at where those preps are stored. If you and your family are on vacation, there is only so much room available to carry things. Plus if you had to fly on a commercial airline you are limited/restricted even further. If all of your preps are at home, but you're on vacation hundreds of miles away, they don't really do you any good. In fact if you are not there, if something does go down, and you aren't there to safeguard your preps, they may as well be gone forever.
Now the idea here is to identify which part of your battery is for what area of the 3 aforementioned specialties.
Now this is just me, but I do happen to own a large number of various firearms. Almost all of them could be considered part of my Preparedness Battery.
However I can only physically carry 2 maybe 5 of them at a time, if three of them are handguns. It all depends on what else I have to carry, what particular firearms I have chosen and what level of awareness and alert I am at.
If I am around town, everything is hunky dory, and there are no threats, I will have at least 1 handgun on my person plus at least 1 other firearm in my vehicle. The other firearm could be another handgun, or a longarm. Rifle or Shotgun if not both. Depending on which vehicle I am driving that day.
If I am in the S-10, I'll probably have my FEG AP765 on me and my Charter Arms Undercover .38 or my Rossi 461 .357 in the truck.
If I am in the Dakota with it's extended cab, I'll have the FEG plus I'll have either of the 2 revolvers AND I'll have either my Maverick 88 12 ga with a folding stock or my AK Pistol with a SIG Brace in the back of the cab.
If I am in the Suburban, I would most likely have most of the above plus my AR-15 or Kel-Tec Sub2000.
NOTE: This is not including what is in my Get Home Bag's. Those I'll probably write about later.
Now, from time to time, I'll toss one of my other firearms into any of the vehicles for no particular reason. It could be my Sears/Savage Mod 29 .22 S,L,LR, or my Savage Model 24 22/20 ga and I could just be going to the other property to do some plinking or to the range to get some practice in.
Now, carry on my person is Personal Protection, carry in my vehicle is Preparedness and possibly Survival, if something happens.
Survival is ONLY what I have with me at the time something goes down.
Many articles I have read over the years makes assumptions, some of them are good. Many of them are bad and a few are outright telling you to break the law.
So first things first.
Identify the core needs.
Personal Protection, Preparedness THEN Survival.
What firearms and/or tools do you NEED to carry on your person at all times to ensure your personal protection?
Mine is usually my FEG AP765, 3 extra magazines, Swiss Army Knife, 3.5 inch farmer's knife, my keychain with cuff key/ p-38/KTD Drive and LED light, a multi-tool (Victorinox Swiss Tool) wallet with ID/License/Permit's/spare cash, cell phone with 2200 mah back up battery charger, a pen light then my cigar case and my zippo lighter.
That might become my survival load out if something happened and I couldn't get to my vehicle.
Preparedness is the contents of my safes plus other things secreted around my house.
Survival is just whatever I have on my person when everything goes to hell.
Now as for firearms I recommend that almost EVERYONE should have. Well, those articles I link to above make some good points, however not everyone has the budget.
So here is my bare bones list.
A good .22 rifle that can fire shorts, longs and long rifles, either semi, bolt action or pump, preferably with a tubular mag because if you lose the magazine you have a singleshot that is hard to load.
A .22 revolver that can shoot .22 shorts, longs or long rifles. Mine has an extra cylinder so I can also shoot .22 WMR (.22 Magnum)
A centerfire revolver. I prefer .38 special/.357 magnums having 2 of each.
a 12 or 20 gauge shotgun. It could be single shot top-break, side by side double barrel, pump or bolt action. I have one of each. Please don't use a O/U double barrel unless it is one of the OLD ones with double triggers.
Then a good centerfire rifle that is capable of taking down small/medium to large game animals with the proper ammunition. Even an AR-15 with the proper ammunition and shot placement can take down a bear if it's necessary.
One thing I haven't really discussed in this post is ammunition. Every one has their own favorites and their own reasons for choosing them. I will try to talk my friend Ken into writing up an article about various types and loadings of ammunition.
However I will say that my daily carry is a .32 ACP which I load with 73 gr Aguila or 71 gr PPU/Fiochi FMJ's. My personal FEG does NOT like to work with JHP's. Considering that I am a pretty decent shot with a handgun I don't feel undegunned. Someone who isn't as experienced as I am however might chose a different firearm, caliber or ammunition type entirely. I'm not saying I'm right and they're wrong. I'm saying what I have works for me. They might have different experience than I do, and their own hand size/grip might dictate that they need different firearms than I would.
That is something ELSE that will need to be written in another post.
My whole point of this post is this.
You can read dozens if not hundreds of lists and recommendations. However, choose what you can afford, what you can legally own and what you can reliably shoot.
The best, most expensive firearm in the world won't do you any good if you cannot afford to shoot it, nor if you can't shoot it accurately or reliably.
Also, be sure to practice as often as you can.
Shooting skills can degrade over time if they are not reinforced through practice.
I've rambled enough don't you think?
Your turn, hit the Post Comment if you would like to offer any further thoughts.
geekprepper.org has a similar article on their website if you would like to read more.
The Best and Worst Guns for Home Defense
You may notice in the title I listed Survival, Preparedness and Personal Protection. Those are three different, reasons and needs for a firearm, with 3 different requirements. Some might quibble that Preparedness and Survival are the same thing.
NO!
They are not.
You can PREPARE for a SURVIVAL situation, however life may conspire against your preparations, and you will find yourself miles away or on the opposite side of locked door from your preparations.
Personal Protection is something that while it overlaps with the Survival and Preparedness is still a different kettle of fish.
Personal Protection could be the small .25 ACP, .32 ACP or ..380 ACP Bryco/Lorcin/FN Belly gun, or it could be a Glock/M&P/1911 in 9mm, .40 S&W, 10mm or .45 ACP and/or everything in between.
You could be just as well served with a small Walther TP-22 that you can shoot well than with the Glock 21 you can't even hit the barn with while standing inside the barn.
Each situation is different.
Personal Protection is your immediate person. What you carry on your body that is NOT visible to others. It has a hard limit, as to what you can easily conceal on your person while making it so you do not stand out as a threat or a target.
Preparedness, is the safe full of guns in the back of your closet, the 6 months of food, the hundreds of gallons of water, all of your other preparations in the event of a breakdown of civilized society either by a natural disaster or a concerted effort, like a riot or terrorist attack.
Survival is only what you have either on your person or available to you in your vehicle or your home that you still have ACCESS to.
Did you note that?
That you still have ACCESS to.
You can have all the preps you and your family could ever hope to need, IF you are at where those preps are stored. If you and your family are on vacation, there is only so much room available to carry things. Plus if you had to fly on a commercial airline you are limited/restricted even further. If all of your preps are at home, but you're on vacation hundreds of miles away, they don't really do you any good. In fact if you are not there, if something does go down, and you aren't there to safeguard your preps, they may as well be gone forever.
Now the idea here is to identify which part of your battery is for what area of the 3 aforementioned specialties.
Now this is just me, but I do happen to own a large number of various firearms. Almost all of them could be considered part of my Preparedness Battery.
However I can only physically carry 2 maybe 5 of them at a time, if three of them are handguns. It all depends on what else I have to carry, what particular firearms I have chosen and what level of awareness and alert I am at.
If I am around town, everything is hunky dory, and there are no threats, I will have at least 1 handgun on my person plus at least 1 other firearm in my vehicle. The other firearm could be another handgun, or a longarm. Rifle or Shotgun if not both. Depending on which vehicle I am driving that day.
If I am in the S-10, I'll probably have my FEG AP765 on me and my Charter Arms Undercover .38 or my Rossi 461 .357 in the truck.
If I am in the Dakota with it's extended cab, I'll have the FEG plus I'll have either of the 2 revolvers AND I'll have either my Maverick 88 12 ga with a folding stock or my AK Pistol with a SIG Brace in the back of the cab.
If I am in the Suburban, I would most likely have most of the above plus my AR-15 or Kel-Tec Sub2000.
NOTE: This is not including what is in my Get Home Bag's. Those I'll probably write about later.
Now, from time to time, I'll toss one of my other firearms into any of the vehicles for no particular reason. It could be my Sears/Savage Mod 29 .22 S,L,LR, or my Savage Model 24 22/20 ga and I could just be going to the other property to do some plinking or to the range to get some practice in.
Now, carry on my person is Personal Protection, carry in my vehicle is Preparedness and possibly Survival, if something happens.
Survival is ONLY what I have with me at the time something goes down.
Many articles I have read over the years makes assumptions, some of them are good. Many of them are bad and a few are outright telling you to break the law.
So first things first.
Identify the core needs.
Personal Protection, Preparedness THEN Survival.
What firearms and/or tools do you NEED to carry on your person at all times to ensure your personal protection?
Mine is usually my FEG AP765, 3 extra magazines, Swiss Army Knife, 3.5 inch farmer's knife, my keychain with cuff key/ p-38/KTD Drive and LED light, a multi-tool (Victorinox Swiss Tool) wallet with ID/License/Permit's/spare cash, cell phone with 2200 mah back up battery charger, a pen light then my cigar case and my zippo lighter.
That might become my survival load out if something happened and I couldn't get to my vehicle.
Preparedness is the contents of my safes plus other things secreted around my house.
Survival is just whatever I have on my person when everything goes to hell.
Now as for firearms I recommend that almost EVERYONE should have. Well, those articles I link to above make some good points, however not everyone has the budget.
So here is my bare bones list.
A good .22 rifle that can fire shorts, longs and long rifles, either semi, bolt action or pump, preferably with a tubular mag because if you lose the magazine you have a singleshot that is hard to load.
A .22 revolver that can shoot .22 shorts, longs or long rifles. Mine has an extra cylinder so I can also shoot .22 WMR (.22 Magnum)
A centerfire revolver. I prefer .38 special/.357 magnums having 2 of each.
a 12 or 20 gauge shotgun. It could be single shot top-break, side by side double barrel, pump or bolt action. I have one of each. Please don't use a O/U double barrel unless it is one of the OLD ones with double triggers.
Then a good centerfire rifle that is capable of taking down small/medium to large game animals with the proper ammunition. Even an AR-15 with the proper ammunition and shot placement can take down a bear if it's necessary.
One thing I haven't really discussed in this post is ammunition. Every one has their own favorites and their own reasons for choosing them. I will try to talk my friend Ken into writing up an article about various types and loadings of ammunition.
However I will say that my daily carry is a .32 ACP which I load with 73 gr Aguila or 71 gr PPU/Fiochi FMJ's. My personal FEG does NOT like to work with JHP's. Considering that I am a pretty decent shot with a handgun I don't feel undegunned. Someone who isn't as experienced as I am however might chose a different firearm, caliber or ammunition type entirely. I'm not saying I'm right and they're wrong. I'm saying what I have works for me. They might have different experience than I do, and their own hand size/grip might dictate that they need different firearms than I would.
That is something ELSE that will need to be written in another post.
My whole point of this post is this.
You can read dozens if not hundreds of lists and recommendations. However, choose what you can afford, what you can legally own and what you can reliably shoot.
The best, most expensive firearm in the world won't do you any good if you cannot afford to shoot it, nor if you can't shoot it accurately or reliably.
Also, be sure to practice as often as you can.
Shooting skills can degrade over time if they are not reinforced through practice.
I've rambled enough don't you think?
Your turn, hit the Post Comment if you would like to offer any further thoughts.
geekprepper.org has a similar article on their website if you would like to read more.
The Best and Worst Guns for Home Defense
Sunday, August 9, 2015
Building a primitive wattle and daub hut from scratch
I first found this on Book of Face, it had been sped up to under 2:15 seconds. Going through the comments I found the name of this gentleman's YouTube channel. So I subscribed to it, and I thought you might like to see the video for yourselves.
To see his YouTube Channel yourself and possibly subscribe to it click on the following link : Primitive Technology
To see his YouTube Channel yourself and possibly subscribe to it click on the following link : Primitive Technology
Saturday, February 21, 2015
The Day After - Surviving after a Nuclear attack
I was reminded about this movie from a post over at War is Boring. According to that post, this is the movie that scared President Reagan into getting a treaty to reduce most of the intermediate range Nuclear weapons.
Wikipedia has a decent page about the movie: The Day After
In my case, watching that movie as a young teenager, it scared the H**L out of me. You have to remember this. I was getting ready for High School. My school district still held "Tornado and Attack Drills" My family's house was about 4 miles from McDonnell-Douglas world headquarters. Scott Air Force Base, home of the Military Airlift Command was less than 40 miles away.There were Anti-Ballistic Missile bases ringing the St. Louis Metro Area. And just about 3 weeks before this movie was on tv, there had been a story about a problem at one of the missile sites. The Missiles that were supposed to protect my home didn't pass some inspection.
So combine all that together, and The Day After scared me.
So when I was 17, with my parent permission, I joined the Army Reserves.
Not to be infantry or a tanker or for combat. I signed up to be a Medic. To help people. To try to save lives.
Because the idea of the aftermath of an attack or a war terrified me.
So in 1985, when I was 17, I went to basic training.
Ever since then, I have been interested in Preparedness. Or as some would say, Survivalism.
And for that, according to the government, I am a threat to the country. Because I want to prepare to protect/defend and provide for my family's safety and well being.
I would ask them to watch that same movie through the eyes of a 15 year old. Who all his life up to that point had the idea that there could be a nuclear war, and where he lived was a target. His school ran Duck and Cover drills, disguised as Tornado Drills, at least once a month. I remember when President Reagan had been shot. How my teachers were cracking jokes about how it was too bad he had survived.
And I looked around. And decided I HAD to do something.
So when I was 17, I got my parents to sign off on my joining the Reserves.
Nowadays, I look around and I see a lot of the same warning signs I saw back in the 80's as that young impressionable young man that I was. And I am scared.
Scared for my children.
Scared for my family.
Scared for all of my neighbors and my country.
The same country that considers me to be a threat.
You tell me.
Who is the threat?
Me, who wants to prepare to protect his family from privation?
Or the government who thinks that I am a threat?
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
EMCOMMS, Evacuation and Preparedness
An article I wrote back in 2005 just popped up in my cranium. I was sitting here typing switching from the netbook to the desktop system as my hip wouldn't take it anymore and I looked right at my 2M HT sitting in it's charger next to my monitor. Then I looked up to the left next to the window on the shelves there is one of the 2 scanners I have going 24/7. And the article I wrote popped into my head. The link below, is the article. I won't repost it here, but please give it a read and check out the rest of the alpharubicon site. I am still a member there, have been for 10 years, I still try to write some articles, some make the front page like the one below, others don't.
The point I'm trying to make is, the time to start getting your house in order is rapidly coming if it hasn't already passed. With terrorism, natural disasters, and everything in between, if you have a family, you need to make some minimum preparations.
One of those is information and communications. The article linked below is about how my family got ready to evacuate in front of a hurricane, and it was my having the means to keep informed, meant it wasn't required. If I hadn't had those means, my family might have been stuck in traffic for hours, wasting time, fuel and money.
Evacuating...maybe
So please read that, check out the rest of the site and try to help yourself.
That is why I have the KTD Project here and I have links over on the right to many preparedness related sites.
Things can go sideways in a hurry. Are you going to trust the .GOV to take care of your family's safety? Or are you going to do something to ensure it yourself?
The point I'm trying to make is, the time to start getting your house in order is rapidly coming if it hasn't already passed. With terrorism, natural disasters, and everything in between, if you have a family, you need to make some minimum preparations.
One of those is information and communications. The article linked below is about how my family got ready to evacuate in front of a hurricane, and it was my having the means to keep informed, meant it wasn't required. If I hadn't had those means, my family might have been stuck in traffic for hours, wasting time, fuel and money.
Evacuating...maybe
So please read that, check out the rest of the site and try to help yourself.
That is why I have the KTD Project here and I have links over on the right to many preparedness related sites.
Things can go sideways in a hurry. Are you going to trust the .GOV to take care of your family's safety? Or are you going to do something to ensure it yourself?
Saturday, April 13, 2013
Friday, April 5, 2013
It's 2:00 a.m. The dogs and cats alert
And the sound they are alerting to has awoken you.
What is the first thing you do?
What is the second?
I'll post my list after the jump.
What is the first thing you do?
What is the second?
I'll post my list after the jump.
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Is this a new pandemic in the making?
LONDON (Reuters) - A new strain of the winter vomiting disease norovirus has spread to France, New Zealand and Japan from Australia and is overtaking all others to become the dominant strain in Britain, health officials said on Wednesday.
The norovirus variant, known as Sydney 2012, was identified in a scientific paper last week and Britain's Health Protection Agency (HPA) said genetic testing showed it was now causing more cases in England and Wales than other strains.
I know with all the hype over bird flu, swine flu, SARS and the memory of the spanish flu, a lot of people are asking if this could be overblown. Considering how many of the other "Pandemic" flus were over sold by the media in a search for relevance and ratings, I don't blame people for being ambivalent about this new sickness.
However, I have already seen several stories of people who got the current flu vaccine from their doctor or at their local health clinic or pharmacy and still got sick enough requiring hospitalization.
In New York, it has reached what the news is calling "epidemic" proportions.
"NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) — The flu is currently at epidemic levels across the five boroughs, New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley announced Thursday.
Officials said a full 5 percent of emergency room visits are flu-related.
“It’s a bad year. We’ve got lots of flu, it’s mainly type AH3N2, which tends to be a little more severe. So we’re seeing plenty of cases of flu and plenty of people sick with flu,” Farley told reporters including WCBS 880′s Rich Lamb.
So you might want to stock up on a few things, if you haven't already.
First, I'd recommend you get a flu shot.
Then get some disposable face masks. They are not that expensive and an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Also get some acetaminophen (Tylenol) and ibuprofen (Motrin) and aspirin to help with fevers and body aches if you do get sick. There are many people who cannot take one or more of the above palliatives, so they should contact their physician to find out what they would need to take and to get a prescription if necessary.
Stock up on soups and broths, you might want to get lots of bouillon cubes to make your own broth.
Also you might want to get medicines for calming your stomach and for diarrhea. Such as pink bismuth (Pepto Bismal), Magnesium Hydroxide (Milk of Magnesia) [Be careful with mom, it can give you diarrhea if you don't have it] Famotidine (Pepcid), Ranitidine (Zantac) and others to help fight the symptoms of the flu.
Take a pro-active approach to this, not a re-active one.
It's better to try to avoid getting sick, than it is to recover from it.
ETA: Read the following stories, and keep your own eyes on the news.
Roche Holding AG told Reuters late on Wednesday that it had a shortage of the liquid form of Tamiflu, given to children who already have the flu to slow or stop symptoms. A spokeswoman for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration confirmed that there have been supply interruptions in some locations."
Next story
"Hospitals in Boston worked to keep beds available as influenza patients crowded into emergency rooms in the outbreak spreading nationwide.
Massachusetts General Hospital has seen more than 500 patients with the disease and admitted 165 since the flu season began in September, said David Hooper, chief of the infection control unit. That’s an increase from 29 flu-related admissions last year, and more than twice as many admitted in the severe 2008-2009 season, he said.
“It’s an unusually high number,” Hooper said in a telephone interview. “We run a very busy emergency room at baseline, and now that’s being topped off by flu patients.”
And another one
FRIBERTY GIBERTY Video won't embed so here is the link
http://video.foxnews.com/v/2086105240001/
The norovirus variant, known as Sydney 2012, was identified in a scientific paper last week and Britain's Health Protection Agency (HPA) said genetic testing showed it was now causing more cases in England and Wales than other strains.
I know with all the hype over bird flu, swine flu, SARS and the memory of the spanish flu, a lot of people are asking if this could be overblown. Considering how many of the other "Pandemic" flus were over sold by the media in a search for relevance and ratings, I don't blame people for being ambivalent about this new sickness.
However, I have already seen several stories of people who got the current flu vaccine from their doctor or at their local health clinic or pharmacy and still got sick enough requiring hospitalization.
In New York, it has reached what the news is calling "epidemic" proportions.
"NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) — The flu is currently at epidemic levels across the five boroughs, New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley announced Thursday.
Officials said a full 5 percent of emergency room visits are flu-related.
“It’s a bad year. We’ve got lots of flu, it’s mainly type AH3N2, which tends to be a little more severe. So we’re seeing plenty of cases of flu and plenty of people sick with flu,” Farley told reporters including WCBS 880′s Rich Lamb.
So you might want to stock up on a few things, if you haven't already.
First, I'd recommend you get a flu shot.
Then get some disposable face masks. They are not that expensive and an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Also get some acetaminophen (Tylenol) and ibuprofen (Motrin) and aspirin to help with fevers and body aches if you do get sick. There are many people who cannot take one or more of the above palliatives, so they should contact their physician to find out what they would need to take and to get a prescription if necessary.
Stock up on soups and broths, you might want to get lots of bouillon cubes to make your own broth.
Also you might want to get medicines for calming your stomach and for diarrhea. Such as pink bismuth (Pepto Bismal), Magnesium Hydroxide (Milk of Magnesia) [Be careful with mom, it can give you diarrhea if you don't have it] Famotidine (Pepcid), Ranitidine (Zantac) and others to help fight the symptoms of the flu.
Take a pro-active approach to this, not a re-active one.
It's better to try to avoid getting sick, than it is to recover from it.
ETA: Read the following stories, and keep your own eyes on the news.
Next story
"Hospitals in Boston worked to keep beds available as influenza patients crowded into emergency rooms in the outbreak spreading nationwide.
Massachusetts General Hospital has seen more than 500 patients with the disease and admitted 165 since the flu season began in September, said David Hooper, chief of the infection control unit. That’s an increase from 29 flu-related admissions last year, and more than twice as many admitted in the severe 2008-2009 season, he said.
“It’s an unusually high number,” Hooper said in a telephone interview. “We run a very busy emergency room at baseline, and now that’s being topped off by flu patients.”
And another one
FRIBERTY GIBERTY Video won't embed so here is the link
http://video.foxnews.com/v/2086105240001/
Friday, December 28, 2012
Preparedness is a state of mind
Daisy Luthor who blogs as the Organic Prepper,isn't for everyone. I've read some people decry her writings as alarmist and over the top. especially her writing about modern GMO foods. I personally just read the information and then look for my own information. She doesn't ask you to take what she writes for gospel, she does ask you to at least keep an open mind and do your own research. What is one of the biggest things I always harp on about "DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH" Don't rely on what I or anyone else writes, and DON'T only look at information which supports your own perspective.
However Daisy has a post up about the mindset of the vast majority of Preppers/Survivalists, that the various media organizations either ignore or willfully distort. The mindset that a Prepper, identifies the various scenarios they might realistically need to prepare for, and then prepare for what they can.
And with that this brief excerpt that by clicking on it will take you to Daisy's post.
"Preparedness. It’s a state of mind.
When you are a prepper, you begin to think differently than the other folks on the block. Not only do you take steps to become physically prepared, with food, medical supplies and tools – but you are mentally prepared. You develop a problem-solving mindset.
Part of the reason for that is that preparedness is predicting problems before they occur. Let’s take a snowstorm for example, because where I live, this is a very common occurrence. We’re used to it, nobody panics about it and we have come to expect it."
Click the above to read the rest of "Be the hero, not the victim"
However Daisy has a post up about the mindset of the vast majority of Preppers/Survivalists, that the various media organizations either ignore or willfully distort. The mindset that a Prepper, identifies the various scenarios they might realistically need to prepare for, and then prepare for what they can.
And with that this brief excerpt that by clicking on it will take you to Daisy's post.
"Preparedness. It’s a state of mind.
When you are a prepper, you begin to think differently than the other folks on the block. Not only do you take steps to become physically prepared, with food, medical supplies and tools – but you are mentally prepared. You develop a problem-solving mindset.
Part of the reason for that is that preparedness is predicting problems before they occur. Let’s take a snowstorm for example, because where I live, this is a very common occurrence. We’re used to it, nobody panics about it and we have come to expect it."
Click the above to read the rest of "Be the hero, not the victim"
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Common preparedness foods
that are stored by those who are either getting started in emergency preparedness or by those who don't want to take the time to actually research their options, actually isn't good for you in the long term.
What are those foods?
I'm only going to discuss two of them in this post.
Ramen Noodles and Spam/Luncheon Loaf/Processed Caned Meat
When I first got involved in preparedness back in the mid to late 80's, every "Survivalist" had cases of Ramen Noodles, cans upon cans of some type of Spam either name brand or generic, and buckets of rice and buckets of bans. I don't know how many times I would meet with another "Survivalist" oriented person and they would have cases and cases of Ramen, 4 or 5 cases of Spam, 2 or three jars of bouillon cubes and a bucket of rice and a bucket of pinto beans. Coupled with 5 or 6 gallons of water in 1 gallon jugs, they considered themselves ready for the coming take over or Apocalypse or whatever they were preparing for. These same people who have 8 or maybe 10 rifles, 4 or 5 handguns and 2 maybe 3 shotguns. With enough ammo to supply an Light Infantry Company. The spent more of their finances on firearms and ammunition than anything else. Over time I got away from those types of people and became involved in a website known as Alpha Rubicon. One of the greatest things Alpha Rubicon taught me was simple. You need to have at least 10 beans for every bullet, and you need to store foods that you already eat. That was a doorbell ringing, an alarm clock. What did I have stored? Ramen, Spam, Beans and Rice. If I was lucky I'd have 2 or 3 gallons of water. These days I have several months worth of food in my house, with prices the way they are getting plus having 7 kids, it's getting harder to keep adding to my food storage, especially as I now have 4 teenagers children and you know teenagers, they can eat a LOT.
But back to those common foods that many people store, Ramen and Spam.
As I said above they really aren't that good for you by themselves. Which many people might find out in an emergency situation.
Lets look at the Ramen. On the back of the package is the Federally Mandated Nutrition Facts: I'll go line by line so you can understand it a little better.
Each one of these packet hold 2 servings, so the nutrition facts for one packet should be doubled. Don't believe me read the back of your Ramen packet, 1 serving is half a block of noodles.
Calories: 190
Calories from fat: 70
Total fat: 7g 11% of Daily Value
Saturated fat: 3.5g 18%of DV
Trans fat: 0g 0% DV
Cholesterol: 0mg 0% DV
Sodium 790mg 33% DV
Total Carbohydrate 26g 9% DV
Dietary fiber less than 1g 3% DV
Sugars: 1g
Protein: 4g
So if you eat one full packet you are getting 14grams of fat 22% of you daily value, 1580 mg of sodium 66% of your daily value, 52g of carbohydrates 18% of your daily value, 2g of sugar and 8 g of protein, all for only 380 calories of energy that your body can use.
Lets look at the spam now or in my case Armour Treet:
1 can is 12 oz, and the recommended serving size is 2 oz, so each can holds 6 servings.
1 2 oz serving has
Calories 140
Calories from fat: 100
Total fat: 11g 17% DV
Saturated fat: 3.5g 18% DV
Trans fat 0g
Cholesterol: 50mg 17% DV
Sodium: 820mg 34% DV
Total Corbohydrates: 4g 1% DV
Fiber 0g
Sugars 2g
Proteins 6g
So if you 1 can of this you would be getting Fat 66g 102% DV, Sodium 4920mg 204% DV, Carbohydrates 24g 6% DV, 12g of sugar and 36 g of protein, for all of 840 calories of energy.
Do you see those sodium levels? How good is to survive a disaster only to have a stroke or heart attack from high blood pressure? Granted when I was younger, for almost 5 months I lived on nothing but Ramen, Spam and Mac & Cheese, which is probably why I was over weight had bad acne and couldn't even get out of my own way with out pounding migraines. After I moved back to my parents house and started having real meals again, I lost weight the acne and the migraines. I also was able to become more active and much healthier.
I still need a trip to the store to get some nutrition info of a few things, but you can see where this post is going.
Watch what you store for preparedness food. If you don't pay attention to what the label says and only pay attention to the price, you could wind up hurting if not killing yourself or your family.
What are those foods?
I'm only going to discuss two of them in this post.
Ramen Noodles and Spam/Luncheon Loaf/Processed Caned Meat
When I first got involved in preparedness back in the mid to late 80's, every "Survivalist" had cases of Ramen Noodles, cans upon cans of some type of Spam either name brand or generic, and buckets of rice and buckets of bans. I don't know how many times I would meet with another "Survivalist" oriented person and they would have cases and cases of Ramen, 4 or 5 cases of Spam, 2 or three jars of bouillon cubes and a bucket of rice and a bucket of pinto beans. Coupled with 5 or 6 gallons of water in 1 gallon jugs, they considered themselves ready for the coming take over or Apocalypse or whatever they were preparing for. These same people who have 8 or maybe 10 rifles, 4 or 5 handguns and 2 maybe 3 shotguns. With enough ammo to supply an Light Infantry Company. The spent more of their finances on firearms and ammunition than anything else. Over time I got away from those types of people and became involved in a website known as Alpha Rubicon. One of the greatest things Alpha Rubicon taught me was simple. You need to have at least 10 beans for every bullet, and you need to store foods that you already eat. That was a doorbell ringing, an alarm clock. What did I have stored? Ramen, Spam, Beans and Rice. If I was lucky I'd have 2 or 3 gallons of water. These days I have several months worth of food in my house, with prices the way they are getting plus having 7 kids, it's getting harder to keep adding to my food storage, especially as I now have 4 teenagers children and you know teenagers, they can eat a LOT.
But back to those common foods that many people store, Ramen and Spam.
As I said above they really aren't that good for you by themselves. Which many people might find out in an emergency situation.
Lets look at the Ramen. On the back of the package is the Federally Mandated Nutrition Facts: I'll go line by line so you can understand it a little better.
Each one of these packet hold 2 servings, so the nutrition facts for one packet should be doubled. Don't believe me read the back of your Ramen packet, 1 serving is half a block of noodles.
Calories: 190
Calories from fat: 70
Total fat: 7g 11% of Daily Value
Saturated fat: 3.5g 18%of DV
Trans fat: 0g 0% DV
Cholesterol: 0mg 0% DV
Sodium 790mg 33% DV
Total Carbohydrate 26g 9% DV
Dietary fiber less than 1g 3% DV
Sugars: 1g
Protein: 4g
So if you eat one full packet you are getting 14grams of fat 22% of you daily value, 1580 mg of sodium 66% of your daily value, 52g of carbohydrates 18% of your daily value, 2g of sugar and 8 g of protein, all for only 380 calories of energy that your body can use.
Lets look at the spam now or in my case Armour Treet:
1 can is 12 oz, and the recommended serving size is 2 oz, so each can holds 6 servings.
1 2 oz serving has
Calories 140
Calories from fat: 100
Total fat: 11g 17% DV
Saturated fat: 3.5g 18% DV
Trans fat 0g
Cholesterol: 50mg 17% DV
Sodium: 820mg 34% DV
Total Corbohydrates: 4g 1% DV
Fiber 0g
Sugars 2g
Proteins 6g
So if you 1 can of this you would be getting Fat 66g 102% DV, Sodium 4920mg 204% DV, Carbohydrates 24g 6% DV, 12g of sugar and 36 g of protein, for all of 840 calories of energy.
Do you see those sodium levels? How good is to survive a disaster only to have a stroke or heart attack from high blood pressure? Granted when I was younger, for almost 5 months I lived on nothing but Ramen, Spam and Mac & Cheese, which is probably why I was over weight had bad acne and couldn't even get out of my own way with out pounding migraines. After I moved back to my parents house and started having real meals again, I lost weight the acne and the migraines. I also was able to become more active and much healthier.
I still need a trip to the store to get some nutrition info of a few things, but you can see where this post is going.
Watch what you store for preparedness food. If you don't pay attention to what the label says and only pay attention to the price, you could wind up hurting if not killing yourself or your family.
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Single Shot shotguns and preparedness
TEOTWAWKI Blog has a post about the viability of a single shot shotgun for preparedness/survival situations. You can click on the link to read his post on it. He makes some very good points, so please read his entire post before reading the rest of my little post.
He is making a few assumptions which while valid aren't applicable to everyone and every situation.
Here are a few reasons and the reasoning behind them that I use single shot shotguns.
#1: ease of use.
Reasoning: It is much easier for me to start instructing someone on how to safely shoot with a single shot firearm. There are less steps for them to try to remember, there are less distractions as well. When I have tried to instruct a new shooter with a pump or semi-automatic shotgun, they were much more leery of the various steps, plus many had a heightened expectation of just what those firearms are capable of. Many times they just wanted to shoot off all the rounds as fast as possible, ignoring the safety rules and trying to maintain a sight picture. With a single shot they are forced to slow down, to pay attention to what they are doing. There is less of a chance for them to try to fire as many rounds as they can as fast as possible.
#2: cost.
Reasoning: If they aren't firing off as many rounds as they can, they can learn more about proper cheek weld and sight picture, even with a bead sight. The also learn how a proper hold reduces the felt recoil.
#3: safety.
Reasoning: Many old single shots such as mine have no safety at all. I do have a newer Rossi single shot with a safety, however my old NEF doesn't have any safety at all. So drumming into their head that THEY are the first safety of any firearm can prevent future AD's and ND's. Teach them that the should not rely on any mechanical safety, but the safety in their head of safe handling procedures, and the 4 rules.
#4: Demystiying a firearm
Reasoning: Many people's only knowledge of firearms is what they see on TV and in the Movies. Showing them the actual mechanics of carrying, loading and firing one of the most simple firearms around, can do a lot about getting the reality of firearms into their forebrain versus the expectations of hollywood.
#5: enjoyment.
Reasoning: Many people, myself included, just enjoy the shooting of a single shot. Getting the best accuracy as possible with such limited sights, the feel of the stock during recoil, the satisfaction of a good shot hitting the target.
Those are some of my reasons for a single shot shotgun. In an actual situation, I do have other firearms available, but I would not feel "under-gunned" by having only a single shot. And for someone just getting started either in shooting or preparedness a single shot in good condition can fill many roles that they might need.
He is making a few assumptions which while valid aren't applicable to everyone and every situation.
Here are a few reasons and the reasoning behind them that I use single shot shotguns.
#1: ease of use.
Reasoning: It is much easier for me to start instructing someone on how to safely shoot with a single shot firearm. There are less steps for them to try to remember, there are less distractions as well. When I have tried to instruct a new shooter with a pump or semi-automatic shotgun, they were much more leery of the various steps, plus many had a heightened expectation of just what those firearms are capable of. Many times they just wanted to shoot off all the rounds as fast as possible, ignoring the safety rules and trying to maintain a sight picture. With a single shot they are forced to slow down, to pay attention to what they are doing. There is less of a chance for them to try to fire as many rounds as they can as fast as possible.
#2: cost.
Reasoning: If they aren't firing off as many rounds as they can, they can learn more about proper cheek weld and sight picture, even with a bead sight. The also learn how a proper hold reduces the felt recoil.
#3: safety.
Reasoning: Many old single shots such as mine have no safety at all. I do have a newer Rossi single shot with a safety, however my old NEF doesn't have any safety at all. So drumming into their head that THEY are the first safety of any firearm can prevent future AD's and ND's. Teach them that the should not rely on any mechanical safety, but the safety in their head of safe handling procedures, and the 4 rules.
#4: Demystiying a firearm
Reasoning: Many people's only knowledge of firearms is what they see on TV and in the Movies. Showing them the actual mechanics of carrying, loading and firing one of the most simple firearms around, can do a lot about getting the reality of firearms into their forebrain versus the expectations of hollywood.
#5: enjoyment.
Reasoning: Many people, myself included, just enjoy the shooting of a single shot. Getting the best accuracy as possible with such limited sights, the feel of the stock during recoil, the satisfaction of a good shot hitting the target.
Those are some of my reasons for a single shot shotgun. In an actual situation, I do have other firearms available, but I would not feel "under-gunned" by having only a single shot. And for someone just getting started either in shooting or preparedness a single shot in good condition can fill many roles that they might need.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
The coming of World War Three
Click the below link and read Peter's post. Check out all the links he posts. After all that, if you don't start making preparations, there is something wrong with your head.
Another war warning
Seriously, things are getting to the point where you won't have time to prepare as there won't be the extra supplies to purchase, if you can even afford it.
Get your head's out of the clouds and quit with the wishful thinking.
Many are probably saying that I'm being alarmist and nothing is going to happen.
Can you predict when the next natural disaster is going to hit?
Can you predict when the next terrorist attack will hit?
You can't. And neither can I.
I CAN however look at the socioeconomic conditions and political conditions and then look at history to make a few educated guesses. And so far several of my educated guess have been correct. I'm not batting 1.0, but I am batting over .500. Other Bloggers and some commentors have rather high batting averages as it comes to what is going on. And compared to the Media and the Politicians batting averages, I'll bet on us bloggers.
Another war warning
Seriously, things are getting to the point where you won't have time to prepare as there won't be the extra supplies to purchase, if you can even afford it.
Get your head's out of the clouds and quit with the wishful thinking.
Many are probably saying that I'm being alarmist and nothing is going to happen.
Can you predict when the next natural disaster is going to hit?
Can you predict when the next terrorist attack will hit?
You can't. And neither can I.
I CAN however look at the socioeconomic conditions and political conditions and then look at history to make a few educated guesses. And so far several of my educated guess have been correct. I'm not batting 1.0, but I am batting over .500. Other Bloggers and some commentors have rather high batting averages as it comes to what is going on. And compared to the Media and the Politicians batting averages, I'll bet on us bloggers.
Sunday, September 16, 2012
New Preparedness blog entry
Over on the right of the page just above the Sitemeter and the blogroll there are a list of Preparedness related blogs. I just added a new one for Preparedness Survival Fiction. The Union Creek Journal is a Chronological Journal of the possible times to come.
The Union Creek Journal
The Union Creek Journal
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Food Storage basic by Osage, referring my 2-20-09 show
To hear the show all 90 minutes of it please click HERE
FOOD STORAGE BASICS
By: Osage From Alpha Disaster Contingencies
OVERARCHING PRINCIPLES
Whatever food storage plan you develop must be suited to you (your family, your circumstances, etc) in at least three ways:
Food Allergies and Intolerances: These are unchanging. If a family member is allergic to any food (such as peanuts or wheat) you must not store that food. Kitchen hygiene during an emergency may allow for cross-contamination which can be life-threatening. If someone in the family is intolerant of a food (such as milk) don’t store that food for that person. Substitute safe foods for the ones not stored.
Preferences: These are flexible and adaptable. This is utterly and entirely different from an intolerance. It simply means you don’t like certain foods. First, make the adult decision to be in charge of your own life and not a perpetual victim! Second, develop and institute ways right now to broaden those preferences. During an emergency you’ll be under enough stress; don’t add to it by mandating a major change of diet.
Abilities and Tools: These are easily changeable. Growth here, as in the arena of preferences, can be made an adventure. Learn to cook and prepare foods in new, energy-efficient ways or ways using different energy sources. Purchase and learn right now the tools you’ll need to prepare food. This can be as simple as learning to cook over an open fire and as complicated as the salesclerk at the survival store can convince you to spend hard-earned money on.
TRIAD APPROACH TO FOOD STORAGE
I have recommended for years that food storage be pursued along three complimentary axes, like the X, Y, and Z axes of a three-dimensional coordinate system. These are :
-Quick Food Kit (aka 72-hour kit, bug-out bag, etc),
-Routine Daily Foods, and
-Long-Term Storage Foods.
These meet different needs but the use of one is complimentary to the others.
QUICK FOODS
Quick foods are mainly for acute events which are not expected to last long but which significantly interrupt normal family operations. Events such as hurricanes, ice storms, earthquakes, etc are the sexy players here. But these foods are for anything unexpected that shouldn’t last too long or for the first few days of a longer event.
Foods stored under this heading are generally characterized as being:
-Easy to fix (no more than boiling water),
-Portable (in case you have to abandon your home),
-Familiar (make them familiar right now),
-Good sources of calories (because you’ll likely be working hard), and
-Have good flavor (to lift spirits and encourage eating when you really don’t feel like it).
ROUTINE DAILY FOODS
These serve two purposes. First they are a convenient way to be prepared for short-term events lasting from 1-2 weeks to a few months. Secondly they act as a bridge to the exclusive consumption of foods from your long-term supply. You should store at very minimum a one-month supply of these. Four to six months is much better but is something to develop over several years (if you feel you have the time).
Events such as an extended winter storm (the KY ice storm of 2009 left some folks without power for weeks), hurricane (Katrina: ’nuff said), and others are the sexy players here. But with today’s (Feb 2009) economic situation a layoff or employment cutback is more likely for most folks and can be at least as humbling as their flashier brethren (from sad personal experience).
The role of bridge foods is also critical. Affordable foods for long-term storage taste different from what most of us eat every day and they digest differently. You and your digestive tract need some time to adjust. One Warning ™: do not eat up all your bridge foods then suddenly switch to your deep storage foods. That destroys the whole idea of bridge foods and puts you under unnecessary physical and emotional stress. The simple truth is that you should be eating some foods from your deep storage every week, even if it’s only a pot of beans and rice and some wheat biscuits.
Foods under this heading are the stuff you eat every day with some exceptions. They should not require refrigeration or freezing to store (in case of a power outage). They should be the easier-to-fix items from your weekly grocery trips rather than the all-day-marathon recipe ingredients. In short, they should be easy to fix and familiar.
LONG-TERM STORAGE FOODS
Many people advocate a strict “store what you eat” approach. It has the advantages of familiarity and convenience, but I have neither the space nor the money up-front nor the generator and fuel to support that plan. I store an affordable mix of foods that last a long time in storage and requires no more infrastructure than a dry place to sit. This section is going to be aimed at that approach.
Foods in this category are for sustaining life and health for a long time. They are characterized by a relatively low cost per unit, good nutritional content, and a very long shelf life. Many of these are not familiar in daily American use, but with a tiny bit of work can be made part of the weekly diet of an average family. Included in this ‘deep storage’, as a friend calls it, should be some treats I call brain candy. Hard candy, hot cocoa mix, a few cans of treat-quality canned goods held in reserve, etc are all good ideas. You should also store spices and flavorings to make these rather bland foods more palatable.
The plan I recommend here is based on recommendations from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (aka LDS or ‘Mormons’) which they released about 1983. It recommends you store foods in the following categories:
-Grains (at least 65% whole grains): 20 – 35 lb/person/month
based on age and size includes wheat, whole corn, rice, oats, pasta,
flour, corn meal
-Legumes (beans, peas, lentils, & the like): 3 lb/person/month
including a mix of legumes (1/2 lb each of split peas & lentils; ¼ lb
each of limas & soy; remainder any bean)
-Sugar (honey, refined sugars, etc): 5lb/person/month
-Milk: 1.5 lb/person/month
-Fats & Oils: 2.2 lb/person/month (about 3/10 gal)
- Adjuncts (including salt, leavening (cream of tartar & baking soda), vinegar).
The LDS Church has recently decreased it’s recommended minimums to 25 lb of grains and 5 lb of beans per person per month.
You will need some extra tools for preparing these foods. You should store most of your grains as whole grains. That requires a grinder of some sort to prepare them as flour or cracked grains. Most whole grains and beans can be sprouted, fantastically increasing their nutritional content. Sprouting kits are cheap or can be fashioned from coarse cloth and a canning jar with ring. You’ll also need to develop skills and gather tools for preparing these foods. A wide-mouth thermos, straw-box cooker, or other insulated container makes cooking beans much easier and more energy-efficient. Cast iron Dutch ovens and the developed skills to use them can turn basic survival foods into a feast.
Copyright: Osage, Alpha Disaster Contingencies, AlphaRubicon.com 2009
you may use this freely with proper attribution. You may not charge any monetary value for this information.
FOOD STORAGE BASICS
By: Osage From Alpha Disaster Contingencies
OVERARCHING PRINCIPLES
Whatever food storage plan you develop must be suited to you (your family, your circumstances, etc) in at least three ways:
Food Allergies and Intolerances: These are unchanging. If a family member is allergic to any food (such as peanuts or wheat) you must not store that food. Kitchen hygiene during an emergency may allow for cross-contamination which can be life-threatening. If someone in the family is intolerant of a food (such as milk) don’t store that food for that person. Substitute safe foods for the ones not stored.
Preferences: These are flexible and adaptable. This is utterly and entirely different from an intolerance. It simply means you don’t like certain foods. First, make the adult decision to be in charge of your own life and not a perpetual victim! Second, develop and institute ways right now to broaden those preferences. During an emergency you’ll be under enough stress; don’t add to it by mandating a major change of diet.
Abilities and Tools: These are easily changeable. Growth here, as in the arena of preferences, can be made an adventure. Learn to cook and prepare foods in new, energy-efficient ways or ways using different energy sources. Purchase and learn right now the tools you’ll need to prepare food. This can be as simple as learning to cook over an open fire and as complicated as the salesclerk at the survival store can convince you to spend hard-earned money on.
TRIAD APPROACH TO FOOD STORAGE
I have recommended for years that food storage be pursued along three complimentary axes, like the X, Y, and Z axes of a three-dimensional coordinate system. These are :
-Quick Food Kit (aka 72-hour kit, bug-out bag, etc),
-Routine Daily Foods, and
-Long-Term Storage Foods.
These meet different needs but the use of one is complimentary to the others.
QUICK FOODS
Quick foods are mainly for acute events which are not expected to last long but which significantly interrupt normal family operations. Events such as hurricanes, ice storms, earthquakes, etc are the sexy players here. But these foods are for anything unexpected that shouldn’t last too long or for the first few days of a longer event.
Foods stored under this heading are generally characterized as being:
-Easy to fix (no more than boiling water),
-Portable (in case you have to abandon your home),
-Familiar (make them familiar right now),
-Good sources of calories (because you’ll likely be working hard), and
-Have good flavor (to lift spirits and encourage eating when you really don’t feel like it).
ROUTINE DAILY FOODS
These serve two purposes. First they are a convenient way to be prepared for short-term events lasting from 1-2 weeks to a few months. Secondly they act as a bridge to the exclusive consumption of foods from your long-term supply. You should store at very minimum a one-month supply of these. Four to six months is much better but is something to develop over several years (if you feel you have the time).
Events such as an extended winter storm (the KY ice storm of 2009 left some folks without power for weeks), hurricane (Katrina: ’nuff said), and others are the sexy players here. But with today’s (Feb 2009) economic situation a layoff or employment cutback is more likely for most folks and can be at least as humbling as their flashier brethren (from sad personal experience).
The role of bridge foods is also critical. Affordable foods for long-term storage taste different from what most of us eat every day and they digest differently. You and your digestive tract need some time to adjust. One Warning ™: do not eat up all your bridge foods then suddenly switch to your deep storage foods. That destroys the whole idea of bridge foods and puts you under unnecessary physical and emotional stress. The simple truth is that you should be eating some foods from your deep storage every week, even if it’s only a pot of beans and rice and some wheat biscuits.
Foods under this heading are the stuff you eat every day with some exceptions. They should not require refrigeration or freezing to store (in case of a power outage). They should be the easier-to-fix items from your weekly grocery trips rather than the all-day-marathon recipe ingredients. In short, they should be easy to fix and familiar.
LONG-TERM STORAGE FOODS
Many people advocate a strict “store what you eat” approach. It has the advantages of familiarity and convenience, but I have neither the space nor the money up-front nor the generator and fuel to support that plan. I store an affordable mix of foods that last a long time in storage and requires no more infrastructure than a dry place to sit. This section is going to be aimed at that approach.
Foods in this category are for sustaining life and health for a long time. They are characterized by a relatively low cost per unit, good nutritional content, and a very long shelf life. Many of these are not familiar in daily American use, but with a tiny bit of work can be made part of the weekly diet of an average family. Included in this ‘deep storage’, as a friend calls it, should be some treats I call brain candy. Hard candy, hot cocoa mix, a few cans of treat-quality canned goods held in reserve, etc are all good ideas. You should also store spices and flavorings to make these rather bland foods more palatable.
The plan I recommend here is based on recommendations from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (aka LDS or ‘Mormons’) which they released about 1983. It recommends you store foods in the following categories:
-Grains (at least 65% whole grains): 20 – 35 lb/person/month
based on age and size includes wheat, whole corn, rice, oats, pasta,
flour, corn meal
-Legumes (beans, peas, lentils, & the like): 3 lb/person/month
including a mix of legumes (1/2 lb each of split peas & lentils; ¼ lb
each of limas & soy; remainder any bean)
-Sugar (honey, refined sugars, etc): 5lb/person/month
-Milk: 1.5 lb/person/month
-Fats & Oils: 2.2 lb/person/month (about 3/10 gal)
- Adjuncts (including salt, leavening (cream of tartar & baking soda), vinegar).
The LDS Church has recently decreased it’s recommended minimums to 25 lb of grains and 5 lb of beans per person per month.
You will need some extra tools for preparing these foods. You should store most of your grains as whole grains. That requires a grinder of some sort to prepare them as flour or cracked grains. Most whole grains and beans can be sprouted, fantastically increasing their nutritional content. Sprouting kits are cheap or can be fashioned from coarse cloth and a canning jar with ring. You’ll also need to develop skills and gather tools for preparing these foods. A wide-mouth thermos, straw-box cooker, or other insulated container makes cooking beans much easier and more energy-efficient. Cast iron Dutch ovens and the developed skills to use them can turn basic survival foods into a feast.
Copyright: Osage, Alpha Disaster Contingencies, AlphaRubicon.com 2009
you may use this freely with proper attribution. You may not charge any monetary value for this information.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
This post Reminds me........
Please Go here and read this first it will explain a little bit of what I'm about to relate to you.
I'm an old Farm Boy, 6'3" 285 lbs, Ex-Army Reserve Medic, former Security Officer, former EMT-D and other things. While it's not PC, I'm what the MSM would call a "Survivalist". I call myself a Prudent Parent, who prepares for the unexpected. I don't believe in the overthrow of the government or expect the breakdown in social order and civilization. I DO know however, that natural disaters happen, terrorist attacks happen, financial collapses happen, the power goes out at odd times, people get injured when you least expect it and criminals have no respect for the law or the law-abiding. I have kids, therefore I have the means to protect them and the means to provide for them. I also prepare, extra food stored here there and everywhere. My family owns property about 140 miles away where we can go if another evacuation is called for a hurricane. We have food water and other supplies there, and multiple routes to get to it and multiple ways of gettting there. However one thing I have always tried to teach my kids, which is getting harder since my 2 oldest daughter are now teenagers is, that if I say "DO SOMETHING NOW" I mean right that second, not after you get off the phone, or shut off your computer, or after you change your clothes. I mean "RIGHT THEN, THAT VERY SECOND" The reason is, after 10 years of working security I have somewhat good "gut" instincts, I don't always have the time to explain why I want them to do something I want instant compliance. That compliance could mean the difference between life and death, or the difference between getting scared or gettting hurt. But they being female teenagers and very much like thier mother at least in this regard will always question why I want them to do something. My Ex finally learned the hard way about if I say something DO IT, after I told her NOT to drop by my work when I was working security in a grocery store in North St. Louis, and she saw me go from merely talking to an individual and saw me and that individual go through a plate glass window while I was trying to control his hand that suddenly reached under his shirt. I told her to get back, she being concerned tried to help me, well she got hit in the face by the subject, while I was still trying to control his hand. My point here, if there EVER comes a time when you absolutely MUST have instant compliance, you need to work with your family, you will need to work out a way to let them know that there are no times for questions, only action. I have just recently started in on the idea of using a code word with my family, so they know that I give orders prefaced with that word, they will KNOW this is a No S!!T deal and to follow instructions immediately. I am also working so that if there is a time I am not available, a friend or family member will have a code word that will let the kids know to follow instructions. Crystal is starting to work this out with her daughter. And you really should take the time to work it out with your family. Assign a code word so they KNOW that compliance must be immediate. It just might save the life of your loved ones, or protect them from injury.
Mark
I'm an old Farm Boy, 6'3" 285 lbs, Ex-Army Reserve Medic, former Security Officer, former EMT-D and other things. While it's not PC, I'm what the MSM would call a "Survivalist". I call myself a Prudent Parent, who prepares for the unexpected. I don't believe in the overthrow of the government or expect the breakdown in social order and civilization. I DO know however, that natural disaters happen, terrorist attacks happen, financial collapses happen, the power goes out at odd times, people get injured when you least expect it and criminals have no respect for the law or the law-abiding. I have kids, therefore I have the means to protect them and the means to provide for them. I also prepare, extra food stored here there and everywhere. My family owns property about 140 miles away where we can go if another evacuation is called for a hurricane. We have food water and other supplies there, and multiple routes to get to it and multiple ways of gettting there. However one thing I have always tried to teach my kids, which is getting harder since my 2 oldest daughter are now teenagers is, that if I say "DO SOMETHING NOW" I mean right that second, not after you get off the phone, or shut off your computer, or after you change your clothes. I mean "RIGHT THEN, THAT VERY SECOND" The reason is, after 10 years of working security I have somewhat good "gut" instincts, I don't always have the time to explain why I want them to do something I want instant compliance. That compliance could mean the difference between life and death, or the difference between getting scared or gettting hurt. But they being female teenagers and very much like thier mother at least in this regard will always question why I want them to do something. My Ex finally learned the hard way about if I say something DO IT, after I told her NOT to drop by my work when I was working security in a grocery store in North St. Louis, and she saw me go from merely talking to an individual and saw me and that individual go through a plate glass window while I was trying to control his hand that suddenly reached under his shirt. I told her to get back, she being concerned tried to help me, well she got hit in the face by the subject, while I was still trying to control his hand. My point here, if there EVER comes a time when you absolutely MUST have instant compliance, you need to work with your family, you will need to work out a way to let them know that there are no times for questions, only action. I have just recently started in on the idea of using a code word with my family, so they know that I give orders prefaced with that word, they will KNOW this is a No S!!T deal and to follow instructions immediately. I am also working so that if there is a time I am not available, a friend or family member will have a code word that will let the kids know to follow instructions. Crystal is starting to work this out with her daughter. And you really should take the time to work it out with your family. Assign a code word so they KNOW that compliance must be immediate. It just might save the life of your loved ones, or protect them from injury.
Mark
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