Category: Preparedness

Appalachia And Helping Via Charities

The best part of my childhood was spent in NE Georgia in the Appalachian mountains. In fact, it was spent about ten miles outside of the nearest town, which literally had one intersection. I loved when we took a few days, or even a week, to travel up and around, and as such I got to know a lot of small towns which are now in the news.

I do think we went to Biltmore Estates once, but the really neat stuff was elsewhere. It was in the small towns like Chimney Rock, the various falls, mills,forges, pottery places, and such. The towns and places that aren’t there any more.

I’ve seen a lot of posts from people I’ve been told I need to check out, follow, etc. doing engagement farming while slamming the people of the region for not being prepared, prepared enough, prepared with the shit they are selling. Bad enough they are doing that, but engagement farming off of tragedy deserves a sock party at the least. I’m going to stop now before I say more than I should and have to go to confession for it. Suffice it to say, several I will never follow, cite, of share now.

First up, understand the geology of the area. Appalachia is old, old mountains. The Rockies are babes in comparison. The soil is clay or near clay down, with areas of more decent soil as overlay. While there is some very good rock there, there is also a lot of what I was told was schist, that I and others removed a couple of letters from to describe it as it was useless for building or much of anything else.

It is crumbly, and while great for finding low-grade garnets (you might get lucky every now and then on something better) and such, it did not make a good foundation and you really didn’t want to use it for walls or anything else. Load bearing it was not.

There are ridges and valleys, and various pocket “hollers” that could be ovals, could be round, or an odd shape, but were carved out of the ridges. My memories are not what I would like (stupid lightning) but in a lot of the area the ridges run north-south, which makes moving east-west most interesting. Key thing to keep in mind, is that the valleys are usually the best place to build in terms of soil, foundation, etc. They also almost all have a creek, stream, or river flowing in them.

Also, the “hollers” tend to all have an effective bowl shape, and again a stream or such flows out of them. Usually spring fed, but augmented by water that flows down the bowl above or below ground. These feed into those streams in the valleys.

Now, keep in mind the soil conditions. While there is good rock, it is often deep in the valleys, and where it is well above ground you are up on top of the ridges where putting in wells, septic, and other delights is interesting. In other words, it really isn’t ideal on which to build. Or even build into for a number of reasons. So, you have clay/effective clay overlaid by other soil.

So, yes, you do get flooding and the locals (who are not stupid no matter how corporate media and hollyweird portray them) have built above such normal flood plains. Even old mills (and modern tourist hotels) are built 10-20 feet above most streams and such. Again, they were not and are not stupid no matter what you read/hear/see.

Now, interesting historical fact. Rabun County Georgia used to get more rain than almost any other county in the COUNTRY on average except for one county out in Washington State (if I remember correctly), and as such they were used to dealing with water.

To bring things up to date, most places in Appalachia were told to expect five or so inches of rain, winds, etc. What they got was in some cases 20 or more reported inches of rain. In less time than given for the five inches. Rain that both ran off and penetrated the surface layer of soil. What happened to that which penetrated you ask?

Well, it hits the clay/clay-like soil and begins to run off below. This results in mudslides and in water making it’s way down from the top of the ridges over DAYS to add to the flooding. That’s what is happening now. It’s why we still have flooding in areas, slides, and more.

To make things even more fun, in this part of the country you do have paved roads, highways, and more. You also have a lot of dirt “unimproved” roads that may be one car wide, or they may not. I learned to drive on those roads, and let me tell you it is fun. Especially when you meet another vehicle and one of you has to back up to a spot where you can get by each other. Those roads are not wide, they are not designed for this weather, and they are not designed for heavy loads. You really don’t want to know about the “bridges” on them. Yet, they are probably the only way into or out of many areas right now.

What happened isn’t a hundred year flood. It’s much more on a thousand year flood. Perfect storm, lots if immediate rain, storm stalled out and dumping more over several days on top of the initial. None of the plans or systems were designed for this, and something like this was not even considered in worst-case planning.

Now, add to it that few communities put any thought into backup communications. Most LE went to data systems rather than point-to-point systems of old. They are great, efficient, and modern just like the big city — and almost useless when the power goes out and it hits the fan. Repeat after me: centralization is bad as it creates a single point of failure. When you don’t have a backup, don’t have portable cell systems to deploy, don’t have point-to-point as a backup, don’t really have anything as a backup, and you have screwed the pooch for disaster preparedness planning. This is something I am seeing/hearing out of multiple communities.

Nothing will prepare you for having your entire town wiped out, and few will have what it takes to put in an emergency command post away from town with backup coms. Even as a radio and some gear in someone’s garage up on the side of the ridge. That’s foolish don’t you know. If I sound a bit bitter, it’s something I’ve seen everywhere. Keep in mind, politicians overruled the DP folks in NYC and put the emergency command post in the basement of the World Trade Center complex. This has played out in almost every jurisdiction in the U.S. and few have spent the time and even limited dollars to set something up in an existing space without rent even. Because it is not needed, until it is.

Leaving aside that, it doesn’t matter if you have food, generator, and more if a thousand-year disaster washes your house away. That’s when you need advance warning (something lacking in most of the area effected) and a good bug-out plan. There is nothing else you as an individual can do in those circumstances. The people hectoring you for not being prepared enough are full of it. When they do hector you, feel free to drop kick their nuts between their ears and move on.

Now, I have heard of/from some who got hit, but came out okay because of preparedness. Links to these good people later. They have valuable lessons to share that we ALL need to heed.

For now, these folks need help and they sure are NOT getting it from the Government. So, my recommendations are not to give to anything government at any level, the Red Cross, or Catholic Charities. Here are a few I have heard good things about or know some good about.

People on the ground are telling me Samaritin’s Purse is a great choice. Haven’t dealt with them before, but excellent recommendations and word is they are in there, doing, and not taking names.

Operation Air-Drop is another I’m hearing good things about. With roads out like they are, air drop and air mobile are the way to go. If you hear of anyone with a chopper who is getting stuff in, sing out and let’s get them some support. The government isn’t stepping up and I’ve heard, unconfirmed, that the FAA has been stepping on efforts to get private choppers in when they are most needed. Let’s do what we can to support such.

The Cajun Navy has been boots on the ground since Saturday (if not before). Good group and didn’t wait for the government to say go. More on that in a bit.

If you know of a Menonnite group involved, they do a lot of good work. Again, they go in and do no matter what, which pisses off the feds — which makes me think highly of them.

Why my ire towards the feds? Long-time readers know I’ve been through all the classes for being an On Scene Commander and have done a bit beyond that with disaster preparedness. Understand that the government hates anyone and anything that self-deploys and starts helping — even if FEMA and others have not responded (as is the case here). Initiative is NOT allowed, and FEMA and others are known to hammer flat any charity that does so. If you do so, you will never work in this town/with FEMA again. Period dot.

Since FEMA has not stood up for this, and the Feds are sitting on a huge mountain of aid (let’s not even count the military aid at Bragg and elsewhere in the form of field kitchens, tents, graves registration, and other things much much needed), I have no sympathy for them. In fact, if anyone around here has a couple of old deuce-and-a-halfs and wants to load them up with supplies (food, water, supplies, chain saws, other delights) and is willing to take on some of those unimproved roads, I’m betting I can find us a way in to some of the worst hit and underserved areas. Won’t be safe, fun, or easy, but we can do it.

Meantime, support those who are doing the work (and are likely to be hammered by the Feds for so doing). If you are in the area and need help, sing out and I will do what I can to get the info to those who can help. If you know others in the area who need help, same applies. I’m going to look at what I can do, including sending some of my supplies.

Those are my people, and that is my childhood floating away on the flood. I just wish there was more I could do.

Hurricane Thoughts And Preparedness Deficiencies

First, please pray and do what you can for all those affected by the recent hurricane. These scenes from Florida are horrific with islands and even sections inland razed flat. Lots of damage there and north, and my relatives in Georgia say they were spared the worst when the storm jogged east. I know the area around Asheville somewhat, having spend some time in the area. What has happened there is devastating, to be polite.

We were supposed to get worse than we did, but again that jog east spared Indianapolis. We got rain and winds, with gusts staying around 50 mph part of the day, but getting up towards 79 mph later. We lost power last night, and it was out for an hour or two. Not sure as I made the sensible decision (IMO) to go to bed early, after reading by lantern for a bit. When the power came back on, woke up enough to cut off the light and go back to sleep. Have heard that up to 50k were without power around here at one point.

This morning, the power went out again. I used my chef’s stove to heat coffee for the housemate. Brought up another camping lantern to the kitchen, and was getting set to cook English Muffins when the power came back on. Been warned it may go out again a time or two today. Bread is baked and the English muffins are cooked.

The only thing I couldn’t do while the power was out was bake bread. Am starting to look at portable propane ovens as I want something I can use to bake bread and other delights when camping or for emergencies. Want something that can hit and hold 500 degrees, and hold one of my enameled cast iron dutch ovens. If it can do that, it can handle anything else needed. If anyone has any suggestions, sound out in the comments!

Oh, and if it can hook up to a 20lb propane tank, all the better.

Even if you are not in the ESTIMATED path of a storm, be prepared. Florida had warning and it paid off in terms of lives. I expect to see the death toll go up, not so much in Georgia, but in North Carolina and Tennessee as most hit were not expecting it and had little to no time to bug out. Always a good idea to have a “right now” bag ready to go.

Stay safe! Remember, be prepared, be safe, keep your friends close, and your things where you can find them in the dark.

Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, which include moving once we have medical issues cleared up, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. There is also the Amazon Wish List in the Bard’s Jar. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.

Thank You!

I want to thank two people who recently hit the Amazon Wish List! One kind person sent me some supplements, and while I did get the name I can’t find a way to send an e-mail thank you. Another kind person sent me a waterBOB and the solar showers, but no name was included. Thank you very much! I highly recommend the waterBOBs as a great way to store potable water in bath tubs.

Thank you so very much for your kindness! Know that you and your gifts are very much appreciated. Thank you!

Why The Emphasis On LTS Of Knowledge?

I’ve talked a bit recently on the need to preserve knowledge, and in particular a lot of “obsolete” knowledge — or at least forms of knowledge. In fact, I’ve talked about saving printed tables, guides, formulas, and more. Things easily found today on the Internet. Between that big article and some other posts where I talk about such, the question “Why?” has come up.

The answer comes in two parts. The two parts can be summed up in the words “Ooops” and “Bootstrapping.”

“Ooops” covers a range of possibilities, all of which exist because the system that is our modern world is a fairly fragile thing. People who have worked not just in, but with the systems that make up the System, understand that. Those who gleefully call for changing the system (political, technical, economic, etc.) in a radical fashion have done either only extremely rarely. In point of fact as several people have recently pointed out, they have no equity in the system as well as no experience with maintenance of the system (or anything else). They have no skull sweat, no real sweat, and no other type of real investment in any of the systems. It’s the reason they think that any current system (think Republic, power production, transportation, etc.) can easily be taken down and replaced — often by something new and unproven.

Most systems that make up the larger System are not only delicate, however, they are fragile and/or brittle. Take the electrical grid (Please!) for but one example. It is a jury-rigged system that includes equipment and control systems that were produced in multiple different decades (two different centuries even) that have to work together. Right now, it does so (sorta, mostly, sometimes). Or, look at data and communications, which depend on a limited number of undersea cables far more than they do on satellites. Or modern grocery stores, that depend on just-in-time deliveries from a network of warehouses that also depend on just-in-time deliveries made by transportation fleet that is heavily dependent on both data (communications) and computers, which depend on the grid and on a transportation infrastructure that is crumbling in far too many areas. Not just roadways and railroads, but look at the travesty that is the U.S. Merchant Marine, U.S. shipbuilding, and surface transport in general.

I could go on, and may one day lay out more of the fault trees, but this is enough to give you a basic feel for how fragile things are. If anything happens to the power, the data, the computers, the communications go down. Something happens to the undersea cables, your data transmission capabilities could go drastically down. Your data and coms go down, so goes your just-in-time logistics system. Which means that you are talking about three days of food in most stores, and with panics and such, you could be talking as little as three hours before it is gone.

Now, there are many things that can cause that “Ooops.” A terrorist attack on military and other infrastructure could do the trick. Combine that with more general terrorist attacks, and you have something that several orders of magnitude worse. If you follow space weather, you should already know about that odd spot on that great big fusion reaction in the sky, our star Sol — aka the sun. It is odd, and has even done a few things it shouldn’t. It’s also why the aurora have been seen so far south this year. I’ve talked a time or two before about Carrington Events, and if you are not familiar with them you might want to dig in on that topic. Yep, war, pestilence, or another bad software update (you might remember that update that temporarily bricked about a billion workstations not that long ago), or a host of other factors. Heck, world-wide political upheaval can not just set the stage (look here, Brazil, France, etc.); but, could do the trick quite nicely on it’s own. Any disaster (remember, there are inconveniences, emergencies, and then disasters) that goes on for a sufficient period of time can do the trick.

In one of his series, John Ringo had an “Ooops” that took the planet from a Golden Age to something close to medieval in just a few seconds. Think he presented it by showing a young girl who for her (16th?) birthday was digitized so that she could exist as a cloud of nanites, and she did so, for a very short time before the system crashed/was crashed and the cloud that had been a young girl full of joy fell scattered to the Earth. It really doesn’t take much to have the “Ooops.” In fact, if you take out just one system that makes up our current System, you get that “Ooops.” Energy, transport, data, etc. if you lose one, you are extremely likely to lose them all.

Ooops.

Which is why people who plan for disasters (at least those who know what they are doing) have as a contingency plan the concept of bootstrapping. In the event of an “Ooops” we can’t maintain our current technology, much less manufacture replacements. For a pretty good discussion on this, you might check out the late Eric Flint’s 1632 series from Baen Books. In it, he and a group of other good authors deal with this concept even as they create an alternate history. Good books, and also not a bad series to have around if there is an “Ooops.”

A short version, since you can literally write a series of books on the topic, is that if something takes out the current System, you are pretty much going to be having to drop back to 1800s steam tech for a lot of things. Without power, you are not running advanced manufacturing (3-D, CNC, chip fab, etc.) if you have it at your location. Even if you can get or keep some power on, you still can’t run it long given modern logistics. Even then, you could not make the machines to make the current levels of machines without the current base. Long story, but you are going to be dropping back several generations of machines and tooling just to hang on, and begin the slow process of rebuilding a tech base. You are also going to have a big knowledge gap since a lot of critical information (and skills) are likely to be lost in the “Ooops.”

So, again, people who know what they are doing plan to bootstrap and to do what they can to prevent having to drop back too far. One way to do that is to have on paper or other archival form as much basic data as possible. Everything from Trig tables to on to chemical formulas for products from the early 1900s (or later if possible). You want and need your engineering and physics calculations and tables. You need your metalurgical tables. Heck, you need your meteorological tables and histories even. You need your chemistry tables, formulas, periodic charts, and more. All in forms that will last and can be accessed without the need for power or modern systems.

Also, the more sites that have such information, the better. Dispersal ensures survivability, both of the data and quite possibly humanity. It provides resiliency that is essential to create a new System in the face of disaster. Keep in mind that it literally took thousands of years to collect and codify that data to start with. Having it on hand and widely dispersed cuts down on your recovery time. It is the difference between having to drop back to a pre-industrial society or to a point just before the greatest technological boom in human history. Keep in mind that we went from powered flight to landing on the moon in less than a hundred years. Because we had the data, the skills, and could (would and did) develop the materials and systems required.

We have that data and more now, just as we have computational power in our pocket via that smart phone that was considered fiction even unto the 1960s or later. Remember that for a period of time, given how fast computer tech moved, the most power computer on the Shuttle was the calculator in the pilot’s flight suit.

Which also reminds me, include medical data with the items to be stored. Even old (say 2000) text books that are now outdated have information that, again, was only a dream even in the 1960s. It’s a good idea to be able to bootstrap more than manufacturing.

Which is the other key to a dispersed effort. Trade. One of the most important, and valuable, trade items in the face of disaster has always been knowledge. In a disaster, it would not be surprising to see medical data being traded for geological data that might also be traded for materials or construction data…

Store as much as you can in as many forms as you can, if you have a means to print any data that is not already printed. In a real disaster, print is always going to be king.

Finally, thanks for the great comments in the post linked above! Your comments always rock and my regular readers are a fantastic bunch. Thank you!

Still having some fun, but hope to get back to regular posting.

Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, which include moving once we have medical issues cleared up, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. There is also the Amazon Wish List in the Bard’s Jar. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.

LTS: Preserving Comfort

Today is trying to get away from me, so before it does I wanted to get up at least a short post. Yesterday, I talked about preserving knowledge in the face of disaster. Today, I want to talk about preserving some of the comforts of civilization, comforts that can have a profound effect on health and well being.

If you have read John Ringo’s Black Tide Rising series, you probably already have an idea of what I’m talking about. Which is personal hygiene products.

I’ve done some of the ‘live (for a short period of time) like a colonial settler’ and primitive camping and such. Heck, I even thought about trying out for Naked and Afraid even though that’s way out of my league. The fact is, we don’t appreciate the comforts we have and would be horrified at living at a level of a century ago (hint, that’s the 1920s, not the 1820s). When disaster strikes, I want to survive in comfort and style for as long as I can.

Little fact is that as hygiene improves, so does lifespan. So does quality of life, as with cleanliness can come a lowered chance of illness, infected wounds, and the other joys of primitive (and even fairly modern) life.

So, here’s a tip. In addition to keeping supplies of toilet paper, feminine hygiene products, soap, hand soap, and even laundry soap and sanitizer around to get you through the inconveniences (short term) and emergencies (mid-term), stock away enough for a true disaster.

You really are not going to appreciate toilet paper until it is gone. Field expedients blow, and I still remember being warned back in the early 1970s about finding wax paper, a form of sand paper, and tissue wrapping paper being put into public toilets in a certain European country. That was when I learned how to core a TP roll and pack at least one roll (and carry several small packs of tissues) for travel and boy howdy am I glad I did so. You still find interesting ‘substitutes’ or nothing at all in various places around the world.

Feminine hygiene products are another you almost can’t have enough of in a disaster. It’s amazing though how many tampons and pads you can fit inside bags inside a 5-gallon bucket. Also, tuck away a few “starter” kits that are available for young ladies just hitting puberty.

Same holds true for bath soap, hand soaps, and shampoo. Fact is, you can store a years worth (at least at my rate of usage) easily and work through the stock as you live life. Also consider keeping some specialty soaps (surgical, etc.) on hand. I ended up with a couple of nice bottles of the generic surgical soap (generic hibi) courtesy of the shoulder replacements and have them on hand just in case.

All of this is not necessarily a huge cost, and it has a huge return on several levels. Just a quick thought to share before things get crazy again.

Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, which include moving once we have medical issues cleared up, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. There is also the Amazon Wish List in the Bard’s Jar. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.

Preserving Knowledge

Today is going to touch on how to preserve books and such, and part is going to touch on what to save. Now, this is advanced preparation and is designed not for inconveniences or emergencies, but full-up disasters. Just keep in mind that it is duration that counts, and that it doesn’t matter if the cause is natural, natural stupidity, or politics (which I do count as different from natural stupidity).

A while back, I did several posts on long-term storage (LTS) and talked a bit about the need to tuck away books and such just in case. Let’s start with book preservation.

For the books that are truly important, allow me to suggest individually bagging in food-grade mylar storage bags, and sealing after getting out as much air as possible and with an oxygen absorber inside. Getting out the air will inhibit the operation of the absorber, but it also helps with packing the individual bags into other containters. If things are tight, omit the absorber and press on. My suggestion is to put the individually-bagged books into a larger mylar storage bag, such that you can drop two or three such bags into a five gallon bag, and then into a 5-gallon bucket with mylar liner as discussed in the LTS section. Oh, this is also where you should have copies of important legal documents and such.

Again, again, and again, it is all about layers and levels of containment. The more the better, as the last thing you want is a single failure to take out your efforts.

Now, that’s expensive, time consuming, and not necessarily going to be something everyone can do. While less secure in the long term, you can also simply place a 5-gallon mylar bag inside a 5-gallon food-grade bucket with mylar liner, load as much inside as you can fit (including oxygen absorbers), seal the good mylar bag, tie off the liner, then seal the bucket. That gives you three levels of containment, which can work even for a disaster.

Now, some quick thoughts on what to save. These are some personal suggestions, and I hope they give you some food for thought.

In terms of literature, I’m going to want to save books and series that I have enjoyed. Personally, I’m not inclined to save the ‘great works of literature’ which in many cases I don’t consider that good, great, or literature. That’s a discussion for another day, but how we treat literature in school is an abomination. While I would tuck away a tome with Shakespeare’s works, I’m more inclined to tuck away the works of David Weber and others. I would very much want to tuck away John Ringo’s Black Tide Rising series as it focuses on dealing with a true disaster in very practical terms, as does Eric Flint’s 1632 series (which is excellent in terms of gearing down to build back up). And you can bet Lewis and Tolkien will be in there too.

Now, for a disaster, I would also recommend two levels of reference books. The first would be things like the Foxfire series that detail how things were done in the past (and up to the present day) including home remedies and more. There are a number of good books that contain old recipes and formulas for everything from toothpaste to food preservation. These are all very good and practical things to have, and I suspect one could write a book or two on the options. In a disaster, having access to the old ways may be a very good thing.

However, the second level is one that is often ignored. These are the old reference books that contain calculations, tables of data, and the steps to derive information for everything from engineering to basic production. These are the old reference books that detail drugs and usages (PDR, etc.). These are the books no longer being printed (or if printed rarely bought) because the information is all on the internet. Yes, it is now. There are multiple causes of disaster that can take out the internet, temporarily or permanently. A lot of these types of books are being thrown away or given away by libraries of all types. You can find them for pennies in second-hand stores and even garage sales. In a disaster, they may well be worth their weight in plutonium. If you get the chance, tuck them away.

Finally, I do recommend tucking away religious books, particularly Christian and Jewish books. Why? Look at the news. If that doesn’t tell you why, ya need help. If you think the war on Christianity, and the rampant antisemitism, are just going to magically go away in a year or two, I think you are dreaming. I actually expect to see the war on Christianity and Jews get much worse. My thought on that is to tuck away as many copies of bibles, prayer books, reference books, etc. in multiple containers and multiple locations as possible. I would also work to make them hard to detect as well, just in case. It may sound paranoid, but I’m not sure we are being paranoid enough on this score. I’d far rather have such things tucked away at need, than to find we need them and not have them.

Just a few quick thoughts this morning, and I really should do a post on libraries and another on literature (even though Larry Correia and others have been doing a good job on same). Also, more thoughts on what to store for a disaster are coming. More soon.

Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, which include moving once we have medical issues cleared up, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. There is also the Amazon Wish List in the Bard’s Jar. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.

Layers

In the comments to yesterday’s preparedness post, longtime reader/commenter GWB makes some good points but I have to disagree with him on a definition of terms, and on a couple of very minor points. The term of discussion is “preparedness” and we do seem to have a different definition of same.

He makes the point that preparedness means stocking up on the manual items, which in many households are the backups to regular use items. I did touch on the need to stock up on the manual items, but since I’ve covered that topic before I did not get too far into it. I think it is important to have them, especially if things go south for an extended period of time. In fact, having multiples of critical items is a very good idea.

However, my definition of preparedness revolves around layers and durations. As in I plan and prep to have as many layers in place as possible, in order to handle a variety of durations with as much comfort as possible. Having a single layer for any point makes that layer a potential single point of failure. I want as many layers (and as many steps between pure electronics and pure manual) as practical (or possible if cost no object) in place.

Much depends on duration, or rather durations, of the things that happen. As I noted in the Preparedness Pays series, there are three types/levels of emergency and they are based on duration. The book-in-progress (sigh, still) breaks it down very nicely, but a rough idea is that 1- to 3-days is an annoyance; 3-days to 4-weeks (or so, forget the exact time frames I used) is an emergency; and anything beyond 4-weeks is a disaster.

In the case of yesterday’s post, I’m actually optimistic about the potential disaster (really disasters) that I see as possible. As Sarah oft says, Be Not Afraid. For all that I think things are going to get more than a little bumpy, I think the odds are that we bounce back sooner rather than later. Lots of reasons for that, and frankly Sarah is doing a good job of analyzing a lot of the reasons why. If you are not reading her, you should be.

What wasn’t obvious yesterday, though, is that I think that for about 90 percent of what could happen, we should bounce back to reasonable levels within 4- to 6-years. Now, I want shoes, batteries, and electronics that are going to give me the best they can during that time. For the products I mentioned, keep in mind that newer batteries will hold charge longer, are easier to recharge, and generally they will operate at maximum efficiency for a good period of time. The non-electronic parts of the system should last a good long while as well. With solar chargers and other means of recharging, I keep their ease-of-use and comfort for the longest possible time.

If I get new shoes next month, I should be good for at least 4 years on the main shoes, and I bet I can get almost that out of the tennis shoes at need. At which time, I would hope that we are back to where such things are once again widely available. Same holds true for several of the other items I mentioned.

Semi-aside, it used to be one of the hallmarks of a good barber was being able to keep not just your razor sharp, but all of your scissors and clippers sharp as well. If you’ve never had a haircut where the barber used dull manual clippers and/or scissors, count yourself lucky. For such biteth mightily and well beyond a mere ouchie. It’s why I want to keep the ease of use of the electric trimmers/clippers and other implements around as long as I can. For me, I think it important to maintain some levels of presentation, for reasons of physical and mental hygiene. Such is much easier and less painful with modern conveniences, so I want to be sure what I have will work and work well for an extended period.

Also, don’t throw or give away anything you do replace. Clean them, charge them, and tuck them away appropriately to have as backups. Stuff happens, and having extra layers keeps it from being a Hoover moment. If also gives you potential trade goods at need. Just a thought.

Yesterday’s post was about the need to stock up on critical items (shoes, edged items, etc.) that may have components from overseas, as well as some important comfort items (and, in some ways, I do count phones, laptops, etc. as comfort items). It is also a suggestion to add layers where you can to your preparations, and that this too shall pass — possibly like a kidney stone and sadly over years not weeks. But it will pass.

Thing is, be prepared for anything that comes, from any source. Keep your family and friends close, and your things where you can find them in the dark.

Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, which include moving once we have medical issues cleared up, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. There is also the Amazon Wish List in the Bard’s Jar. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.

Preparedness Thoughts

A week or two ago I promised to share some thoughts on current preparedness needs/recommendations. Given all that is going on in the world, it is far better to be prepared for the worst even as we hope and pray for the best.

Once I get my stipend, my hope this month is to buy new shoes. The current shoe is about four years old, and sadly Red Wing is slipping a bit on the quality front as they used to last five to six years. I’m semi-smiling as I type that, but it’s not fully a joke and yet not fully a complaint. One of the reason I want new shoes is that if things do go really far south, as they easily could, good shoes are a necessity and likely to be in short supply. They may also have to last a while.

As with a number of items, even if the shoes are made in the U.S., some of the critical materials and/or components are not. My Red Wings, for example, are composite-toed safety shoes and some of the most comfortable for walking and general activities I’ve ever had. I even wear them to Church as they look nice. A number of the components are not made in the U.S. (not sure about the shoes right now and too lazy to take them off to check) and are from locations where shipping could get iffy in certain circumstances (Pacific region, cough). So, new shoes are on the menu if I can squeeze the money out of the budget. They were $90, but with inflation may be up towards $120 now. Grumble.

In fact, with the edema under control for now I would also like to get a new pair of tennis shoes as well. The previous pair is at least two years old and they do not hold up nearly as well as the Red Wings. Again, even ordering online, a good pair that can handle walking and even some light hiking is going to be around $100. But, having something light and comfortable for general wear and use is a good idea.

If you don’t have a good pair of boots, allow me to highly recommend getting some. Me, I’ve got one or two pair of uniform boots left, along with some hazmat-rated work boots in very good shape, and possibly a couple of other odd pairs of boots that should be in good shape. Think I’m set, at least for now. A pair of insulated or plain rubber farmer boots might not be a bad investment too, and you can get them at some place like TSC or Rural King for about $40.

On boots, get some that can be used for work, but are also comfortable for walking or even hiking. Boots are good protection on more than one level, so look at the area you where you live and get boots that will work for you. Having the waterproof farm boots comes in quite handy for dealing with rain, mud, and more. Good idea to keep the feet dry as much as you can.

This might be a good time to replace some electric/electronic items as well. In this case, I’m talking about things like beard and hair trimmers, razors, toothbrushes, and such. Again, most of those come in whole or in part from overseas. If your phone and computers are more than two or three years old, you may want to consider upgrading while you can. Me, I may look at a new beard/hair trimmer here soon.

I’m also looking to restock razors and razor blades a bit. Again (and again) most of these are made overseas. Having a good supply on hand is just a good idea and not necessarily a major expense. Cost more than they should, IMO, but not totally outrageous.

Now, me personally I’m looking to stock back up on olive oil as I use a lot of it. Also avocado oil. Keeping a good supply of fats on hand is a good idea, as if things get really interesting fats are some of the hardest things to find. I’m even looking into rendering and storing my own tallow, and upping the amount of lard on hand.

Also, if anyone wants to hit the Wish List and get me some 5-gallon or 2-gallon food buckets, I would love to stock away more flour. And wheat berries for grinding. However much you have, you almost can’t have enough flour on hand. Got a couple of other things I would love to put away in bulk, but flour is something I see as a particularly good idea. It has a tendency to be very needed, and to get scarce very fast.

A final thought for a quick post: Look to your edged weapons right now too. Many knives, and even swords and axes, are either made overseas or use materials made overseas. Have noticed that even on some knife brands that boast “Made In The USA” the blades are from China. Knives, hatchets, axes, machetes, and even swords are very useful tools in everyday life, and become even more important in emergencies. Prepare accordingly. And, yes, I’m still annoyed at having to throw away my pocket knife at the hospital. Dang things have gotten expensive to replace.

Just a few thoughts on things I think might be a good idea to acquire and/or put away right now. If you sew, fabric is something to think about too.

The ride is likely to get very bumpy. Be prepared, and try to avoid the bumps you can. So, be prepared. And keep your friends and family close, and your things where you can find them in the dark.

Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, which include moving once we have medical issues cleared up, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. There is also the Amazon Wish List in the Bard’s Jar. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.

The Attack

Thanks to Dr. Alice, I got to read Kurt Schlichter’s The Attack (no, I don’t get anything for the link other than the joy of promoting a good book). It is a mix of horror, humor, and insightful analysis combined with very good writing that is hard to put down.

The style of treating it as first person interviews and recordings for historical purposes was indeed a great choice. It allows it to keep a good pace, cover a lot of territory, and build a believable world in a way that would indeed require a massive novel to do otherwise. It also allows glimpses into mindsets and characters that would be difficult to pull off in a novel.

The result is a fast-paced read that builds and fills a complex world in a realistic manner. While it is a fictional treatment of current events, it still deals with them in a mostly realistic way.

Indeed, my only disagreement with the good Colonel is that I think he understated some things, even though I suspect I know why he did so. For most of the public, what is presented in the book is going to be eye-opening and hard to believe. I suspect reality is much worse.

Personally, I suspect that we may be facing more than two divisions of Islamicists (and supporters, a concept well and convincingly explored in the book) given what has poured across the border in the last three years. That does not include the Chinese (again, well covered in the book) and others who are, again, known to have come across in very large numbers. Take a look at who is buying up land around military and strategic sites (hint, it’s not just the Chinese), and, well, I think that in this book we are looking at a best-case scenario.

As for the attacks on the schools, again I think it understated. Years back, several of us took a look at schools, security, and more as a result of Beslan. If you don’t know what it is, look it up. In short, a “hostage” situation (as often is seen in this book) that was really a front for rape, torture, and murder. This is one of the few times you will hear me say I don’t think the Russian’s went far enough in dealing with those behind this. (sorry, still working on being more New Testament instead of Old Testament). Back to subject, I know that at least one of the people Kurt thanks at the start of the book is one who took a look at this and what could happen here.

I don’t know about him, but the thought of such here doesn’t scare me: it terrifies me. It terrifies me that every effort to harden and protect our schools against this and other threats has been fought for domestic political reasons that willingly sacrifice our children. Beslan proved that not only were schools great targets, but that faking it being a hostage situation was a great way to draw things out for propaganda purposes while allowing maximum time for rape, torture, and murder. It’s a concept tested again to some extent on Oct. 7, and one that features prominently in the book.

Which leads me to the one overly optimistic thing in the book, and the thing that came closest to throwing me out of any suspension of disbelief: the response. The response(s) shown in the book only work in the presence of strong leadership and a tangible form(s) of collective justice. In the absence of such, you are going to get mobs, vigilantes, and worse as civilization is a veneer even today. While there are some who want to see such, so as to justify yet more radical restructuring, they are fools. They do not understand that what we witnessed on Oct. 7 is the way most of the world works and has worked for an age or three.

There is a reason in the past that people fled when it looked like towns were to be sacked. It is not limited to the distant past: Look at the sack of Berlin and what happened to females 8 to 80. Look at the looting (though I do tend to think the Soviets did the Germans a favor by taking all those stool-shelf commodes, look it up), and outright murder that went with it. If you really want to, you can find examples even more recent.

The concepts of just war, limited war, rule of law, and even the peaceful transfer of power are recent and quite possibly fleeting. When one actively circumvents safeguards, such as opening a border, guess what goes away?

Now, imagine a world where The Attack happens and strong leadership not only does not emerge, but you see the multi-tier “justice” of the last few years applied to those who took part in this. What do you think will happen?

Especially given that the schools and our children will be targets just like Oct. 7. In fact, here’s an equation for you: (Beslan + Euvalde) * Oct. 7 = X2 That is the horror that will happen in our schools. The response to it by the public, however is likely to be: (Beslan + Euvalde) * Oct. 7 = X4 Now, imagine that released in an uncontrolled and uncoordinated manner not just in the U.S., but around the world. That is what will happen without strong leadership and a good grasp of history and social dynamics.

Enough on that. Back to topic, this is a good book that I highly recommend not just as a good (and enjoyable, though not necessarily fun) read, but also as a warning and full of things to factor into your planning for life. Get it. Read it. Just remember, it can be enjoyed on many levels.

As always, be prepared. Keep your friends close and your things where you can find them in the dark.

Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, which include moving once we have medical issues cleared up, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. There is also the Amazon Wish List in the Bard’s Jar. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.