Category: Preparedness

Battery Brands

A discussion with Beege on Twitter sparked the idea for this post. As always, I am not sponsored nor do I get anything from any company mentioned here. If you are a company and interested in such, do drop me a line. Anywho, since we talked batteries in the last chapter of the book, some food for thought.

When buying batteries, do a bit of research first. The ads you see aren’t always a good reflection of reality. For example, years ago Duracell had a great reputation and there were a number of first responders and emergency medical people who would only use Duracell batteries. Then, I noticed the quality slipping, and there were reliability and longevity issues. In short, I and a number of others quit using Duracell as we were getting better performance at a much better price out of others.

I’ve tried a number of batteries over the years, and right now I’m using Ray-O-Vac as I’m getting good performance for a very good price thanks to some sales at a certain home improvement store. Beege swears by Energizer, and I’ve had good luck with them myself. I’ve had mixed results out of a house-brand for a major sporting good chain, but if the rubber has to hit the road, I want the best.

I’m actually thinking of doing a comparison test between Energizer and Ray-O-Vac similar to the one that sparked the conversation on Twitter. New batteries, fair test, and see what happens. What say you?

Oh, I will add that when it comes to my Streamlight products, I am using the regular and rechargeable Streamlight batteries. Those are items where I’m not willing to risk anything else.

Remember, there is no one magic list nor is there one magic product for each need. Do your research, test, and find what works best for you.

Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, which include moving to the SW, 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. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.

Preparedness Pays: Draft Chapter 3A

Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, which include moving to the SW, 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. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.

NOTE: This is a (very) rough draft

Expanding Your Resources

Alright, now that you have started thinking about food and water, let’s expand things a bit. The next resources to think about are light, the ability to cook or heat your food, and heating.

I really do think that if you could do a study, the lights (power) going out is probably the most common “disaster” we face on a regular basis. It is probably the most frustrating thing, because just as the water goes out right when you’ve soaped up, the lights always go out as you are doing something important. For a number of reasons, I want to focus right now just on light and we will tackle the larger issue of power later.

There are a number of options available to you. Just to name a few: flashlights, battery-powered mountable LED lights, camping lanterns (electric and gas fuel), candles, oil lamps, and chemical lights/glow sticks. There not being that one magical list of items that works for everyone in every situation, you need to decide what mix of items works for you.

For example, candles and oil lamps can be part of your decor. The latter are not just the old-fashioned kind, but newer ones that are very modern looking. With practical preparedness the idea is to have the items do more than one thing. It’s like Alton Brown’s rule on kitchen items: most kitchen items need to be useful for several things. Your choices for preparedness should do the same. While there are a few things that only have one use, most of what you get for preparedness should pull double or triple duty. Even if that duty is to be decorative.

Another bit of food for thought is that whatever you get, get spares and if batteries are used get spare batteries too. If you have a flashlight on a shelf at the top of the stairs, put spare batteries with it. Because if you go down into the dark basement without a light because the batteries are dead, you frankly deserve to have the monster get you, or find out the sewage is backed up the hard way. It’s about as bright as standing artistically in front of the archery targets in one of those teen camp slasher porn movies. So, unless you want the monster to get you, don’t do that.

A further bite of food for thought: it’s not a bad idea to have emergency lighting that can be used in a hazardous environment. There are any number of things that can cause gas pipes to rupture, fuel to spill, or otherwise create an environment where not only is the smoking lamp out, you don’t want cheap electronics or other items generating sparks. While you can spend as much as you want to on hazard-rated lights, you might be surprised at how many of the newer (and inexpensive) flashlights are actually sealed. Look around at what’s available, think about it, then choose wisely.

Back when I had a house in a more rural location, every room had a small plastic storage bin that contained scissors, utility knife, tape, tacks, brads, hammer, tarp, flashlight, chem light, spare batteries, and a small first aid kit. The idea being I had light and a means of covering holes/busted windows, and taking care of boo-boos at hand no matter what. If gas was an issue, I could use the chem light instead of the flashlight at need. Also, for long-term light, the chem light was the better choice.

Which gets to an important point in thinking about what mix works best for you: duration. Give yourself as many options as you can. Church pillars are designed to burn for hours, so used judiciously they can last for weeks at need. There are candle lanterns that use long-lasting candles (as well as bug repellent candles). My favorite brand of lights has an option of a USB rechargeable battery that I can even recharge using the hand crank on the emergency radio. Bit more on that when we talk power, but look at all the options open to you to make your light mix last.

Also, as you work up your plan, be thinking about where to put what type of light. Where practical, you may want to put a mirror up nearby to help bounce the light (or reflect sunlight further inside). In an emergency, when the lights go out, I’ve been known to put aluminum foil up on the wall behind candles and omni-directional lights to put as much light as possible out into the room.

Now, let’s look at using the light that comes out of your plan to do something extremely important: cook and heat your food and drink. Vehicles hit power poles and take down lines. Construction crews dig into gas lines. Things happen. I don’t know about you, but I’m not giving up my coffee or food because someone else did something stupid.

Again, there are a number of options. The portable butane chef stoves you see at a lot of brunches, or events where cooking is being done on the spot, used to be relatively inexpensive though I hear that’s changing. Keep in mind butane does not work in cold weather. There are a number of propane or liquid-fuel small camping stoves available. Better yet, there are even multi-burner propane stoves and ovens that can handle large scale cooking. Grills make an excellent option as well. Got a fireplace? Guess what, it’s can be fun to cook over a fire.

Find a mix that works for you while giving you both flexibility and durability. By durability I don’t just mean the product lasting, but the ability to get fuel for it even in an emergency. For example, a good charcoal grill can also handle wood, which is likely to be available no matter what (even if you have to go cut it). Having more than one type of fuel is also a good thing for your ability to handle moderate to major disasters.

To help with your planning, allow me to share a real-life experience that may help. Where I’m currently living, we experienced a power failure which took out the lights and stove. My bedroom and bathroom are in the basement. I needed to get to work. So, I broke out the camping lanterns and used one to light my room, one to light the common area of the basement, and one to light the bathroom (yes, I already have hooks in place to hang them at need).

I put up two in the kitchen, pulled out a propane camping stove and set it up on top of the regular stove. I cooked breakfast, cleaned up, got my shower (water was still going) using the remaining hot water in the water heater (note: a number of gas appliances will not run if the electricity is off, “safety” feature). As I did all this, I turned off lights when not needed and otherwise minimized my resource usage.

Net result, I had my regular breakfast and coffee, and had no issues making it to work on time. For all that I might be a bit of a coffee head, one of the reasons I use a French Press to make my coffee is that I’m not dependent on electricity to make it. For all that I like the taste better anyway, it doesn’t matter if the water is heated on a stove or over a fire as I huddle in the ruins of civilization, you just need hot water. And coffee, of course. If I did engage in preparedness, you can be sure I would have some tucked away. Cough. Remember the first rule of preparedness club…

The last truly crucial element for survival, and the start of surviving in style, is heating. Cooling, while I do love my air conditioning, is not essential. Even in most temperate zones, having heating comes in handy in an emergency, especially if you are wet or cleaning up after flooding. In large swaths of the world, heating is essential so that you don’t freeze to death in the winter.

Again, there are options for you to explore. Do you have a fireplace? The option to add a wood stove? Portable indoor-use kerosene and propane heaters are available at most home supply stores. They may also be useful for keeping water warm or hot, or even doing some light cooking over them. The key is going to be the ability to store fuel for them so that you can use them as needed in a moderate or major disaster.

Just be sure that what you are looking at are rated for indoor use. There are a number of heaters that are not, and require extra ventilation if they can be used inside at all. You don’t want to freeze, but you also don’t want to either burn up or die of carbon monoxide poisoning. If battery-powered smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are not already a part of your life, make them part of you preparedness planning. They are essential now, and critical in the aftermath of a disaster.

I would also highly recommend good cold weather clothing be a part of your preparedness planning. Fuel shortages, regulations, and other delights can impact anywhere, and even if you are prepared you need to consider wearing extra clothing to cut down on use of your preparedness resources. Get extra blankets and throws now as well, as there may be a run on them in the not too distant future.

Guess what? You now have the basics in place to develop a plan that will provide you water, food, light, the ability to cook, and the ability to heat in the face of disaster. In other words, you have the basics of survival at your fingertips. Now, in the next chapter, let’s look at adding some other resources to your planning mix to take that up to surviving in style.

The book as it goes:

Preparedness Pays: Draft Introduction

Preparedness Pays: Draft Chapter 1A

Preparedness Pays: Draft Chapter 2A

Preparedness Pays: Draft Chapter 2A

Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, which include moving to the SW, 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. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.

I had originally planned to do Chapter 1 a bit differently, but am opting for now to try smaller chapters, possibly focused on a single concept, to make it easier for those new to preparedness. We will see how it goes, meantime, onwards!

NOTE: This is a (very) rough draft

Building With Our Blocks

Now that we have our basic building and planning blocks, let’s take a look at how to use them to create the preparedness plan that works for you. To do so, why don’t we take a look at what most of it boils down to: ensuring people have the resources they need.

As noted previously, resources include (but are not limited to) things like  food, water, power, fuel, and other resources necessary for life, much less modern life. So, let’s start with the most critical items for life: food and water.

Most people in first world countries (and even many second) take clean, safe, and abundant water for granted. We cut the tap on, and sweet, sweet, water flows out into our glasses, sinks, or tubs. While there are exceptions everywhere, overall we have gotten rather spoiled about water. Even the most minor of disaster or emergency becomes a real issue when it effects our water.

Most of the time, that impact is an annoyance. The water goes off while you are in the shower and you need to rinse. You can’t do the laundry or dishes because the water went off. It’s not the end of the world, but it impacts your day. Thing is, the longer it is off the greater the impact. Given that you can live for days to weeks on little to no food, and only a very few days without water, water really needs to be your top priority for preparedness. So, let’s look at it in terms of our planning blocks on the three lengths of disaster.

For minor disasters, those lasting minutes to a week, stored water comes in very handy. Caught bathing and need to rinse off? A bottle of water or maybe part of a gallon jug of water takes care of that. I keep both bottles of water and gallon jugs of distilled water around personally, as I use the latter for making coffee (the water around where I currently live being a fluid phase of limestone) and the former for general use. During any emergency, don’t throw out the empties: they have important uses we will get into later. For planning, while you have to have two liters of water a day from drinking and food to survive, you are going to find life a lot better if you have three to four liters per person per day.

For moderate to major disasters, storage really isn’t practical. Though, one should plan for ways to increase your storage if there is warning. Collapsable containers, tub bladders, even your cookware can and should be used to store water if there is warning of a coming moderate to major disaster. If you have freezer or other containers, fill them up too. If it will safely hold water, fill it up!

So, what can you do to prepare for water during a moderate to major disaster? You are going to need one or more water purification systems. No, I’m not talking systems for cities or such, but the small, mostly portable systems used by campers and backpackers. Those systems are designed to take water from lakes, streams, or other sources and turn it into pure, clean, safe water for drinking. Some of them can even handle various types of grey water. Wait, what? Grey water?

You are going to deal with three types of water in life, much less during a disaster. Clean water is what you are used to drinking. Grey water is water that has been used for things like showering, cleaning, technically even cooking water like pasta water is grey water. Dark/black/other-term-here water contains sewage or other organic or chemical contaminants. There are ways for you to deal with filtering and purifying grey and black water, but we will get into that more later.

For now, you’ve got enough information to begin planning for your water needs. Given that things never go to plan, I recommend being a pessimist and planning on storing enough drinking water to get through a minor disaster if at all possible.

That may not be possible. Each of us has a different situation in terms of space, storage space, and other delights. I’ve heard of some apartments or rentals that have it in the lease that you are not to store water or other fluids in the structure. In your planning, get creative. There are a lot of odd spaces and places you might not think about, but will work great for storage.

For any and all disasters, look at water storage options. There are a variety of collapsible containers out there for camping and emergencies. Some hold just a gallon or three, and others can hold a hundred or more gallons. The tub bladders are a great idea since that part of the house/apartment is build to hold that weight, and you will be amazed at how much water you can store in one.

For longer term preparedness, research water purification systems and find what works for you. If you have the budget, or can budget for it over time, I highly recommend a portable system for each person, and a larger camping system for the home. It gives you maximum flexibility and capability at need. Also, get replacement elements for each system, at least a year’s worth if possible. Plan for the worst, hope for the best.

Also, when researching those systems, keep in mind they are not all the same. Some basically just filter, so you don’t get mud and any large parasites or other delights. Others will filter out even smaller things. Yet others will purify the water as well as filtering it. You can even look at getting water purification tablets and using those on the water before putting it through a filter. Not a bad idea to plan on having some of those around anyway, just in case. Also, for a major disaster, you also want to research sand filters and how to make them, for possible inclusion in your planning.

Now that you’ve got the basics so that you can plan for water, let’s take a look at food. As with water, there are some basic minimums to consider. While you can technically survive on as little as 800 calories a day, you really need around 1200 calories a day, and about 1400 a day if you are going to be active.

Those calories need to be balanced, in that you need about 72 trace elements, 20 essential amino acids, and some essential fats to live. Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins, as well as a good bit of the human body. Our body can actually produce 11 of the essential amino acids we need to survive and thrive, but we need to get the remaining nine through our diet.

Now, there are foods that contain complete proteins, that is they have all 9 of the essential amino acids needed by the body. When you eat fish, poultry, dairy, eggs, and meat you are getting complete proteins. In grains, quinoa is a complete protein.

You can also “mix and match” to get complete protein. For example, legumes with rice can do the job, but if you mix legumes, a veggie, and a grain, you can as well.

You also want to research essential fats. Yes, you need a certain amount of fat each day to survive, and there are some fats you really need. It is much tastier and easier to include such in your supplements and food than to catch and eat six to eight medium to large moths each day.

Just as there is no one magic list for preparedness, there is no one perfect recipe for nutrition. You have to find what works for you and yours, and any known dietary problems or needs. Now, when I say dietary problem I mean a diagnosed medical condition, not that you hate X, Y, or Z or avoid them because of virtue signaling. While I find low-carb works well for me right now, in an emergency I’m an omnivore and will eat whatever I have to ensure proper nutrition.

For moderate to major disasters, you also need to consider supplements to ensure proper nutrition and health. There are a lot of supplements sold that claim many things, but those things may or may not be verified. My favorite is still the calcium supplement that did indeed have several hundred times the amount of calcium of any other supplement. Only thing was that it was a form of calcium that could not be absorbed by the body…

For long-term nutrition and survival, you really need to be focused on those things that provide you trace elements and other compounds you might not get from tight rations. Things I will recommend: a good multi-vitamin, Vitamin C, and Vitamin D.

A good multi-vitamin gives you most of those trace elements in the recommended daily amount. Go generic and you can get a multi-year supply for a reasonable amount. No, it’s not perfect but it gets you most of the way there. Yes, right now you are urinating most of it away. In a survival situation you likely won’t be. You will be glad to have it.

Why Vitamin C? Scurvy for one thing. In a true disaster, Vitamin C can end up in short supply in your food (or lack thereof), which can and will result in scurvy and other delights. Just ask the British Navy, who finally figured out that a lime a day kept the doctor away. Again, inexpensive and can prevent a number of health issues.

Why Vitamin D? You may or may not be getting much sun for a while in a nuclear war or similar disaster. Low D-levels have been found to be linked with a host of medical issues, and no one wants to see rickets and other delights return. Again, D3 is inexpensive and can prevent a number of other health issues.

What else do you need? You really need to sit down with your doctor to work that out. If you trust your doctor, get with them and ask what you should look at getting and taking.

For a minor disaster, it’s not that hard to stock up enough food to make it through the week. It’s the moderate to major length disasters that you need to consider all the above discussion. One more small bit of food for thought in your planning: be sure to include a lot of soups and stews. They are a great way to get some of that water you need to survive, a great from a nutrition perspective, and can allow you to make the fullest use of ingredients. Especially if the power has gone out, and will be out for more than a few days, and you have things in the refrigerator and freezer. Yes, you do need to think about things like that in your planning.

Now that you have the basic blocks to begin planning for the most essential part of preparedness, we can turn to the next two most essential things: light and cooking.

The book as it goes:

Preparedness Pays: Draft Introduction

Preparedness Pays: Draft Chapter 1A

Preparedness Pays: Draft Chapter 1A

Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, which include moving to the SW, 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. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.

The Basic Blocks Of Practical Preparedness

Since I know you probably skipped over the introduction and all that other stuff up front, a quick review. Preparedness is not something that should be daunting, intimidating, overwhelming, or anything other than fairly straightforward, maybe even enjoyable. Brave words, but accurate.

Yes, there are an almost infinite number of possible disasters large and small out there. It’s what the brainiacs refer to as an “Infinity minus one” situation though I still say the number of possible disasters is “Infinity minus two” since the Sweet Meteor Of Death (SMOD) proved to be just another lying politician. The thing is, the number of potential disasters is not where you need to focus. Instead, look at what can be affected by a disaster and the types of damage done.

When you come right down to it, there are only three things that can be affected by any disaster: people, places, things. Now, let’s take a look at each. People can only be impacted three ways: loss of resources, body damage, and fiscal damage. Places can be impacted two ways: damage and destruction. Things can be impacted three ways: damage, destruction, and scarcity. These eight things are the basic building blocks for preparedness. Working with them, you can design a plan for practical preparedness that you can work into you life and lifestyle. Eight is much easier to plan for, no?

Now that we have building blocks, you need some planning blocks to go with them. While there are several such blocks, we are going to start with the most basic. They revolve around time, since all your planning will ultimately do so as well. Time is what differentiates a minor disaster from a moderate disaster and those from a major disaster. For purposes of planning, a minor disaster will last minutes up to a week. A moderate disaster will last a week up to a month. A major disaster is a month or longer.

For example, a power failure or the city where you live shutting down water to your neighborhood for work is a thing of minutes to a day or two (usually). A winter storm is going to impact things for a few days to a week as a general rule. The thing is, minor disasters are of relatively short duration, and the shorter that duration the easier to have practical preparedness turn a disaster into, at most, an inconvenience.

Moderate disasters take things up a step. They can be major weather events that cause damage, industrial accidents, or other delights where most normal day-to-day activities are impacted for up to a month. While things may not be back to normal by then, they are to the point where most of your normal life can resume.

Major disasters are going to have an impact lasting months and even years. Major disasters usually involve rebuilding not just structures, but lives and institutions. It can be a massive tornado, hurricane, or nuclear war. It could be a massive crop failure, or even the failure of a major system (economic, logistics, etc.)

More than you will believe right now, here at the start, the type of the disaster rarely matters. It is the length of the impact that does.

So, let’s start playing with our blocks. First up, relax, there are no pop quizzes in this book. When it comes to preparedness, life is the pop-quiz and I want you to pass with flying colors. Let’s start by looking at our three people building blocks.

What is loss of resources? It is the loss of food, water, power, fuel, and other resources necessary for life, much less modern life. For this block, it is the resources that need to be replenished on a regular basis. It is the groceries we buy to make into meals. It is the water we get from the tap and other libations that we drink, adult or otherwise. It is the electric bill we pay so that we flip a switch and the lights come on, the stove runs, and other wonderful things happen. It is the gas that comes into the house for heating and cooking. It is the gasoline for our car, the lawn mower, or even the chain saw. If you have a fireplace, it is the wood that goes in it to be burned.

What is body damage? It is physical harm to the body. It is the impact on mind and spirit that come from a disaster. Both have negative effects on the body, and prevent a person from responding fully to a disaster. It’s hard to chop wood with a broken arm. Cuts and scrapes need to be mended. It is the tendency in the human animal to blame themselves for things outside their control, as well as to blame ourselves for not being perfect in our preparations, much less life. It is being overwhelmed by the scope of a disaster, and losing our sense of proportion as we face a problem.

What is fiscal damage? It is the loss of monetary resources or other valuables as the result of disaster. It can be the cost of repairs, or it can be the loss of value because of inflation, recession, or even depression. It can be the result of fraud or other unfriendly action. While it will not be a major part of this book, it is something for which planning and preparation is needed.

Now, lets look at our two building blocks for places. For our purposes, places are going to be primarily structures, though natural locations and structures also technically fall into this category.

What is damage in the context of this block? It is anything that impacts the structural integrity and/or the weather tightness of the structure or location such as a cave. It is broken windows, cracked foundation, a hole in a roof, a hole in or damage two the side of a structure. It is fire, it is flood, it is a collapsed ceiling. Anything that makes a structure become of limited use and habitability is damage. More importantly, it is damage that can be repaired.

What is destruction in the context of this block? It is not just the total loss of the structure, but it can also be damage that is too extensive or that can’t be easily repaired. Anything that makes a structure unsafe to use or totally destroys that structure is destruction for the terms of this building block.

Now, let’s look at things. Things are all the devices and objects we use in everyday life. They are our cell phones, our tools, and our vehicles. They are also the bridges and roads we use. There is not much we can do to prepare those things for an emergency, but we do need to plan on what to do if they are damaged or gone.

What is damage in the context of this block? It can be physical damage, such as a cracked screen on a phone, a bent fender, or a broken handle. It can be water damage from rain or flooding. It could even be damage caused by an electromagnetic pulse. It is anything that prevents or reduces the usability of an item.

What is destruction in the context of this block? It is the complete loss of use of the item.

What is scarcity in the context of this block? It means the item, in full working condition, is in limited supply. It means there isn’t much or many of the item out there. It means what you have needs to last as long as possible.

Now that we have that out of the way, let’s look at applying our planning blocks to our building blocks.

The book as it goes:

Preparedness Pays: Draft Introduction

Preparedness Pays: Draft Introduction

Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, which include moving to the SW, 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. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.

Definitely a draft. Not happy with some words and phrasing, but it’s a start. Feel free to make suggestions but remember it’s the introduction, not the book. Details come later. Unless it’s a detail that will hook a reader. 🙂

Into every life some rain must fall. True, but there is no reason real or metaphorical rain that comes with the vagaries of life should be more than a nuisance. With a bit of preparation, “everyday disasters” become annoyances, and true disasters become something that you can handle.

Practical preparedness is something that should be a part of your lifestyle, rather than in addition to it. In the most basic sense, it is simply making sure you have what you need and use in everyday life so that you can handle the unexpected. It is not hard or complicated, it is not time consuming, and it is not (necessarily) expensive. It’s something that you can start small and build up as you go along — unless you’ve not done anything and the emergency is upon you.

Let’s start with some basics that will be covered in more detail in the pages to follow. Unless you want to make it that way, practical preparedness is not complicated or hard. Yes, there are an almost infinite number of possible disasters and if you try to focus on them, you’re not going anywhere because you will get overwhelmed. Instead, consider the following:

At the most basic level, there are only three items that can be impacted by any disaster large or small: people, places, and things. Guess what? Within each category, there are only two or three things that can happen to each of them. That’s a lot easier to deal with than an almost infinite number of disasters.

Time consuming? No, not really, though if you get into things you can put as much time and money into it as you like. In both cases, the time and money you put into it is far less than the cost of not being prepared. If you truly do incorporate it into your lifestyle, it becomes for most days a matter of a few minutes a day.

Expensive? That depends. In terms of preparedness for day-to-day emergencies, it’s easily within most budgets as the resources needed are truly everyday things. They are things you would or should have around anyway, and most of what you are doing is changing some types and quantities. That said, the more thoroughly you prepare, the more you can spend. Nice thing is, some of those expenses might be deductible and there may be low-cost/no-cost options for some things.

The thing is, the cost of not being prepared is always higher than the cost of being prepared. It could be that not being prepared could mean being late for work or even missing work; it could mean damage to your home; or, it could mean an unplanned expense. Being prepared could mean not missing work; it might mean lower utilities for your home; or, it could mean catching a problem before it becomes a problem.

How? Well, that jug of water might let you rinse off if the water goes off as you are in the shower. It can even let you bathe at need. Meantime, it’s available for use in making coffee, cooking, watering the plants, or other day-to-day activities.

Weather proofing your home not only lowers utility costs, it protects you against a range of emergencies from insect entry to keeping fallout outside. It adds to your home’s value.

Doing routine checks of your car, household machines, furnace, and other items is always a good idea. In this case, it might mean you catch that oil leak early before it becomes a major and expensive unplanned repair.

Practical preparedness can also open the door to new hobbies and family activities, and enrich your life. It all depends on you and how you want to approach things to find what works best for you and your circumstances. There are no magic lists of products or foolproof plans here, for one-size-fits all responses never work.

What is in here is a framework for thinking, planning, and then executing what works best for you. It is about making your life better and safer.

So, put aside the television and movie stereotypes. Put aside all the concerns over complexity and expense. Take a breath, a sip of beverage of your choice, and let’s start a mental journey you may find surprisingly fun and rewarding on many different levels.

A Tuesday Omnibus

Between choppy internet access (hopefully new router here soon) and choppy events, I think it best to do a quick omnibus post that covers some highlights. Some of these may get done in more detail here soon.

First, Russia is NOT done in Ukraine even with the losses. The people who are saying that Vladimir has no choice, call it a day, and other hopeful things are making two basic mistakes. One, they fail to get that this is all based on domestic Russian politics; and, that they do politics differently.

Right now, the spin seems to be that the military screwed the pooch and all the problems come from that and not the corruption of the oligarchia. Further, that the political leaders were not aware of all the problems that existed as they weren’t properly informed. Which is saying by strong implication that Vladimir and others were lied to rather than they made mistakes.

If you think the media narratives here are bad, you should see what goes on in Russia. For all that there is still a lot of cynicism at the media left over from Soviet days, the Russian population has been fed a massive amount of propaganda and manipulation for the last 20 years. The populace may be starting to figure out that bad things are happening, but it truly is not yet common knowledge. Add in the new draconian punishments for disrespecting the military and the like, and yes they can keep controlling the narrative for a far longer time than many believe.

Which means we are truly starting to hit critical times. As the political situation becomes more dire because the military situation continues to crumble, the chances go up for things to escalate and or get out of control. Things are going to get more dicey, not better. Hang on, and seriously pray.

Also, do check out Ed at Hot Air in regards the dumbest “question” so far from CNN, along with some good and important questions about our intelligence community. Well worth a read.

I will also offer my sympathies to the family of Ed Lambert, and highly urge you to read Stephen Green’s excellent tribute to the man. Godspeed Ed.

I also have to agree with Stephen on this. I hope Artemis I makes it into space safely, not the least as I know someone who has a payload on it. But, again, it is still mid-70s tech and the last gasp of the old space job distribution system. I don’t see the new SLS (keep in mind, Shuttle was also the first SLS) carrying cargo to orbit.

Finally, I want to get back to working on the book Preparedness Pays and using that for a series of posts here. Since I now have a number of readers who are interested in practical preparedness and more, seems to be the right thing to do. Originally, I was going to use all the “correct” terminology and such to increase the possibility of some outreach (and sales) to official and academic disaster preparedness/emergency management operations.

Thing is, I’ve been a small part of those efforts before. When it comes to local, there are some great people and operations out there. I’m thinking that the book needs to speak to the average person, and not to “the experts” in DC and academia. So, instead of people, infrastructure, and resources, plan to go with people, places, and things.

As I’ve said a time or hundred on here before, there are infinity-minus-2 potential disasters out there. What matters is that there are only three things that can be damaged: people, places, and things. There are only three things that can happen to people: loss of resources, physical harm, and fiscal harm. Places basically have only two options: physical damage and loss of resources. Things boils down to: loss, damage, shortage. Not quite a 3×3 matrix, but you’ve gone from infinity-minus-2 to effectively 3 points each for planning. Simplifies things nicely.

A lot has changed since my article on disaster preparedness appeared in IEEE Spectrum a few decades back. There I looked at about five things, three works much better. Once you quit trying to play guess-the-disaster, that’s when good things start to happen in terms of real practical preparedness.

More soon!

*****

Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, which include moving to the SW, 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. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.

Also, If the site is slow loading or you’ve had trouble getting through, my apologies. We are experiencing growing pains as I move from regular blog to high-traffic blog.

Preparedness On The Fly II: Quick Thoughts

If the site is slow loading or you’ve had trouble getting through, my apologies. We are experiencing growing pains as I move from regular blog to high-traffic blog. Working on it, feel free to hit the tip jar to help me keep going and upgrade the site. Your gifts truly do make the difference. Working on adding a mail-in option, others; if interested in mail-in for now drop me a line.

I know that people love lists. They want specific recommendations, and there are those who will cater to that and, in some cases, make lots of money off them. I left Amazon and its affiliate program years ago (never looked back) and boy howdy to I wish I got free things, money, and more from some of the people I do recommend (waves at Streamlight). I’m a writer, therefore a whore for all that I prefer to see myself as a courtesan as opposed to a street walker.

What do I recommend getting and in what order? It remains: Food, Water Processing, and Cooking/Heating. It doesn’t matter if there is a nuclear war or “just” the disruption of the world-wide food and drug production and distribution system, the basic needs remain the same. Also remember that Professor Reynolds is right: You are the carbon they want to reduce. Prepare accordingly.

On food, aside from ensuring basic nutrition, consider how much of what we eat and drink comes from overseas in whole or in part. Coffee and Tea, for example, are imports. If you like them as much as I like them, stock up. You know what else is imported? Chocolate, a lot of coconut and coconut products, and some other staples for baking and even producing pasta and such. Spices quite often are imported, and peppercorns were known as the King’s spice for a reason. Himalayan Pink Salt? First word gives it away. Oh, yes, it is a good idea to have some iodized salt tucked away, as while it is not as good as the potassium iodide tablets it’s better than nothing. That smoked paprika you like? Most likely an import. Canned pineapple? Keep in mind that the pineapple is a symbol of royalty for a reason, as only royalty could afford to have fresh pineapple shipped in to enjoy. Even when grown in Hawai’i, it is still shipped.

Don’t stint on your basic nutrition, and a lot of what we consider junk (canned pasta items for instance) can get you by surprisingly well. That said, stock up on the import items while you can. Heck, if someone wants to get me a gift card to The Fresh Market so I can stock up on coffee and tea (and some other things), drop me a line as I will not object. Same holds true for WalMart, Meijer, and Fresh Thyme. Really do need to beef up the strategic hot sauce reserve as well, come to think of it.

Unless you know of a local salt mine or lick, you need salt and a good bit of it. Again, it’s one of those things that what you start with may be all you have for a while. Also, not a bad idea to have several gallons of vinegar on hand for pickling, cleaning, etc. Said all that before, but it needs the repetition.

I will add that your supplements and medical needs go right in there with basic food. Again, start with the things you can get that come in whole or in part from overseas. Then add in the rest.

Water is a close second to food. Without water, we die and we will do so even faster than we will starve to death. Much, much faster. In addition to stocks, you need to be able to create clean water. Get thee to a good sporting goods store and get some good systems. My recommendation is that everyone, regardless of age, have their own at need. You also need to be able to process large amounts when circumstances allow. I’ve discussed these systems before and I highly recommend not getting filters but complete purification systems.

Thing is, don’t stop there. Get the replacement elements (filter, purification, etc.) that you need to change them out on a regular basis. Get as many of those replacements as you can. The more you have, the better. The one time I will recommend a filter system is for a Chemical Biological Nuclear (CBN) environment. In that case, it’s not a bad idea to filter source water before running it through your main purification system(s). Check the filter with a geiger counter often, treat as potential hazmat, and use it as long as you can.

Why the emphasis on water? Well, in a nuclear exchange I don’t expect municipal water supplies to be on for long if they survive, and residual pressure is only going to go so far. The same holds true for whatever stockpile you have created. In the event of global supply disruption, where do you think the chemicals used by many municipal water treatment plants comes from? Civilization is a fragile thing, and many of the things we take for granted, like food and reasonably safe water, are as well.

Now, on to cooking and heating. Let’s face it, it may be a long, hard, and cold winter for many in England and Europe; and, some other locations around the world are going to have issues as well. While I don’t expect the same levels of rolling blackouts, gas shutoffs, and the like here, they are not out of the realm of possibility. In the event of a major disaster such as a nuclear war or exchange, well, let’s just say the supplies of energy might face an impact (juuuuuussst a touch outside!).

So, you need to be able to cook and/or heat if not your full home at least the shelter area you’ve set up. Propane stoves are great and come in a variety of sizes and such. You can even get propane ovens for camping (and, yes, I really want one myself). Even better, you can get indoor-safe propane heaters to use to augment any heat from cooking. There are other indoor-safe options and I urge you to explore them. Redundancy is a good thing. If you have a fireplace, remember that in a nuclear event you need to cap it, and if capped it is not safe to use.

There are many things you can safely eat raw. That said, hot food warms the body and the soul, and there is a reason a good military works hard to ensure its troops get a hot meal before battle. Survival in the face of disaster is indeed a battle. Which reminds me we really should talk emergency cooking one day here soon.

Food, water, cooking/heat. They really are the cornerstone of preparedness and survival. In this case, it’s a good list and a good priority list for those coming late to the whole concept of preparedness, practical or otherwise.

Also, again, let me recommend paper copies of Dean Ing’s Pulling Through and Pat Frank’s Alas Babylon. Also, while fiction, John Ringo’s Black Tide Rising Series gets into a lot of good information via engaging stories. If you can find any of Jerry Pournelle’s writings on preparedness and survival, they are quite useful as well.

Preparedness On The Fly Series

Preparedness On The Fly (Food)

Preparedness On The Fly: Water

Preparedness On The Fly: Light

Preparedness On The Fly: Cooking

Preparedness On The Fly: Gear

Preparedness On The Fly: Protection

Preparedness On The Fly: General Thoughts

Preparedness On The Fly II: Complete Nutrition I

Preparedness On The Fly II: Complete Nutrition II

Preparedness On The Fly II: Health

Of Interest

Preparedness: Bugout!

Buying Your First Weapon

Start Of All Posts On Preparedness

Nuclear Overview

*****

If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, which include moving to the SW, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo or drop me a line to discuss other methods. Getting hit by lightning is not fun, and it is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.

Preparedness On The Fly II: Health

If the site is slow loading or you’ve had trouble getting through, my apologies. We are experiencing growing pains as I move from regular blog to high-traffic blog. Working on it, feel free to hit the tip jar to help me keep going and upgrade the site. Your gifts truly do make the difference. Working on adding a mail-in option, others; if interested in mail-in for now drop me a line.

The last two posts have focused on nutrition for the long term, now we need to look at one final component to ensuring your health: medications. I’m going to include OTC in this as well, as they are going to be more important long-term than you may realize.

One result of getting hit by lightning is that I now take an impressive array of supplements and medications. Not as many as some, but I went from a couple of antihistamines to several cardiac-related drugs. The good news is my blood work and blood pressure (which was the truly nasty thing post-strike) are doing very well. Which means I want to maintain that as much as possible.

The problem is, between costs and insurance, I’m limited in how much of a stock I can build up for emergencies. Doesn’t mean I’m not working to do so, but it is limited. One would hope federal officials would release renewals of such in the face of nuclear or other disaster, as DeSantis did in Florida before Ian, but competence is not a hallmark of our so-called elites and elite institutions.

What you can stock up on are your OTC medicines including but not limited to: anti-diarrhea, anti-nausea, antacids, cold/flu, etc. If you have allergies, stock up on antihistamines. Whatever the condition, if there are OTC meds that can work for it, get them. In terms of first aid, get bandages, ointments, cleaning supplies (betadyne, etc.), burn bandages, etc. In a true disaster, such things are worth their weight in gold.

Also look into a good trauma kit or kits (every bugout bag should have one as well as basic first aid) as in a disaster the likelihood of major trauma rises rather significantly. A small kit that can easily be carried on you at all times is a good idea, especially if you do carry concealed. Also comes in handy for car trips given accidents.

Don’t forget foot care as well, as in a major disaster if you have to do the bugout boogie the odds of you having to go shank’s mare at some point is pretty good. Moleskin can be your friend, along with foot powders and other delights. Always take care of your feet before, during, and after any disaster.

In addition to instruction if at all possible, be sure to pick-up some good self-help guides. Many decades ago I came across a book called (I think) ‘Be Your Own Wilderness Doctor’ and it was focused on backpackers and others who could find themselves deep in the wilderness in the days before cell and sat phones. It basically covered how to do enough to get by and stay alive until you could get to real medical help. Guess what. In a major disaster your ability to get to real medical help is likely to be very limited. Find the modern equivalents and keep them with you.

Before I forget, invest in good freezer bags. Store important books and documents in them, and put multiple bags into a larger bag for redundancy. When I’ve backpacked or even traveled, I tend to pack everything I can in high-quality storage bags as caca occureth at the best of times. If something leaks in the luggage, if something leaks onto my luggage and it’s not as waterproof as claimed, or if it simply rains, my gear tends to stay dry and clean. FYI, I’ve been paranoid enough to augment the bags with wet-boxes of various types just to be safe, particularly with documents and copies of critical documents.

Now, let’s approach a potentially delicate matter. Consider what’s below as an intellectual exercise on creating a backup plan for your first few backup plans. This is not recommended for any reason other than as an intellectual exercise.

First up, if you’ve waited until the last possible minute and are doing the boogie, don’t stop for any reason until well past minimum safe distance. I don’t care if they are giving away free gold, ice cream, drugs, or anything else, it is not worth your life. Move out!

Now, once you are past minimum safe distance, and/or the disaster has occurred, and if you are relatively safe at the moment, you may want to plan to consider the possibility of breaking the law. Let the idiots loot the appliance stores and grab the televisions, if you loot anything, let it be a good hardware or camping store, and a pharmacy or doctor’s office.

Forget the junky’s dream, concentrate on what you need: the prescriptions for you and yours; local and other anesthetics along with basic surgical supplies such as scalpels, sutures, etc.; antibiotics; anti-diarrhea and anti-nausea medications; pre-natal items (Pro-tip: in disasters large and small, humans procreate and there is a boom in births about 9-10 months after. Be prepared); gabapentin and other non-narcotic pain meds; and, only if room and time, heavy-duty pain relief. If there are field medications, as in what you might find in a combat medic’s bag, grab those.

At a hardware or home supply, respirators and masks are a good start along with plastic, tape, and related. Camping and sporting goods, look for more filters for your water system and other gear that will help ensure your long-term survival.

Hopefully you will never need to even consider doing anything like this, as you have planned ahead and the civil authorities will have released stocks and done what is needed to help you deal with the disaster. However, it’s always good to have a backup plan to the first few backup plans and doing the above is just that: a mental exercise to create a backup plan that is hopefully well down the list even as an intellectual exercise.

I will say this as well. We’ve talked a bit before about the desirability to have a group of good people with whom to rally and/or bugout with at need. Consider that having a good GP, surgeon, surgical or similar nurse, EMT, former/current combat medic, or other competent medical professional as part of that group is a very, very, good idea. Have the chance to add such during a bugout? Take it and them.

Also, as you are doing the above purely intellectual exercise, consider the following as well. If the location of a doctor’s office or pharmacy is defensible and offers the needed levels of shelter for the situation, consider making it a temporary or long-term base. If there are people there, offer to help take on security and other duties and see if they are willing to partner or join in. If not, move on.

Moving on from purely intellectual exercises, stock up on the OTCs, and work the rest as you can. Just keep in mind that the health/medical supplies you have may be all you have for a very long time. Make your supplies both count and last.

Preparedness On The Fly Series

Preparedness On The Fly (Food)

Preparedness On The Fly: Water

Preparedness On The Fly: Light

Preparedness On The Fly: Cooking

Preparedness On The Fly: Gear

Preparedness On The Fly: Protection

Preparedness On The Fly: General Thoughts

Preparedness On The Fly II: Complete Nutrition I

Preparedness On The Fly II: Complete Nutrition II

Of Interest

Preparedness: Bugout!

Buying Your First Weapon

Start Of All Posts On Preparedness

Nuclear Overview

*****

If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, which include moving to the SW, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo or drop me a line to discuss other methods. Getting hit by lightning is not fun, and it is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.

Preparedness On The Fly II: Complete Nutrition II

If the site is slow loading or you’ve had trouble getting through, my apologies. We are experiencing growing pains as I move from regular blog to high-traffic blog. Working on it, feel free to hit the tip jar to help me keep going and upgrade the site. Your gifts truly do make the difference. Working on adding a mail-in option, others; if interested in mail-in for now drop me a line.

Picking up on yesterday, let’s consider what happens if you did get a year’s worth of wholesome food put away, but the year is about up. A similar situation is if you didn’t get a year’s worth of food put away and are having to scrounge or otherwise depend on outside sources of food. In all cases, the health of you and yours depends on getting the right amount of those 72 trace elements I mentioned yesterday, as well as the 9 essential proteins your body can’t make for itself.

The answer lies in supplements, which is to say vitamins, minerals, and other products that will help you get anything you miss in food. Yes, you can find supplements that claim to provide all you need for those 9 proteins, but it’s not really a good idea to bank on that. Supplements can, however, give you all those trace elements you need for health.

Trust me when I say that there are those out there who will cheerfully recommend any number of protein powders and supplements to replace meals. Some may even work for values of work. I will guarantee you that those recommending them, as well as the people who create/sell them, can and do make a lot of money off of them. Caveat Emptor!

There are a lot of supplements sold that claim many things, but those things may or may not be verified. There is more regulation than many will admit (more on that in a bit) but there are still some who may be peddling snake oil. My favorite is still the calcium supplement sold that did indeed have several hundred times the amount of calcium of any other supplement. Only thing was that it was a form of calcium that could not be absorbed by the body…

There are all sorts of supplements sold for any ailment or problem out there. Thing is, when you boil it down, any given supplement will only work for about a third the population. I’ve had doctors who took that fact and decided that supplements wouldn’t work period. Change doctors. Seriously. For me, I have tried a number of supplements over the years, and looked for results in bloodwork. No results, no more of that supplement. Currently, I take a couple of things that I am not sure really do much. But, my bloodwork right now is some of the best in my life, so neither my doctors nor I want to rock the boat so I continue to take them. That said, any stocking I may or may not do reflects what we know works versus what we are not completely sure works.

For survival, you really need to be focused on those things that provide you trace elements and other compounds you might not get from tight rations. Things I will recommend: a good multi-vitamin, Vitamin C, and Vitamin D.

A good multi-vitamin gives you most of those trace elements in the recommended daily amount. Go generic and you can get a multi-year supply for a reasonable amount. No, it’s not perfect but it gets you most of the way there. Yes, right now you are urinating most of it away. In a survival situation you likely won’t be. You will be glad to have it.

Why Vitamin C? Scurvy for one thing. In a true disaster, Vitamin C can end up in short supply in your food (or lack thereof), which can and will result in scurvy and other delights. Just ask the British Navy, who finally figured out that a lime a day kept the doctor away. Again, inexpensive and can prevent a number of health issues.

Why Vitamin D? You may or may not be getting much sun for a while in a nuclear war or similar disaster. Low D-levels have been found to be linked with a host of medical issues, and no one wants to see rickets and other delights return. Again, D3 is inexpensive and can prevent a number of other health issues.

What else do you need? You really need to sit down with your doctor to work that out. It’s times like these that I truly miss the sadly defunct Doctors for Disaster Preparedness. In the madness of the peaceniks towards the end of the Cold War, there were doctors who said it was immoral and just plain wrong to prepare for a nuclear war (or any other disaster). Thus was DDP born in counter, and it was a very good organization who’s members could and would help you prepare. If you trust your doctor, get with them and ask what you should look at getting and taking.

For example, I take a particular fish oil capsule because of the changes in my bloodwork once I started taking it. My cardiologist is not Miss Merry Supplement Supporter in some respects, so when she looked at the previous results, looked at the current results, and simply said “keep taking it!” I paid attention. It’s also one that I need to do a better job of stocking as it is expensive (by my standards). It is also dependent upon imports.

Which is another reason you want to stock up now. I think many Americans would be amazed at how many food items, supplements, and pharmaceuticals come in whole or in part from overseas. Particularly China, where the CCP are assholes. As I noted the other day, stock up now on items that are imported, like coffee, chocolate, and — in this case — supplements. Get them now and get several years worth of each for each person. Even if we miss having a nuclear war, there are other things afoot and you are quite likely to not just be glad to have them, you may well need them as much or more than for a nuclear war.

The other reason to stock up now is that the same people who brought you the useless and destructive lockdowns, ineffective masking, and so many other delights now want to regulate supplements. The initial goal is to expand FDA oversight (and when has that not creeped, or even galloped, into more regulation???) of supplements in order to protect consumer health and safety. That latter phrase is getting right up there with “it’s for the children” as a sign of bad legislation. What it is saying is that you are too stupid to research and choose wisely for yourself, that you need to depend on your betters to decide for you what you should take or when. There are already some in Congress who have indicated that they would like to see supplements not only more tightly regulated, but even turned into something that requires a prescription. Stock up now, and remember the first rule of Preparedness Club.

Do I wish I had more stocked up? Yep. Feel free to hit the tip jar, it would be very much appreciated. Do you need to stock up? My magic 8-ball says yes, might want to check yours.

By the way, if you aren’t comfortable talking with your doctor about supplements and preparedness, aside from considering a new doctor, look into talking with a different doctor, PA, or even a good nutritionist about what will work best for you.

Preparedness On The Fly Series

Preparedness On The Fly (Food)

Preparedness On The Fly: Water

Preparedness On The Fly: Light

Preparedness On The Fly: Cooking

Preparedness On The Fly: Gear

Preparedness On The Fly: Protection

Preparedness On The Fly: General Thoughts

Preparedness On The Fly II: Complete Nutrition I

Of Interest

Preparedness: Bugout!

Buying Your First Weapon

Start Of All Posts On Preparedness

Nuclear Overview

*****

If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, which include moving to the SW, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo or drop me a line to discuss other methods. Getting hit by lightning is not fun, and it is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.

Preparedness On The Fly II: Complete Nutrition I

If the site is slow loading or you’ve had trouble getting through, my apologies. We are experiencing growing pains as I move from regular blog to high-traffic blog. Working on it, feel free to hit the tip jar to help me keep going and upgrade the site. Your gifts truly do make the difference. Working on adding a mail-in option, GabPay, others; if interested in mail-in for now drop me a line.

Let’s face it. For most disasters, up to and including hurricanes and earthquakes, you really don’t need to be thinking a huge amount about nutrition. Between what you have stocked up in the pantry and any emergency rations you have on hand, odds are you are going to be able to eat balanced meals for the duration if you have prepared. After all, you have food, water, alternate lighting sources, and alternate cooking sources; plus, in most cases, you are talking restoration of power and such within about four weeks. Not always, but in general.

While weapons are the third rail for many discussions on preparedness, getting into nutrition and the disasters that need you to consider it is also one of those things that drives people away. After all, the government is there and will rescue you and any talk of any disaster that would require looking ahead for a year or more is just some sort of preparedness/survivalist/right-wing/libertarian/other fantasy/wet-dream. I wish it were.

While nuclear war is indeed one of those scenarios that means you need to be looking at a year or more of getting by on your own, it is not the only one. Modern logistics is built around the idea of “just in time” deliveries. Your local grocery no longer has a huge storage area in back because instead of every week (or longer), the truck(s) come 2 or more times a week. They don’t keep a week or more of X in stock because they only need to keep about two to three days worth on hand total. Smaller footprint, saves money, reduces inventory hassles and paperwork, and a few other things.

We depend on ships that use Bunker C or similar to get raw materials or products from overseas to the U.S. Then, we depend on rail for a large amount of transport, and guess what most locomotives use for fuel: diesel. That which is not transported by rail is transported by trucks, which again use diesel. Planes do carry a good bit, but it is rarely food or other items but rather finished products for the most part. It really is fascinating to look at the breakdown of what goes how, and when. Again, though, planes are dependent upon specialty fuel.

The thing is, we get the raw materials to plants where they become products. We get products and ship them to where they are needed, using one or more large distribution centers along the way. Some of these are not just one building, but huge warehouse complexes that depend on computers and automation to track and move the contents. Even more amazing is that in some of these complexes the contents can completely turn over in as little as a day in some cases. From the large centers things can go to smaller centers but quite often they go directly to the final destination.

The dance that is modern logistics truly is amazing. It is a very intricate mechanism, and the problem with intricate things is that it does not necessarily take much to jam them up. For example, automation and computers drive the system, much less make it possible to move the products. Without computers, hand-helds, and other systems, nothing moves. Loss of electricity, malware, and other delights, and nothing moves. Without diesel and other specialty fuels, there is no way to move the goods. For that matter, without the fertilizers (some key ones require oil to produce) there would be no crops, and without the specialty fuels there is no way to pick and prepare the crops, much less mine or otherwise produce raw materials. Given the system, if it goes down for a few days to a week, it could take months (or longer) to get it back up and running again. Just look at the continuing problems getting stock after the lockdowns as but one example.

To cut things short, there are a number of things that can happen that disrupt the logistics chain. Nuclear war, loss of fertilizer and such overseas, fuel problems (cough, diesel, cough), a transportation strike (cough, railroad strike, cough), or other disaster that impacts fuel, electricity, or the ability to move the products, and things can get interesting. Combine “normal” disasters (much less human stupidity, particularly political stupidity) into the mix, and things can get very interesting.

Which is why for advanced preparedness you need to have some basic knowledge of nutrition. That knowledge can help you prepare to ride out a longer-term disaster as best possible.

At the most basic, the human body needs about two liters of water a day (at rest, directly and from food) to survive, along with about 72 trace elements and 20 essential amino acids in about 1200-1400 calories a day (you can survive on less, 600-800, but not recommended if you can avoid it). Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins, as well as a good bit of the human body. Our body can actually produce 11 of the essential amino acids we need to survive and thrive, but we need to get the remaining nine through our diet.

Now, there are foods that contain complete proteins, that is they have all 9 of the essential amino acids needed by the body. When you eat fish, poultry, dairy, eggs, and meat you are getting complete proteins. In grains, quinoa is a complete protein.

You can also “mix and match” to get complete protein. For example, legumes with rice can do the job, but if you mix legumes, a veggie, and a grain, you can as well.

As I’ve noted before, just as there is no one magic list for preparedness, there is no one perfect recipe for nutrition. You have to find what works for you and any known dietary problems or needs. Now, when I say dietary problem I mean a diagnosed medical condition, not that you hate X, Y, or Z or avoid them because of virtue signaling. While I find low-carb works well for me right now, in an emergency I’m an omnivore and will eat whatever I have to ensure proper nutrition.

If you have the storage to do canned goods and the like for a full year, go for it. If you don’t, look at dried legumes, whole grains, and similar items that will have a long shelf life and not take up huge amounts of room. Keep in mind, however, that dried legumes can take a lot of processing and can’t be eaten raw. Most grains, however, can be eaten raw or moderately processed. Also, space being at a premium, keep in mind that the pouches of tuna are pretty much a meal for one — and if inside hunkered down you really may only need one meal a day.

Some other things to consider. There is a good argument to be made for getting canned tuna in oil, as you need a certain amount of fat to survive each day. I’ve also heard good arguments for tuna in water as that water will stretch out your water supply. I will also note that while six medium to large moths can get you the required amount of fat for a day, it’s much more pleasant to get that fat from other sources.

As for those 72 trace elements, stocking up on Himalayan pink salt can help as you need salt, and that salt has traces of about 60 or so of those trace elements. Every bit helps, and the more you get from food the less you have to come up with from elsewhere. Supplements may be a topic for tomorrow, especially since the lockdown crowd is now wanting government control over all supplements and to make them a prescription item.

The other thing you need to consider is gardening. Indoor, outdoor, whatever. Yes, you do need to look at doing this to ensure a supply of veggies as well as ensuring proper nutrition. Buy seeds now. Put them away. Remember how Michigan banned the sale of seeds during lockdown, so get them now and remember the first rule of preparedness club. You will be amazed at what a well-planned garden can provide you. Done inside under the right conditions, you can do at least some things year round.

Plan now. Buy now. Prepare now. Being prepared to garden when you can may make all the difference between squeaking by and doing okay in a disaster. Remember, Preparedness Always Pays!

Preparedness On The Fly Series

Preparedness On The Fly (Food)

Preparedness On The Fly: Water

Preparedness On The Fly: Light

Preparedness On The Fly: Cooking

Preparedness On The Fly: Gear

Preparedness On The Fly: Protection

Preparedness On The Fly: General Thoughts

Of Interest

Preparedness: Bugout!

Buying Your First Weapon

Start Of All Posts On Preparedness

Nuclear Overview

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If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, which include moving to the SW, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo or drop me a line to discuss other methods. Getting hit by lightning is not fun, and it is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.