Category: Contest

Reindustrialization After The Fall- Part 1, By Redneck Granddaddy

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Okay, the balloon went up, but you were prepared enough that two years later, you and your family are still alive at your retreat. Great! Right? Well, maybe. Let’s take inventory. Post-Balloon Evaluation Food Storage Your food in storage is about gone. You have been gardening for the last ten years and thought you were golden, but the first year wasn’t near big enough. The second year you went way big and plowed more land while the tractor still ran, but you didn’t have the seed or fertilizer. Still, you carried on with composting and seed saving, but most of …


Clarity of Mind and Survival- Part 2, by The Recovering Feminist

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This is the second part of an article that focuses on the reality of forgiveness in a person’s survival mindset. It is not approached from a psychological perspective but recognizes that having a clear and sharp mind is critical not only for making good survival decisions but for making good decisions in general. In part one, we covered how forgiveness is essential to survival, vengeance v. mercy, and the sexual assault epidemic, including the harm of the “me too” trend. Let’s continue on. Confront Evil Some of the worst acts of betrayal happen to those in positions of vulnerability who …


Clarity of Mind and Survival- Part 1, by The Recovering Feminist

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Survival and a Clear Mind Survival necessitates recognition of both outer and inner realities, both material and immaterial truth. We tend to think externally about survival. For instance, we think of addressing food storage, first-aid, efficiency, self defense, physical preparations, et cetera, but we fail to realize that all of these decisions are influenced first by a clear and sharp mind. We all have an inner life. Whether we acknowledge it or not, the inner life affects every decision we make. Harboring bitterness over past scorn or wallowing in the life experience of betrayal influences a person’s clarity of mind. …


Life Before SHTF Was a Problem But It’s Getting Worse, by Old Bobbert

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Okay, the title about life getting worse says it all. We need newer methods, procedures, styles, and formulas– stuff about problem solving. We need new ways to look at finding workable solutions to new people problems, new situations, new limitations, new responsibilities, and new rules of survival. And we, all of us, especially need new ways to maintain our sanity in the insane world of post-SHTF, and we need it in advance and in full measure. New Needs Yes, it is possible that you already have all these new needs in your fully stocked and tagged kitchen pantry. But I …


The Long View- Part 3, by J.M.

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I try to have a long view, one that is both near and far in perspective. We are in the final part of this article, taking a look at the preparations required for a long-term scenario, in the event of a major societal break down. This is part of my routine, as I evaluate my own preparations compared with risk assessments. We have looked at repairs, food, water, weapons, and medical topics in the previous two portions of this article. Now let’s move on to how we keep warm and prepare our food. Heating and Cooking If you don’t live …


The Long View- Part 2, by J.M.

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I try to have a long view, one that is both near and far in perspective. Whenever significant events occur, I do a quick review of my potential events risk analysis to see if anything’s changed that might impact how I’m prepared. In this article, I am taking a look at the preparations required for a long-term scenario, in the event of a major societal break down. We have covered the need for repairs and tools to make repairs, when items or parts and supplies won’t be easily replaced or shipped to us. Food (continued) Yesterday, we also covered a …


The Long View- Part 1, by J.M.

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I try to have a long view, one that is both near and far in perspective. Whenever significant events occur, I do a quick review of my potential events risk analysis to see if anything’s changed that might impact how I’m prepared. For example, when North Korea started acting up, I realized that I needed to do some additional preparations to handle potential nuclear and EMP events. At the start of every year I also do a deep-dive review to see if there’s anything I might need to re-consider or adjust. A Question During This Year’s Review During this year’s …


Apartment Dweller Prepping- Part 2, by AKM295

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When I relocated to the big city and moved into a shared apartment, I began to simultaneously look at prepping and consider how to make this work– living with others and trying to be prepared for a disaster. What I’ve Learned From Experience (continued) I’m writing about what I’ve learned over year’s of experience of living through power outages and disaster, including Hurricane Sandy. In covering topics for apartment dwellers, we have taken a look at storage, food, and water. Security When I was moving out from my childhood home, I tried to figure out how I could get my …


Apartment Dweller Prepping- Part 1, by AKM295

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Precious metals, dehydrated food, bug out cabins, and surplus everything are some of things that may spring to mind, thanks to pop culture and the media, when you mention prepping to someone who isn’t familiar with the topic. Those were the things that I thought of too, when I first began looking into how I could be more prepared for an emergency or disaster I might face back when I was fresh out of college. When I Moved To A Big City Back when I was a naive graduate who moved to a big city with student debt on my …


Planning, Training, and Exercising for “Bug Out”- Part 2, by Mr. E

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In part one of this article series, we looked at the reason for the three skills– planning, training, and exercising– for bugging out. This process is based on tried and true emergency management principles that are currently being used by both public and private institutions all across the nation. The benefit of this plan, train, exercise process is that it allows you and your group to take an all-hazards approach to preparing for a plethora of disasters and emergencies. Training Everyone On The Plan (continued) Yesterday, we completed the planning portion and just barely began the training portion of the …


Planning, Training, and Exercising for “Bug Out”- Part 1, by Mr. E

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Many of us, myself included, have been guilty of fantasizing about what we would do during a scenario where we would want to “bug out”. It is easy to say things like, “My plan is to grab my go bag, my family, and run for the the hills.” For others, it is easy to imagine ourselves traversing chaotic streets with a group of our most trusted friends, loaded to the teeth with weaponry, battling our way to our off the grid location. While no doubt these daydreams can be interesting to entertain, it is important we take a holistic and …


A Realistic Assessment of Epidemic Disease After TEOTWAWKI- Part 2, by Dr. DMC

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As we learned yesterday, malaria, like so many other important epidemic illnesses, is a disease of poverty. The poverty we refer to here implies poor housing, poor nutrition, unsanitary and crowded living conditions, and most important, bad water. Remember that the mosquitoes that spread malaria are still around. If America’s high standard of living is destroyed, people will be exposed to the mosquito again, and with time, the parasite will find its way back into the U.S. Malaria is not the only disease to consider either. We have already looked at upper respiratory infections, including influenza (flu), and measles. Today, …


A Realistic Assessment of Epidemic Disease After TEOTWAWKI- Part 1, by Dr. DMC

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Malaria In 1850, malaria occurred throughout the entire region of what is now the lower 48 states, with the exception of some of the higher altitudes of the Rocky and Appalachian mountains. It sickened and killed thousands of the pioneers moving westward, even though the type of malaria most common in the country tended not to be the most fatal form of the disease. Today, malaria is so uncommon that American physicians often fail to recognize the rare cases seen in travelers or immigrants. Cases are rare, and deaths are even rarer. Perhaps surprisingly, the mosquitoes that can spread the …


2018– The Decisive Year, by R.M.

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It is my wholehearted opinion that the year 2018 will become the decisive year for the future of life on this planet. Culminating in an all-out nuclear war at worst, or ground war at best. Things as they stand are untenable for much longer. I am not advocating one position or plan over the other with this brief writing and I am not stating that violence or harming others should be considered. I am merely offering a wide variety of situations and possibilities to bring about different thoughts and ideas. Long Gone is Political Leaders’ Desire to Promote Public Good …


Making a Storehouse Moths Can’t Eat Away, by RAD

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There is no time like the present to start storing up sustenance for that “just in case” scenario. In these uncertain times, when civil unrest can explode at the drop of an offensive phrase and natural disasters can strike at any moment, not to mention the threats of terrorism and possibility of war, it is a good time to ask yourself some questions. Are you prepared to withstand days, weeks, or even months without a source of food or water? Do you understand what could happen if, let’s say, a power grid is destroyed? Do you know how long a …