Category: Contest

Traveling to Your Safe Haven During a WROL Event- Part 1, by E.P.

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This article will provide general guidance and a few specific examples on getting your team to your safe haven destination during a “Without Rule of Law” (WROL) event in one piece. I am an engineer and a lawyer by trade. In my 20+ years of prepping, I have come across few fellow preppers with a well thought out plan for traveling to their bug out location during a WROL event. I have an important note at the outset. With respect to all of the comments below, it is assumed a WROL event has occurred. Most of us are well on …


A Maslow-Like Hierarchy of Survival, by I. M. Learning

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Maslow’s Hierarchy details the steps a person needs to achieve to be able to function at a level of success. Food and Water The first step is ensuring a supply of food and water. Any newbie to prepping is at least aware of this in the basic sense. But how much food and how much water is necessary? Where do you put it? How do you keep the food usable and the water available and potable? Twenty-Five Year Food Buckets I started out, as I’m sure many new to prepping do, buying 25-year food buckets. I’m not saying that isn’t …


PGP for Preppers- Part 2, by Groundhog Gravy

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We should be especially careful when communicating electronically: it’s little more than trivial for a government, a corporation, or even a couple of well-equipped criminals to intercept phone calls, emails, or text messages. This article explains how to use simple, secure tools that do only encryption and do it right. These are based upon a tool that is significantly better than the name suggests, Pretty Good Privacy (PGP), and offers excellent communications security for preppers. Part 1 covered PGP and how it is used. Now, we are continuing. Setting an Expiration Date Now that you have created a key, there …


PGP for Preppers- Part 1, by Groundhog Gravy

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Introduction We all have a need for private communication. Whether it’s details of our preparations that we want to share with others in a group, discussing tactics, carrying on trade, or any of a hundred other matters, we should be concerned about keeping our communication private. We should be especially careful when communicating electronically: it’s little more than trivial for a government, a corporation, or even a couple of well-equipped criminals to intercept phone calls, emails, or text messages. We can use encryption, which transforms data into a form that can only be read with a secret key, to help …


The Rules of Engagement: Meet PTSD- Part 2, by Autistic Prepper

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Illness Triggers High fevers can also trigger flashbacks. During a bad bout of flu, H’s temperature soared to 105 degrees, and he went back to the hospital where he was treated for peritonitis after being shot. Sometimes medical treatment in Vietnam had to be improvised. H was placed in a tub of ice, which burned like fire but did lower his temperature. Now, in the present, he looked at me with beseeching eyes and begged me not to put him in the ice. I promised I wouldn’t. Hyper-Vigilance: Once Learned, Never Forgotten Hyper-vigilance, or hyper-alertness, is also common. People who …


The Rules of Engagement: Meet PTSD- Part 1, by Autistic Prepper

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PTSD is an acronym thrown around quite a bit. Principally, this mental diagnosis term of posttraumatic stress disorder was assigned beginning in the early 1980s, primarily to those who had experienced traumatic events, such as war. Let’s meet PTSD and talk about the rules of engagement surrounding it and those who carry its burden. Why I Wrote An Article A while back I wrote an article about adult autism, an issue I’d never seen addressed in prepping literature. A perceptive reader wondered what the condition had to do with prepping. It is relevant for two reasons. First, it’s a reminder …


Essential Survival Skills You Should Learn, by B.T.

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Life is a game of survival. Everything is possible. Anything can happen. Preparation is the key, but what if you are struck unaware? What if you are left with nothing but the clothes on your back and a flashlight? Getting lost in the wilderness or being stranded on an island can be tough, but you will live if you have the will and courage to tackle the unknown and make do with what’s in front of you. The Art of Survival When it comes to events of a catastrophic scale, there’s nothing more important than staying alive and focusing on …


VA Nightmares and Real Resources of Hope for Veterans- Part 2, by Informed Consent

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This article is written to expose the broken VA system and provide a forum for veterans to share their story in the comments. Furthermore, at the end of this article, I will share information and resources for alternatives to the VA system. Let’s continue. Grumpy-Pants Who Do Not Care About Veterans I’m sure there are some grumpy-pants who do not care about veterans reading this article. I probably won’t be able to change your mind. Perhaps your heart runs cold and your eyes are scaled over. Or, perhaps you are someone who has illogically made the conclusion that all veterans …


VA Nightmares and Real Resources of Hope for Veterans- Part 1, by Informed Consent

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In honor of Memorial Day, I thought it fitting to expose the broken Veterans Administration (VA) system to those who are not aware. This is not a sob story or victim card lecture. It is simply sharing the reality of the current VA system and the consequences of such on real lives. Most veterans will have no problem accepting the premise of this paper. However, some still believe that the VA is the ultimate savior, when it comes to their failing health. Oh, and the VA money, well, that money seems to come with strings attached, doesn’t it? “Nothing is …


How To Safely Heat With Wood, by W.S.

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Let’s talk about how to safely heat with wood. I’ve been in the alternative heating business for more than 15 years. During that time, I’ve put heaters in remote tiny houses, large cabins, barns, and even a geodome! Winter is Coming – Plan Now Winter is coming. Please plan now, if you are not ready or if you need to make some revisions to your heating configuration. This year, most of the country was hammered with harsh winter storms. Make sure to plan now. The Wood Stove Just as the foundation of a home is what everything is built on, …


Remain Anonymous Online and Protect Information- Part 2, by Contributor

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I’m going to show you how you can remain anonymous online and protect information and communications. We have already gone through the purchase of a computer and its setup as well as establishing a virtual private network (VPN) and virtual machines. Now, let’s continue on our journey for online anonymity. Firefox Don’t forget to have your VPN up and running as you continue to setup your virtual machine (VM). Now, download and install Firefox from mozilla.org. Open the Options and go to Privacy and Security. Under History, set it to Never remember history, and restart the browser. You’ll probably be …


Remain Anonymous Online and Protect Information- Part 1, by Contributor

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Would you like to remain anonymous while online? Would you like to protect your communications and information? Well, I’m going to show you how you can accomplish this. This is intended to be a comprehensive, full paranoid guide. So use everything or just some to get the protection you deem appropriate. It might be best to read through this guide, determine everything you’ll need, and then go step by step. At the end, I’ve provided some resources for additional help, if this doesn’t provide enough in-depth guidance. Start From Nothing, Remove Everything Let’s start from nothing. You need a computer, …


Hitchhiking After SHTF, by J.B.

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Many of us have spent a lot of time thinking about how we would get home if things hit the fan while we are away from home, and hitchhiking hasn’t been on top of the list. The majority of us would have our vehicle there to hopefully drive ourselves back. What many people have not spent much time thinking about is how they would get home if the car wouldn’t start, if the car broke down on the way home, or if you had flown to a location and can’t get a flight back. I want to share my experiences …


Homesteading or Prepping with Very Little Money- Part 2, by M.C.

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Now that you have begun your prepping with very little money to buy the basic survival rations, let’s make your food a little more varied and palatable. You may be surprised how you can do this. Edible Weeds Go to the library and find a book on the edible weeds in your area. Collect them, and dry them. You can use a window screen to dry them on, after spraying it with water to remove dust and debris and allowing it to dry. Those dried weeds will add flavor and nutrition to your meals. Some, like Lambs Quarters which grows …


Homesteading or Prepping with Very Little Money- Part 1, by M.C.

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I’ll readily admit it; I’m a prepper, survivalist, homesteader, or whatever the current term is for someone who wants to be sure in an emergency that I can take care of myself and family. That to me is much better than standing by wringing my hands in the hope that FEMA can get to me with provisions before I (or worse yet– my husband, children, or grandchildren) starve to death. The Words “Prepper” or “Survivalist” I know for some of you, the words “prepper” or “survivalist” may bring visions of Doomsday Preppers with the fall-out shelters, bug out buses complete …