Letter Re: Pre- and Post-SHTF Vehicle Operations and Preparation

Hugh,

Thanks to C.C.K. for the great article on convoys. It’s great to hear from the voice of experience. One item I have not seen addressed in the various SurvivalBlog submittals on post-SHTF convoys is ideas on responding to vehicles who might want to join your convoy. I suspect that a well-equipped and organized convoy is going to be fairly easy to pick out for many people. Similar to signing up to join the old wagon trains across the west, because there is an experienced guide (you hope) and safety in numbers, in many scenarios there are likely going to be other vehicles that want to join your SHTF convoy. How do you respond to Honda Accord with a family of four clearly following your convoy for 5, 10, 20 miles down the road? How do you respond when you must stop to refuel and that Accord parks behind your last vehicle and someone exits the car and approaches your group? What do you do if that family of four appears to be decent honest folks and they ask to join your convoy for as long as your pathways intersect? What do you do if you tell them they can’t join your convoy but they continue to follow you anyway? At this stage in my preps, I personally have a destination to bug out to but no like-minded group of people to travel with. So, if the balloon goes up and any of you all see a well-equipped, all-wheel drive Toyota Sienna mini-van cautiously approaching your convoy, please keep the firearms on safe until we have a chance to talk. – SB

Odds ‘n Sods:

JWR’s Recommendation: For anyone who would like a glimpse of what a modern civil war looks like, then look no further than the lengthy VICE News series of Russian Roulette news reports from The Ukraine. If you have enough time, start with Dispatch #1, and watch over the course of these 70 reports how things fall apart, in slow motion: starting with shouting, protests, and flag burning and slowly progressing to tense standoffs and then full-blown civil war. Take this opportunity to closely observe the weapons, field gear, uniforms, commo procedures, and tactics. Some of the bumbling “volunteers” with no military experience look comical, but the situation is deadly serious. It is noteworthy that one of the American reporters for VICE News, who speaks fluent Russian (Simon Ostrovsky), was detained and tortured by the pro-Russian separatists and was greatly in fear for his life. Later revelations of mass executions from the same timeframe confirmed that his fear was well-founded. WARNING: Some of the “gore of war” in these news reports is quite graphic and not suitable for children!

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11 Shocking Facts About America’s Militarized Police Forces. – H.L.

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Here’s an excellent interactive tool showing exactly where the military’s surplus gear is going. You might be surprised to find out how much of it is in the hands of your local law enforcement. The data is broken down by county. Mapping the Spread of the Military’s Surplus Gear. – T.P.

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Homeland Security Predicts Rise of ‘Anti-Government’ Violence – P.M.

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Washington DC Votes to Continue Militarization of American Police. – B.B.

Hugh’s Quote of the Day:

“For the Lord your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward: 18 he doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment.” Deutoronomy 10:17-18 (KJV)

Notes for Friday – August 15, 2014

Today, we present another entry for Round 54 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $12,400+ worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course (a $1,195 value),
  2. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  3. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper with a hammer forged, chromlined barrel and a hardcase to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR type rifle to have quick change barrel which can be assembled in less then 1 minute without the use of any tools and a compact carry capability in a hard case or 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
  4. Gun Mag Warehouseis providing 30 DMPS AR-15 .223/5.56 30 Round Gray Mil Spec w/ Magpul Follower Magazines (a value of $448.95) and a Gun Mag Warehouse T-Shirt. An equivalent prize will be awarded for residents in states with magazine restrictions.
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $300 gift certificate from CJL Enterprize, for any of their military surplus gear,
  7. A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $300 value),
  8. A $300 gift certificate from Freeze Dry Guy,
  9. A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo,
  10. A roll of $10 face value in pre-1965 U.S. 90% silver quarters, courtesy of GoldAndSilverOnline.com, (currently valued at around $180 postpaid),
  11. Both VPN tunnel and DigitalSafe annual subscriptions from Privacy Abroad (a combined value of $195),
  12. KellyKettleUSA.com is donating both an AquaBrick water filtration kit and a Stainless Medium Scout Kelly Kettle Complete Kit with a combined retail value of $304,
  13. TexasgiBrass.com is providing a $300 gift certificate.

Second Prize:

  1. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  2. A FloJak EarthStraw “Code Red” 100-foot well pump system (a $500 value), courtesy of FloJak.com,
  3. Acorn Supplies is donating a Deluxe Food Storage Survival Kit with a retail value of $350,
  4. The Ark Instituteis donating a non-GMO, non-hybrid vegetable seed package–enough for two families of four, seed storage materials, a CD-ROM of Geri Guidetti’s book “Build Your Ark! How to Prepare for Self Reliance in Uncertain Times”, and two bottles of Potassium Iodate– a $325 retail value,
  5. $300 worth of ammo from Patriot Firearms and Munitions. (They also offer a 10% discount for all SurvivalBlog readers with coupon code SVB10P),
  6. A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials,
  7. Twenty Five books, of the winners choice, of any books published by PrepperPress.com (a $270 value),
  8. Two cases of meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value),
  9. Dri-Harvestfoods.com in Bozeman, Montana is providing a prize bundle with Beans, Buttermilk Powder, Montana Hard Red Wheat, Drink Mixes, and White Rice, valued at $333,
  10. TexasgiBrass.com is providing a $150 gift certificate,
  11. Organized Prepper is providing a $500 gift certificate, and
  12. RepackBoxis providing a $300 gift certificate to their site.

Third Prize:

  1. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
  3. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security,
  5. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances,
  6. Ambra Le Roy Medical Products in North Carolina is donating a bundle of their traditional wound care and first aid supplies, with a value of $208, and
  7. APEX Gun Parts is donating a $250 purchase credit, and
  8. SurvivalBased.com is donating a $500 gift certificate to their store.
  9. Montie Gearis donating a Y-Shot Slingshot and a Locking Rifle Rack. (a $379 value).

Round 54 ends on September 30st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Saving Your Marriage for the End of the World – Part III, by Cottage Mom

This is the final portion of the three-part article, outlining ways to embark on a prepping journey with a prepping-adverse spouse. The list of suggestions continues below:

  1. Use Current Events as a Springboard for Purchases

    Many non-preppers don’t give much thought to the future, and they only see the need to prepare while they are in the eye of the storm. Use mini-emergencies or news stories to support purchases and advanced preparation.

    That latest tornado warning is a reason to get a weather radio. The cell tower outage is a reason to develop a family communication plan. The energy tax credit is a reason to convert your fireplace to an efficient wood-burning insert. The crime committed in your town is a reason to purchase a firearm. The Northeast Blackout of 2003 is a reason to do a host of preparatory activities.

    There are so many dire events from those in your neighborhood to those across the globe (refugees in Ukraine), it should be fairly easy to use these as a justification to obtain a few preparatory items.

  2. Avoid the Chief Oddball Prepping Activities for Now

    There are about three prepping categories that cause most mainstream spouses to freak out, and it behooves you to lie low and take other territory before you attempt them. It is not that you will never attempt these but rather postpone them, until you can get your spouse’s enthusiastic agreement.

    1. Storing Large Quantities of Food, Supplies, Recyclables

      • Buying a box of eight cans of corn at a big box store would not be considered crazy by most people. However, having to rotate a year’s supply of canned corn would.
      • Storing large quantities of water in drums or 2-liter bottles in case the world blows up would be considered extreme. However, putting in a swimming pool for the kids, or installing a rainwater collection barrel for the garden, which would subsequently provide an alternate supply of water, would not.
      • Stocking several 5-gallon buckets with quantities of grains would be considered extreme; however, learning to make your own bread and subsequently buying a large sack of grain to grind yourself for maximum health would be considered wholesome. Then, after bugs or mice get into your large sack of grain, that would be an opportune time to explain the need for a few plastic buckets to prevent that from happening again. What has been accomplished in this example is that your spouse had the opportunity to experientially perceive the rationale for why buckets of grain are not weird or crazy.
    2. Buying Multiple Firearms, Ammo, Military Gear, and Playing War Games.

      Most mainstream-groomed people have been conditioned to believe guns are bad and so are the people who own them. Most people, however, do not look sideways at playing recreational paintball, laser tag, or other target-oriented games, like archery. Instead of imposing a firearm on one’s reactionary spouse, begin introducing the idea of “guns” innocuously. Start by playing darts as family fun. Even darts will develop a certain level of aiming skill and coordination that can transfer to other self-defense skills.

      As alternatives:

      • Explore archery as a family.
      • Invest in a quality air gun for backyard target practice—which is even considered, by some, to be better firearms practice than using a firearm with live ammo at a range.
      • Store your recreation equipment—even the darts—responsibly in order to inspire trust/reduce fear of accidents for your spouse. Gradually get your spouse used to gun-looking objects and activities before approaching him/her about acquiring a real gun.
      • If you have boys (but even girls will love this), you have a perfect opportunity to play with them using military-style games in the yard. For a fun birthday party, set up an obstacle course and dress them in camo, complete with face paint. Keep it light and fun. For example, have them fill water bottles and clip them to a vest or belt; make a plank bridge crossing over a kiddie pool with toy alligators in it. Have them crawl through a cardboard box with plastic spiders and synthetic webbing. At the end of the course, they can eat real MRE’s or freeze-dried camping food out of a pouch. Not only will this “fun” lay the foundation for your children to develop self-defense skills, it will also gradually desensitize your spouse to his/her aversion to self-defense and survival training.
      • Gradually increase awareness about self-defense in your family by purchasing everyone a personal canister of pepper spray, and perhaps enrolling in a self-defense class or gun safety course.
      • Read real life stories to your spouse where someone averted violence through the prudent use of a firearm and see how your spouse reacts. Carefully plant seeds of truth about firearms to gradually undo the mainstream conditioning that “guns are evil.”
      • In purchasing your family’s first firearm, subtlety is key. Instead of trying to acquire an arsenal for the end of the world, begin with one firearm purchase for one specific purpose. If you are a man, you can generally begin hunting without raising any eyebrows; most wives will tolerate their husbands need for this sort of “man-time.” As a woman, most men will generally support a wife’s desire to protect herself and train with a personal firearm.
      • If you or your spouse has any anger management issues at all, you must resolve them, and then have a long track record of self-control prior to bringing a firearm into your lives.
    3. Scaring Your Spouse with Tales of Doom, Bugging Out, and Relocation.

      I made this mistake when I first learned of the survivalist movement. It was during the economic collapse of 2008, and our family business had been low on work. As I began sharing dire stories and the strategies to protect us (my method of dealing proactively with our situation), my spouse could not handle the depressing emotions these stories conjured. I discovered just how differently my spouse is wired from me, and if I wanted to be wise, I had to be sensitive to my spouse’s unique psyche and needs. What my spouse needed most were spiritual encouragement, optimism, and fun distractions. I decided to keep my prepping mentality to myself, but I did all the prepper things I could that would not upset my spouse in any way. We still had health insurance, so I got the whole family up to date on all their exams. I completed dental work I had been putting off. I began exercising, which really delighted my spouse. I kept a larger amount of cash in a drawer my spouse could draw from instead of going to the ATM, and this had a side benefit of saving time and reducing ATM fees.

      In addition to prepping in plain sight in the ways I could without causing negativity in my spouse, I also supported my spouse in the manner my spouse needed support. I didn’t embarrass my spouse. As our finances improved, I purchased various supplies with my spouse’s approval. Several brief power outages created an opportunity for discussion and resulted in getting a generator for our business that would also supply our home with emergency power. I set a goal to have a year’s worth of non-perishable consumables in our home, which meant we saved money, trips to the store, and we no longer ran out of soap, toothpaste, cleaning supplies, et cetera, and would come in handy should the SHTF.

  3. Fly Under the Radar for Some Prepping

    Don’t underestimate the power of little-by-little accumulations. There are some prepping activities you can do on the down-low, which your spouse doesn’t need to be an active partner or give specific approval. Do you desire to purchase extra batteries, fish antibiotics, sewing thread, or a roll of duct tape? Did you find a good deal at a garage sale for something you can quietly stow away? Does your spouse really need to participate in these purchases? While I don’t approve of keeping secrets from one’s spouse, in most households every purchase is not scrutinized, and there is leeway to accumulate small but valuable preps. If your spouse does scrutinize every dime, negotiate a monthly sum for your own discretionary spending; the money will be budgeted for, but you will have a measure of spending freedom as well.

  4. Find Like-Minded Friends

    Accept that your spouse may never come on board the way you would hope, and locate a few others who are supportive and can prep along with you. This can relieve some of the pressure and expectations you have for your spouse and give you a chance to share your excitement with someone else.

    Warning: Of course you must guard against crossing any romantic lines with another prepper.

  5. Objection

    I can hear the urgency in your thoughts: “But I don’t have any time to waste in getting ready! I need to protect my family now, whether or not it causes marital strife. I think I should prep now and get forgiveness later.” Again, review the list of all the ways to prepare that most likely will not cause marital strife. There is a lot that can be accomplished that will not jeopardize your marriage.

    Love is patient. It can take time for someone to undergo a sea change in their views on prepping, but it will happen in most cases if you proceed wisely. If you forgo the Queen Esther route, however, you may never be able to undo the damage you cause.

  6. My Own Experience

    These principles work! Here are some ways that my non-prepper spouse prepped without even knowing it:

    • We installed an above ground pool. This benefited our family in four ways– exercise and enhanced swimming skills; a large, alternate source of water; family fun and bonding time; and the potential to raise fish as a food source.
    • We drink spring water we get from a delivery service. In addition to our pool water, which can be used for hygiene or purified for drinking, our water delivery cycle allows us to have 25 gallons of readily-dispensable drinking water on hand at all times, plus it is regularly rotated.
    • Since my spouse loves technology, he installed security systems and purchased a hardened laptop for me that I stored my gathered survival information on.
    • My spouse takes pride in upgrading our household systems to be as energy efficient as possible. I assist by doing research and price shopping.
    • Since I encourage his areas of interest, he does not mind my accumulation of kitchen items– grain grinder, dehydrator, and more. I also put these items on my gift lists.
    • We used to be just-in-time shoppers, but then I began shopping at big box stores “in order to save time and keep us from running out of consumables,” which also conveniently serves my TEOTWAWKI ends as well. My spouse raised his eyebrows at first but now is used to seeing big box quantities of toilet paper, garbage bags, and the like. As long as I keep it organized, he doesn’t mind, and he appreciates not having to make emergency trips to the store.
    • Because our income is unpredictable, I made a case for storing a year’s worth of consumables as another version of a savings account. When income is coming in, I replenish and rotate what we use from our storage; when our income stalls, we draw from our storage without replenishing and radically reduce our monthly spending without impacting our comfort level. Since we have a supply on hand, I can wait until there is a sale to buy them.
    • I explained the concept of food insurance to my spouse. (It’s like life insurance, except that you actually get benefit from it when you eat it.) While he still rolls his eyes at me, he lets me do my thing. As long as it is in the budget, I can purchase any food supplies I want.
    • The biggest success, which occurred through providence, is that we actually bought some acreage to “play” on, but for me, it doubles as our survival retreat and bug out location, should the need arise.
    • Bees and chickens are in our future! I’m not sure what prompted it, but he actually suggested these to me!
  7. Stay in Faith

    One of the biggest marvels that occurred completely independent of my actions was that the Lord put a mentor in my spouse’s life that is also a prepper. It was one of the ways the Lord answered my unskilled prayers. Through the input of this friend, my spouse has been mentored in firearms and even became interested in gardening. The things that my spouse would deem crazy, if I were to suggest them, are thoughtfully weighed when they come from this friend.

    If you and I stay in faith, the Lord will answer our prayers, and even supply what we didn’t think to ask. No matter how we prepare, we will have to rely on God to survive should the SHTF. We might as well get into practice now in seeing God’s hand move.

  8. Keep Life Happy Right Now

    No matter how prepped up any of us are, we cannot be prepared or saved from every contingency. Do not be so apocalypse-sighted that you neglect joy in the now. Being as serious as a heart attack all day long violates the scriptures: “Rejoice in the Lord always,” and “a cheerful heart is a good medicine.” Again, if you are creative, you can and should dovetail prepping with having fun—baking in a solar oven or making homemade ice cream is fun but also practices valuable skills. Prepping should make your life better in the long run, not worse.

    Life is short as it is; so take time to have good times. Play, and be playful. Make your prep-adverse spouse’s life as sweet as you can make it. Take family vacations; enjoy dinner dates; buy toys for your kids; plant some flowers along with your vegetable garden; lie on a hammock and watch the clouds go by. Consider a day without laughter a day that has been wasted. It is these good times that make survival worthwhile in the first place.

As much as it depends upon you, make your spouse’s life beautiful.

Letter: “Be Smart Get Prepared” First Aid Kit

Hugh,

Scot’s review made me decide to review what I carry in my car trunk– the Be Smart Get Prepared First Aid Kit sold by Sam’s Club. It was designed as a kit for a small office and meets OSHA and ANSI requirements for such use. The cost is $19.98, so it is less expensive than the Chinook MinimalistPak, even though it is larger.

The Be Smart kit comes in a sturdy plastic case with a rubber gasket around where the lid meets the case. It appears this was intended to make the case waterproof when closed, but the tolerances are not good enough to give me confidence in how watertight it is. None the less the case is good enough to keep the contents dry in the rain while removing it from my car trunk. The case has spare compartments, which allow me to easily supplement the contents. The size is large enough to allow me to include a printed copy of our local County’s Emergency Guide, a small flashlight, a small Swiss Army Knife, and supplemental first-aid items (see below).

Contents include:

  • 21 antiseptic towelettes
  • 36 alcohol prep pads
  • 6 sting relief pads
  • 6 antibiotic ointment packets
  • 6 burn cream ointments
  • 10 antacid tablets
  • 10 aspirin tablets
  • 10 non-aspirin tablets
  • 1 instant cold compress 6″ x 9″
  • 1 English First Aid guide
  • 1 Spanish First Aid guide
  • 20 adhesive bandages 1″ x 3″
  • 50 adhesive bandages 3/8″ x 1-1/2″
  • 60 adhesive bandages 3″ x 3/4″
  • 10 butterfly closures bandages
  • 18 wound closure strips 1/4″ x 1-1/2″
  • 2 gauze rolls 2″ x 4.1 yds.
  • 2 eye pads
  • 8 sterile gauze pads 2″ x 2″
  • 4 sterile gauze pads 4″ x 4″
  • 1 sterile trauma pad 5″ x 9″
  • 30 cotton tip applicators
  • 1 adhesive tape roll 1″ x 5 yds.
  • 5 finger splints
  • 1 triangular bandage 40″ x 40″ x 56″
  • 1 tweezer
  • 1 metal scissor
  • 4 examination gloves

It does not include the Emergency/Survival Blanket, Elastic Bandage Wrap, Flat Duct Tape, Burn Jel, Moleskin, Non-Adherent Dressing, Povidone-Iodine Prep Pad, Anti-diarrheal, or Oral Rehydration Salts that the Chinook MinimalistPak contains but has larger quantities of many other items, since it was designed as an office kit. It contains alcohol prep pads, sting relief pads, burn cream ointments, instant cold compress 6″ x 9″, eye pads, cotton tip applicators, adhesive tape roll 1″ x 5 yds., finger splints, and triangular bandage 40″ x 40″ x 56″, not found in the Chinook MinimalistPak.

The contents of the kit are individually packed in heat-sealed sterile packets, which are in turn organized in plastic compartments in two layers inside the sturdy plastic case. There were enough empty compartments that I was able to put some medicines including anti-diarrheal from our supply at home into tiny zip-lock bags and add them to the kit. I also added a few sizes of Telfa non-stick pads.

As a car first-aid kit thrown in the trunk, I prefer the solid plastic case over soft zipper bags for protection of the contents. I also appreciate the many internal compartments, which keep things organized.

Like the Chinook MinimalistPak, the items with expiration dates had dates reasonably far in the future. – RAR

HJL Replies: Thanks for the review of that kit. As an EMT-B, I find most kits are okay for small scrapes and cuts, but they’re practically useless when dealing with trauma. I used to carry and depend upon a small belt first aid kit that was a bit bulky on the belt but was easy to throw in the car under the seat or in a backpack. I still carry that same kit, as it has cool tools and small packs of antispetic and bandages. However, I will never forget the first time I stopped at a motorcycle accident to render help. I stood there like a fool with my neat little first aid kit wondering what I had to stop the massive bleeding from the rider’s head. I ended up using a small blanket I had in the truck, but I swore I would never be caught flat footed again. The kits are a nice starting point, but none of them have enough gauze or bandage wrap in them. I now carry copious amounts of rolled gauze and 4×4 squares as an addition to any kit I use. You can even turn your old bed sheets into useful bandages by ripping them into 4” wide strips and rolling them. Also, be careful of the 3M elastic, self stick bandage rolls (or similar non-adhesive bandages). The heat of a car and age can make it near impossible to unwrap these rolls in a hurry.

Odds ‘n Sods:

The United States is not the only country facing severe issues from drought: Brazil’s biggest city faces rationing amid drought – H.L.

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Video: Study: You Have ‘Near-Zero’ Impact on U.S. Policy. – D.D.

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Doctors refuse to treat Obamacare patients, say they can’t afford to. – J.W.

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Massachusetts governor signs law tightening state gun rules – H.L.

There are fewer and fewer states in the Northeast or Mid-Atlantic that give a darn about our 2nd Amendment Rights. Time to MOVE away!

JWR’s Comment: The fertile mind of Philip K. Dick anticipated this sort of law enforcement, and he voiced a warning in his novel Minority Report.

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In the latest attempt to make your head explode, the feds once again show how little they care for their own borders. Feds Buy Border Fence … for Ukraine – B.B.

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Don’t forget the Safecastle sale going on right now. Save 31-51% on Mountain House cans and 20% on Berkey Water Filters!

Notes for Thursday – August 14, 2014

August 14, 1945 was V-J Day.

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Today, we present another entry for Round 54 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $12,400+ worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course (a $1,195 value),
  2. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  3. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper with a hammer forged, chromlined barrel and a hardcase to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR type rifle to have quick change barrel which can be assembled in less then 1 minute without the use of any tools and a compact carry capability in a hard case or 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
  4. Gun Mag Warehouseis providing 30 DMPS AR-15 .223/5.56 30 Round Gray Mil Spec w/ Magpul Follower Magazines (a value of $448.95) and a Gun Mag Warehouse T-Shirt. An equivalent prize will be awarded for residents in states with magazine restrictions.
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $300 gift certificate from CJL Enterprize, for any of their military surplus gear,
  7. A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $300 value),
  8. A $300 gift certificate from Freeze Dry Guy,
  9. A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo,
  10. A roll of $10 face value in pre-1965 U.S. 90% silver quarters, courtesy of GoldAndSilverOnline.com, (currently valued at around $180 postpaid),
  11. Both VPN tunnel and DigitalSafe annual subscriptions from Privacy Abroad (a combined value of $195),
  12. KellyKettleUSA.com is donating both an AquaBrick water filtration kit and a Stainless Medium Scout Kelly Kettle Complete Kit with a combined retail value of $304,
  13. TexasgiBrass.com is providing a $300 gift certificate.

Second Prize:

  1. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  2. A FloJak EarthStraw “Code Red” 100-foot well pump system (a $500 value), courtesy of FloJak.com,
  3. Acorn Supplies is donating a Deluxe Food Storage Survival Kit with a retail value of $350,
  4. The Ark Instituteis donating a non-GMO, non-hybrid vegetable seed package–enough for two families of four, seed storage materials, a CD-ROM of Geri Guidetti’s book “Build Your Ark! How to Prepare for Self Reliance in Uncertain Times”, and two bottles of Potassium Iodate– a $325 retail value,
  5. $300 worth of ammo from Patriot Firearms and Munitions. (They also offer a 10% discount for all SurvivalBlog readers with coupon code SVB10P),
  6. A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials,
  7. Twenty Five books, of the winners choice, of any books published by PrepperPress.com (a $270 value),
  8. Two cases of meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value),
  9. Dri-Harvestfoods.com in Bozeman, Montana is providing a prize bundle with Beans, Buttermilk Powder, Montana Hard Red Wheat, Drink Mixes, and White Rice, valued at $333,
  10. TexasgiBrass.com is providing a $150 gift certificate,
  11. Organized Prepper is providing a $500 gift certificate, and
  12. RepackBoxis providing a $300 gift certificate to their site.

Third Prize:

  1. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
  3. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security,
  5. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances,
  6. Ambra Le Roy Medical Products in North Carolina is donating a bundle of their traditional wound care and first aid supplies, with a value of $208, and
  7. APEX Gun Parts is donating a $250 purchase credit, and
  8. SurvivalBased.com is donating a $500 gift certificate to their store.
  9. Montie Gearis donating a Y-Shot Slingshot and a Locking Rifle Rack. (a $379 value).

Round 54 ends on September 30st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Saving Your Marriage for the End of the World – Part 2, by Cottage Mom

Today, we continue the second portion of this three part article. Yesterday, we read that the purpose of prepping is to take care of your closest loved ones with wisdom and protection, not to hurt them and drive them away. Prepping should make your life better in the long run, not worse. If you are hitched to a spouse, here are my continued suggestions for embarking on your prepping journey:

  1. Don’t Play Tug-of-War Over Prepping or Anything Else; Instead, Negotiate

    This is human nature at its most counter-productive, but it is hard to identify when the tug-of-war begins to happen. Who sincerely changes their mind because they are strong-armed into it? Once the war is triggered, emotions rush in and cloud everyone’s judgment. Destructive words and tones are used. Embrace the attitude of “I want to work together with you; I’m on your side, and I’m not getting pulled into fighting with you,” and repeat that mantra to yourself until it becomes your nature. While in a conflict, pause, mature, and take a step back to look at the conflict as a disinterested third party, and then take two steps down in your emotional reactions so you stay cool-headed and in control. If you do this, you are in a position to sow words of peace, and create solutions that can work for both of you.

    Learn how to negotiate with one another. Conflict (embraced correctly) does not mean one spouse wins and the other spouse loses. Figure out solutions that make both of you happy. When at a crossroads, spouses should ask themselves, “What elements can make this decision a happy experience for me?” As an example, say one spouse wants to spend Christmas out-of-town with her family, but that will ruin the holiday for you. Instead of begrudgingly complying or obstinately refusing, gain understanding into why this is a negative experience for you and address those issues. Then brainstorm all the other possibilities that you could enthusiastically agree to. Perhaps what you really don’t like about going out-of-town is all the driving. Could flying make a difference? Maybe you hate the backbreaking mattress you have to sleep on, and sleeping at a hotel or bringing your own air mattress might help. Think of alternatives. Perhaps the day of Christmas could be spent at home and the following weekend could be spent with the in-laws. Or, maybe you agree to the out-of-town trip in exchange for scheduling another weekend to do exactly what you want to do. A good negotiation leaves both parties happy and actually enthusiastic about the result (not just a lackluster result one can merely tolerate); it pulls you both together, rather than driving a wedge between you.

    With prepping, the tug-of-war is over issues like how to allocate limited household funds, how to allocate space in the home, how to spend time. If you have invested in Point 2 above, negotiations over these things should go far more smoothly because one of the characteristics of a well-bonded marriage is generosity towards one another and a disposition to make the other happy.

    Before you discuss an issue, however, don’t just dive in impulsively. Consider your approach; have a plan. Think through what you want, and what you can offer. For example, if money is tight, is there a way you can earn extra or save money to offset the purchases you would like to make? Are there free windfall opportunities you can take advantage of, such as a relative who has too much garden produce? If space is a problem, can you reorganize, build shelves, or exchange current furniture pieces for those with storage capacity? If time is an issue, barter with your spouse—“I’ll do the activity of your choice for every hour I spend at [blank].” Can you think of ways to accomplish more than one thing at the same time? For example, landscaping with edibles can reduce lawn maintenance in the long run; it’s a wholesome activity one can do with children if they are old enough; and it will provide nutritious food in the future.

    As an example from my situation, I wanted to store extra fuel, and my spouse is averse to storing anything. However, we get gas points from grocery shopping, and merely fueling our vehicle does not take full advantage of our potential discount. I convinced my spouse that taking a couple of gas cans along would save us more money, and then it turned out, those gas cans have often come in handy as a time-saving measure when our cars are low on gas and we don’t have to time to hit the gas station. This is just one small area of our lives that serves three purposes– save money, save time, and extra fuel on hand.

    Whenever you have a successful negotiation (and not just for prepping), I recommend putting a “cherry on top.” What I mean is, make sure to praise your spouse, praise how well you work together, and celebrate that success in some fashion. By celebrate, it can be as little as a high five, a kiss, or (depending on what you worked through) it can be more than that– a love note, gift, or dinner out. Businesses celebrate deals like this all the time, so why not in your marriage? I think it is even worth documenting as a reminder during those times when future negotiating waters get rough. I would venture that most couples never learn how to successfully negotiate, but every successful negotiation fortifies your marriage bond and makes you a team, and in this age of rampant divorce, that is worth celebrating!, depending on what you worked through: a toast of your glasses or even rewarding your spouse with.

  2. Prepare in Ways that Make your Spouse Proud Rather than Embarrassed

    In general, there are prepping activities that are out of the mainstream and will incite shame in your mainstream-groomed spouse, and there are prepping activities that are admired and will be welcomed if you only use the correct terms instead of what your spouse might consider “wacko” terms. If, after you have studied and understood your spouse, you realize you have one that is prep-adverse, begin with the most admired prepper activities first.

    As you begin your prepping journey use familiar terminology, and gradually introduce other more radical activities after gaining your spouse’s enthusiasm and respect. For example, living within your means and acquiring savings is a respected activity, while also being a prepping activity. Conversely, digging holes in the backyard and planting five gallon buckets of grain in them is not.

    Even still, you should not IMPOSE any preparations on your spouse but rather gain your spouse’s buy-in and participation. Even with respectable prep activities, don’t begin by choosing one that will upset and threaten your spouse right off the bat. It is respectable to adopt a budget, but if you two have been arguing about money since the day you were married, that is not where you should begin to prep.

    Before moving on, let’s review the three above points:

    1. Prepare in ways that make your spouse proud rather than embarrassed.
    2. Do not IMPOSE even the mildest of preparations on your spouse.
    3. Do not begin even “mainstream” or “respectable” preparations if they involve emotionally sensitive areas for your spouse.
  3. Most Prepping Activities can be Termed Under these Non-Alarmist Categories:

    • Household Management
    • Financial Management
    • Health
    • Hobby & Recreational

    Is anyone, even the most mainstream-groomed person, going to argue against improving one’s household, financial, or health management? So instead of using terms like TEOTWAWKI, use those.

    Certainly, spouses might argue about hobbies or recreational pursuits, specifically about the money/time they cost, but they generally do not consider you crazy if you have a desire to take up a hobby. If you start by enriching your bond with your spouse and also gradually delve into a hobby (that also serves your TEOTWAWKI ends incognito), chances are, your spouse will come around to being receptive and even encouraging.

  4. Suggestions for Ways that You Can Prepare in Plain Sight that Won’t Upset Your Spouse:

    (Obviously there is some overlap between these categories, and the list could be longer, but these are ideas to get you started)

    Household Management

    • Hold regular devotions in the home.
    • Memorize scripture.
    • Sing spiritual songs.
    • Create a home maintenance manual.
    • Create a FEMA-informed emergency binder. (For example, “How to turn off the natural gas valve.”)
    • Hold fire drills.
    • Check fire alarms and extinguishers.
    • Practice negotiating skills with your spouse on non-survival related topics.
    • Reduce waste.
    • Recycle.
    • Purge and organize home storage areas.
    • Add security features to your home and property.
    • Make needed repairs.
    • Keep vehicles maintained.
    • Keep pets up to date on rabies shots.
    • Organize pet records.
    • Adopt a one-in-use, one-in-storage system.
    • Find ways to add extra supplies and equipment without labeling them as “end-of-the-world supplies.” (For example, stock up on extra blankets for use when children’s friends sleep over, or in order to add an extra one to each vehicle during winter weather.)
    • Develop beneficial skills.
    • Do a time study and increase your productivity.

    Financial Management

    • Adopt a budget, spending, and savings plan.
    • Complete your estate plan.
    • Adopt a retirement plan.
    • Organize important documents.
    • Review and update insurance policies.
    • Reduce and eliminate debt.
    • Keep cash in the home.
    • Stretch spending through sales shopping, couponing, and buying in bulk.
    • Buy non-perishable consumables during sales, which saves money and time and enables stocking up.
    • Make your own household products to save money.
    • Increase energy efficiency.
    • Sell excess stuff (eBay, yard sales, et cetera).

    Health

    • Begin/increase fitness training.
    • Become current on all health appointments, and take care of any needed medical/dental procedures.
    • Increase nutritional eating. Trying to eat healthier will naturally dovetail with storing larger quantities of food. For example, purchasing organic, grass-fed beef at a reasonable price can involve buying and storing a fractional part of a cow.
    • Purchase food at farmer’s markets.
    • Update your first aid kit.
    • Take a first aid/CPR class.
    • Study alternative remedies.
    • Purchase quality shoes.
    • Cook nutritious, TEOTWAWKI-friendly recipes, like bean soup.
    • Make your own baking and seasoning mixes to leave out harmful chemicals.
    • Buy small quantities of freeze-dried foods to use in cooking or making your own mixes. This may help acclimate your spouse to food in this form.
    • Cook in quantity and freeze extras, to keep the family from resorting to fast food.
    • Learn food preservation of your own garden produce.

    Hobbies/Recreational Interests

    • Start a hobby, such as coin collecting, in order to procure some nickels and silver.
    • Pursue a TEOTWAWKI-useful, but spouse-approved, hobby– quilting, fishing, hunting, et cetera.
    • Delve into pioneer skills.
    • Get involved in 4H activities with your children.
    • Build a play fort.
    • Go camping.
    • Acquire knowledge in topics related to survival.
    • Store books with survival value.
    • Download free and store useful information.
    • Have a read-aloud family time with TEOTWAWKI-value classics, like Robinson Crusoe, Swiss Family Robinson, or books that tell of real–life survival, like The Hiding Place.
    • Learn new skills as family projects or recreation.
    • Start a garden.
    • Plant fruiting plants and trees.
    • Preserve food in “respectable” quantities– quantities that do not alarm your spouse. It is doubtful that any spouse would dispute if you dried your own fresh herbs or preserved produce from your own garden. Also, you could go berry picking. However, do not foist this work upon your spouse; either get enthusiastic agreement or do it all yourself.
    • Once you have prepped all you can prep in those above categories, you will have obtained an enviable amount of preparation, and then you can attempt a conversation about acquiring a deeper, long-term larder, or some other mainstream-adverse prepping activity. Make sure you use wisdom when broaching these topics.
  5. Capitalize on Your Spouse’s Interests

    If you are creative, you can dovetail your prepping interests with your spouse’s non-prepping interests and your spouse will go along with you. Most people like to think of themselves as fair and non-selfish, so if your spouse has an interest, even one you consider frivolous, you can encourage it while at the same time negotiate some of your prepping requirements. (Hint: Don’t call them “prepping” requirements.) Chances are, your spouse’s desire to be fair will lead him/her to acquiesce to your desires. Here are some examples of how you can take even the most non-prepping interest and make it into a preparatory activity.

    Say your spouse wants a well-decorated home. In your thinking, this is a waste of resources that should be dedicated to more worthy items. What’s the best solution? Define a budget together, and when it comes to something like window treatments, insert energy efficiency or black-out capability to the list of requirements. When purchasing furnishings, negotiate for those with storage capabilities. Here are some other ideas:

    • Say your spouse likes a fashionable wardrobe—negotiate quality winter wear.
    • Golf—take up golfing too; it is good exercise and skill development.
    • Spas—you go too; after your workout a massage will feel great. Also, while your spouse is interested in beautifying the outside, make a case to your spouse that growing and storing your own organic power foods will beautify from the inside out.
    • Jewelry—set aside a few of your own pieces as another form of currency.
    • Adding a deck—learn carpentry skills; gain valuable tools; a place to use your solar oven; wood you can re-purpose to board up your home if/when the SHTF.
    • Movies—negotiate watching some survival flicks.
    • Couch potato—negotiate that part of the time on the couch has to be spent your way–reading good books, listening to quality audios, or watching quality videos. Or better yet, negotiate that every hour on the couch has to be earned by an hour of physical activity.

    Can you see it’s almost a game of how you can turn an area of conflict around into something survival-related? As an extra benefit, practicing these mental games regularly will serve to sharpen problem-solving skills for TEOTWAWKI.

    Yet, chances are, not all of your spouse’s interests are diametrically opposed to prepping and can be an asset should the SHTF. Do not discount these but encourage and maximize them.

Three Letters Re: Time “OUT”

Hugh,

Thanks for publishing the pertinent article by KT entitled, “Time OUT”. Timing and coordination with other group members can and will be very critical ability in the future. Many of us grew up watching old World War 2 war movies, and this article reminded me of memorable scenes from some of these classics, to-wit: a scene with a bombing group having a pre-raid briefing and the closing of the meeting would conclude with the commanding officer having all pilots and crew members “setting” their watches. This was done by a “hacking” mechanism in the watch movement. One can pull out the stem and the movement stops. This allows everyone in the group to reset their watches to the exact same time. A hack feature is still available in many mechanical movements and would be an added benefit to coordinating group activities that, by their nature, might require precise action…down to a matter of single seconds. Again, a most excellent submission by KT!

o o o

Hugh,

The shadow from a plumb bob passing over a meridian line can get you local apparent solar noon to within +/- one minute of accuracy. A special tool called a theodolite should get you better accuracy. The following articles discuss some of these techniques:

Then use a table based on the equation of time for your location to determine how many minutes to add or subtract to adjust solar (sun dial) time to your local standard time.

RLH in Ohio

o o o

HJL,

I came across instructions on how to make your own star clock. I have not tried it yet, but it does seem useful. – JC in TN.

HJL Replies: I was intrigued enough that I printed the parts out on my printer and assembled it. It does indeed work. Now if I could only find one of these in durable plastic or metal.

Odds ‘n Sods:

Article and Video: Michael Bloomberg’s anti-gun money up in smoke as pro-gun sheriff wins in Wisconsin – JBG

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St. Louis Cabela’s Protects Guns From Looters. – T.P.

It’s a shame that the population is so on edge that they will use any act of violence to perpetuate acts of violence against those who are not involved. I cannot condone the police’s initial reaction, nor their heavy handed response, but neither can the actions of the general population be condoned.

o o o

When money is not a constraint: GUN Linux: On the range with TrackingPoint’s new AR-15s – P.S.

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For those with musical tendencies and a little bit of redneck in them – Video: DiResta AK47 Guitar (AKA the GATTAR). – T.P.

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Looks like Google is getting ready to take a big step forward (and I am sure they are not alone) in being able to visually dig even more deeply into our spaces: Google’s Satellites Could Soon See Your Face from Space. – M.P.