Make Yourself Valuable After TEOTWAWKI, by Dalton M.

Most people spend time perfecting their bug-out bag, or their bug-in kit, ensuring they can adequately survive on their own in the event of a catastrophe here. Many envision themselves in the role of “Eli” from the recent movie The Book of Eli, a lone wanderer who fends for himself as he travels in a post-apocalyptic world. I am of the opinion, as are many true preppers, that it will take a community to not only survive, but to prosper in a TEOTWAWKI scenario.

Let’s assume for a moment that your current neighborhood is not conducive to building that community, or that, for whatever reason, the group around you fails to thrive. You may have to move on to another area. When you reach that area, you will likely be greeted as an outsider and any town you reach will likely be reluctant to let you into their community. You will likely be viewed as just another begging traveler who is looking for the safety of a group, but could end up being a free-loader who is nothing more than another mouth to feed, another potential trouble maker, or another carrier of disease.

What will you say to persuade a community to believe that it is worth their time to take you into their group? What do you have to offer that others can’t provide?

You don’t have to be a former Navy SEAL who can single-handedly defend the town. You don’t have to be a former military commanding officer-turned-mayor with the leadership skills to organize the community into an army.  In some cases, you don’t have to be strong or even that smart. All you need is a unique skill. Lacking that, you need to have a skill that can aid others with a similar set of skills in accomplishing a goal more efficiently or productively.

If you don’t have anything to offer, you could be turned away and left to fend for yourself.
Now is the time to build skills that will be useful enough to gain acceptance in that scenario. These skills may have nothing to do with your current reality, but if you take the time to learn as much as you can, you will be an asset to a community that will make your presence not only worthwhile, but necessary.

This isn’t a how-to. It’s likely that you won’t learn anything from reading this. The point of this is to help you consider, if you haven’t already, ways to make yourself valuable in a post-TEOTWAWKI situation. I’m simply going to mention a few skills that you can build now to reach that end. The skills I talk about are not listed in any particular order, and some may be much more important than others. This is just to stir some thought on what you will be able to provide in the event that you need to. Also, this list is far from all-inclusive. You may think of many other skill sets that are equally (or even more) important. If so, work on them. Build them. Your life, and the life of your community, may very well depend on it.

1) Communications – No matter what form of catastrophe has caused the collapse of society, communication with the world outside of your immediate area can be crucial. People will want to know what is happening beyond the horizon, the condition the government, the condition of other communities, or just, in general, what is going on. It is likely, however, that you won’t be able to just pick up the phone and call anyone. Telephone lines may be interrupted or completely disabled. A viable alternative is ham radio. The skills required to operate ham radio are not as common as they once were, are relatively easy to learn, and the equipment can be cheap (although it can get expensive if you want the “latest and greatest” gear).  Keep reference materials available. You may not be able to memorize everything. This skill alone may not be enough to grant you a position of esteem within a community, but it certainly couldn’t hurt your chances of being taken in as a member of the group.

2) Farming/Gardening – In many areas across the nation, this is a fading skill. The skills you can learn from maintaining a small garden in your yard could be critical when the SHTF. Even if you don’t have enough room for a small garden, read all you can on the subject and make a notebook or a manual. Make your own comprehensive version of “Farming for dummies”. The internet is bursting at the seams with information, but it’s likely that you won’t have access to it post-TEOTWAWKI, so make a survivable record of the information you think will be important. Gather information from multiple sources and record it all. Test out different methods if you can, focusing on techniques that don’t require heavy tools or chemicals. Find out how people did it a hundred years ago or more, and prepare yourself to mimic those methods. Set aside tools and seeds if you can afford it and if you have the storage space, but at a bare minimum, make yourself a written reference so that even if you’re not a farmer now, you have some hope of becoming one if the need arises.

3)  Food gathering – Do you know what plants in your local area are edible? Better yet, do you know which plants taste good? Information on the subject is available in book stores, camping/hiking stores, or online. Find the information and read through it. Don’t just read it from the comfort of your recliner – get out and take a walk with your reference material. See if you can locate the plants in the woods or even along roadways. Learning what they look like in the real world now, when you don’t need them, can save you from the time and effort of trial and error when you do. Once again, make yourself a survivable reference book on the subject. Try to include your entire state, maybe even the surrounding states. You never know where fate may take you in the event of TEOTWAWKI. Learn to not only identify these plants, but how to prepare them properly. Learn which local plants have medicinal properties and how to use them. The ability to keep others well-fed and healthy can make you a very valuable member of a community.

4) Food storage – My grandmother and her friends canned all kinds of things, but if you asked my wife how to do it, I’m pretty sure you would just get a shrug for an answer. Canning/preserving foods as a hobby is not only a good way to stockpile your own emergency supplies, but it’s also a great way to build the skill necessary to preserve food later, when you really need it. I’m not just talking about canning here. Preserving meat will be necessary too. Do you know how to make jerky? Nope, I don’t mean with your 9-tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator, I mean with a purpose-made, wood burning smoker, or even over a campfire. Hunting in the summertime or growing crops may provide more food than your group can readily consume, and knowing how to preserve that food for later may make the difference when winter comes and food is more scarce. My grandmother may not be there to show others how it’s done, so if you know how, then people will want you around.

5)  Mechanics – Even in the event of an EMP attack, (which would probably be the worst case scenario, technologically) older, simpler vehicles may still function. But if they break down, who will repair them? Or what if you want to use that engine to power a mill? Or to pump water? If you’re mechanically inclined, the skills necessary to maintain or build machinery will be highly sought after by any community.

6) Soap or candle making – In our modern world, we have grown accustomed to buying soap or candles, but before the age of Wal-Mart, making these items was the only way to get them. You may not get rich, or whatever version of “rich” exists after TEOTWAWKI, but both items will be in high demand if Wal-Mart ceases to provide them. Making soap or candles can be a fun hobby, a source of income even now, and can be a very useful skill to offer if it is needed in the future. Even if starting a new hobby like that is not your cup of tea now, making a reference guide from information found online or in books, and practicing enough to work out the details could be enough to give you something to offer later.

These are just a few ideas. Notice that I didn’t mention medical skills or security skills. Obviously medical skills (beyond the basics, which you should already know or be learning) are not something that you can learn in “on the side”. I believe that when it comes to security services, every able bodied individual in any community will most likely be recruited and trained for that task. Advanced knowledge or experience can definitely be an advantage, but that topic is covered a lot in other forums/articles/blogs, so any information I put in here would be rudimentary at best. I also didn’t mention blacksmithing, animal husbandry, gunsmithing, dentistry, carpentry and no doubt countless others. If you have specialized skills such as these, you don’t need to read this. You already have your ticket.

If you’re like most people, however, you might want to consider learning a set of skills, such as the ones I described or any other valuable skill that you come up with on your own, in order to make yourself a person who will not be a burden to your post-TEOTWAWKI community, but a valuable member who is worth feeding, supporting and defending.  

One more thing I’d like to mention is that no matter what skills you have to offer, your worth in a community will also be based on who you are and how you deal with others. If you are to be a worthwhile member of a community, it is equally important that you maintain a community mindset when it comes to using your skills. I’m not saying that you should give your services away, but always keep in mind that while your particular skills may be necessary for the survival of the community, the community as a whole is necessary for your own survival. Be the kind of honest and fair person that you would want to deal with and it’s likely that others will want to deal with you.

Two Letters Re: Motorcycle BOV

Jim:
This video shows why motorcycles are the answer to rural mobility. The 11 minute video is of a road that was washed out by storms, apparently in Japan. Much of it is overgrown and vanishing and the motorcyclist has to dodge quite a few downed limbs. – InyoKern

 

James,
I would like to thank Jeff H. for writing this article on the use of a motorcycle as a BOV as I was planning on doing the same in the near future.  He touched on quite a few very good topics.  But, from his submission, you can tell that he is a more experienced motorcyclist.  I would like to share my thoughts from a beginner/novice point of view.  The one difference of opinion that I have is concerning the bike’s size.  I definitely agree with the suggestion of getting a Dual Sport/Dual Purpose/Adventure Touring bike that is a 650 cc or larger when you need it to be your pack mule, or want to do cross country highway trips.  But, I don’t want the smaller Dual Sport bikes to be overlooked for a variety of reasons.  I just purchased a small Dual Sport bike a few months ago with the mindset of using it as a possible BOV, as well as a daily commuter.  The following takes you through the reasoning I took in purchasing a small Dual Sport Bike:
 
Cost
First and foremost, I have never ridden/owned a bike for the street (a dirt bike here and there), so I did not want to invest too much money on something that I may not like.  For a larger bike, you will be paying more money up front.  The bike I purchased is a 2009 Yamaha XT250.  This bike sells new for about $4,500 (other bikes in this range can be had for under $4,000).  A new 650 starts around $6,000, and a can go up past $10,000 for the larger displacement bikes.  Add the insurance difference on top of that (especially if you are a young male like myself), the riding gear, and that makes for a fairly large investment for something you may not like.  Other than the initial purchase, you will be feeding this thing money in the forms of fuel and maintenance.  The XT250 only has about a 2.5 Gal fuel tank, but I have gotten between 70-75 MPG (roughly a 150+ Mile Range).  Each bike is different, but the average “High” MPG from the larger bikes I have seen is between 40-65 MPG.  The maintenance on a single cylinder, air cooled engine is not going to be as time/money consuming as a liquid cooled larger engine (there are some air cooled units though).
 
Ergonomics
A small bike is generally a light bike.  The XT250’s weight is somewhere in the 250-290 lbs, while a Kawasaki KLR650 is in the 430 lb range, and they just go up from there.  It may not seem like a lot, but if you are truly in a G.O.O.D. situation and your bike gets stuck in the mud or tips over, what would you rather struggle with?  Seat height is another consideration.  Most Dual Sport bikes are “dirt bikes with lights”, so they can be awkward for some people (especially those who are inexperienced or vertically challenged).  I am about 6’ with a 32” inseam, and when stopped at a light, I can get both feet flat on the ground comfortably.  When shopping for a bike, I sat on a variety of different Dual Sport bikes, and the larger bikes (like the Kawasaki 650) I felt quite uncomfortable while stopped (I either had to have the bike tipped to the side, or be on my toes) as I could only get one foot on the ground.  This in addition to the 400+ pound curb weight didn’t make me feel too comfortable.  This may be a non-issue for an experienced rider, but as a novice, I felt like I was going to tip over and I didn’t even have any riding gear on, no backpack, no extra luggage, etc.  If this bike is still too tall for some of you; the Honda CRF230M is a strong candidate, and a much smaller bike (I felt, and looked, like I was riding a kids bike).
 
Simplicity
It doesn’t get much more simple than a single cylinder, air cooled, carbureted, dirt bike.  The only electronics the XT250 has are the lights/signals, speedometer, electronic ignition, and the handlebar controls.  The only thing that is absolutely needed out of those is the ignition control box.  Most larger bikes have fuel injection at a minimum, and quite a few newer ones have ABS, Traction Control, Fuel Injection, etc.  Also, as far as fluids go, most small displacement, single cylinder, air cooled bikes only have the engine oil and brake fluid.  If the bike is liquid cooled, then you have coolant on top of that (as well as everything that is needed for the liquid cooling: Radiator, Coolant, Water Pump, Thermostat, Hoses/Lines, Complex Cylinder Head, etc.).  Fuel injection is nice, but adds another computer, a bunch of sensors, fuel injectors, etc.  Carburetors have their own problems, but it is possible to MacGyver them in the field if need be. 
 
Conclusion
I know that I just touched on a few choice areas concerning a smaller displacement bike; the main goal of this writing is to keep your options open.  There is a good reason that the XT250 and XT225 (the XT250’s Predecessor) are used worldwide as transportation.  These bikes are hugely popular in Europe and Asia.  They are not without their faults, but a very good alternative if the thought of a larger bike isn’t too appealing in your situation.  These bikes aren’t made for cross country highway cruising, but they can handle occasional highway use; the winds really push you around though (since the bike is under 300#).  Being carbureted there is a short warm-up period vs. fuel injected which is ready to go right away.  Please do your research about what bike is best for you; there are a lot of good forums out there about these bikes with first hand experience.  Reading about the extreme reliability and durability of the XT250 was the deciding factor (some people have logged more than 30,000 miles on a 2008!).  I am very pleased with this bike and will recommend it to anyone who is on the fence, but you just need to learn the limitations of whatever you choose.  This bike is very forgiving and not overly intimidating for the first time rider, but it is also a blast for the more experienced rider – “It’s more fun to ride a slow bike fast than a fast bike slow”!  And, for the sake of safety, whichever bike you choose, make sure that you use All The Gear All The Time. 
 
Resources
Adventure Rider Forums
XT225/250 Forums
Thumper Talk Forums

Regards, – O.V.

Letter Re: List of Countries by Real Population Density

James Wesley:
As they say in the radio world, “long time listener, first time caller”…

First off, thank you for sharing your words of wisdom for those of us who aren’t prepared.  Admittedly, I am one of those fence-sitters, liking the idea of prepping but not having near enough money to start in that direction, let alone uproot the new wife farther from her family than we already are.  Nonetheless, your articles (and those by your contributors on SurvivalBlog.com) are eye-opening and help me remind myself that we are just a few small steps from something really bad.

As to the purpose of my e-mail, I read Dr. Hugh’s article on Real Population Density, and the follow-up letters in which he asked someone to do research on which of the United States had the most arable land per person.  Since I’ve a keen mind for doing research (and had some free time to burn), I went to the USDA Economic Research Service web site, which gave me both the 2010 state populations and the number of acres of “cropland” (which I’m guessing is USDA-speak for arable land).  I modified the chart to show the same final data (people/sq km) as the previous chart mentioned, and I also sorted the chart in order of most amount to least amount of land.  Here’s the chart:

Population Density Table

As they taught me in college, statistics are of no use unless they are analyzed properly.  Here are some of my thoughts regarding the above data.

1)       The “breadbasket” states rose to the top, while most of the east coast (with the exception of Vermont) ranked near the bottom.  The usability of land is certainly a factor, but I wonder how much of this also has to do with how the states were drawn out during their founding.  If you recall your history, we tended to be much more liberal with our state sizes as we headed further out west.
2)      Alaska and Hawaii both ranked near the bottom.  That’s probably another good reason to not include them on the G.O.O.D. destination sites.
3)      There’s no distinction between the parts of the state that are heavily populated and the rest of the state (Chicago versus Illinois as a whole, for instance); this chart gives us what can best be described as a weighted average of the state.  Sort of on that note also, there’s no telling that residents of one state that rank low in arable land can’t just jump to a bordering state (Arizona to New Mexico is a good example).

One final note—that web site may be useful for other purposes related to prepping.  It also has data on top agricultural commodities exported, federal funds received, and farm financial indicators.  Please take a look.

Again, thank you for keeping us updated on how to better prepare ourselves for WTSHTF.  As they would say in the Navy, keep your head on a swivel.

Respectfully, – Mr. Anchovy

Economics and Investing:

Peter S. sent this prediction of housing market doom: Maybe no housing rebound for a generation: Shiller . In an another interview, he said: We Are in Age of ‘Late Great Depression’

Michael Pollaro: The Bernanke Bust, the why how and when

The Results Are In: Conservative States Prosper, While Liberal States Decline. (Thanks to James C. for the link.)

G.G. flagged this evidence that the Mother of All Bailouts (MOAB) is far from over: Senate votes to slow closing of post offices

Items from The Economatrix:

Gold Will Win Money War

Derivatives:  The Unregulated Global Casino For Banks

Two Meltdowns:  Fukushima and the US Economy

Orders for US Durable Goods Drops Most in Three Years

US Economy Grew Less than Forecast in First Quarter

Spanish Economy in “Huge Crisis” After Downgrade

Odds ‘n Sods:

An update from Dr. Bob at Surviving Healthy: Change is Good? (The Missouri State Pharmacy Board has been hounding him, so he now must see each patient in person in Branson, Missouri.)

   o o o

Tim J. sent this article on post-Schumer aftermath: For 22 murder victims, Los Angeles Riots leave legacy of justice eluded.

   o o o

Anti-Bullying Speaker Curses Christian Teens. JWR’s Comment: Sounds like a bully to me…

   o o o

Reader Joe K. mentioned a survivalist novel called “A Distant Eden” available as an e-book, through Amazon.com. Joe’s comment: “For 99 cents this is a pretty good read.  I found it to be a good afternoon read and it did provoke some things to consider.”

   o o o

Several readers mentioned this mainstream media hoopla: Police blow Washington mountain bunker, find man dead. (JWR’s Comments: The demonization of survivalism continues. And something tells me that we aren’t getting the whole story about this family. Reader B.C.’s comment: “This is pretty scary stuff. Pets shot. Wife and child shot in the head. House set on fire. Survivalist on the run. It’s almost straight out of [the frame-up described in the novel] Enemies Foreign and Domestic by Matthew Bracken.)

Pat’s Product Review: Montie Gear AR Rest

Over the past month or so, I’ve received quite a few requests from folks who want me to test and evaluate their products. I enjoy testing products for SurvivalBlog, and reporting back my findings to SurvivalBlog readers. Some of the companies that contact me, have a lot of questions, and I’m happy to answer them. Some companies ask me if I can guarantee that I’ll write an article on their products – and the answer is “yes.” Then, they ask me if I can guarantee them that the article will appear on SurvivalBlog – I refer them to Jim Rawles, as he’s the editor, and gives the final yea or nay on if or when a piece runs. And, lastly, some folks ask me if I am going to give their products a “positive” review in my article. My answer to them is “no!” I will never guarantee anyone that I will give their products a positive review – I report my findings as fairly and honestly as I can. If those products aren’t up to par, or as advertised, that’s the way I will report my findings.
 
When I was publishing and editing a little newsletter called “Police Hot Sheet” many years ago, I was contacted by a fellow who made an impact device, and he told me if was more effective than a hit from a 12 gauge shotgun. Needless to say, I was more than a little skeptical of those claims. Still, I promised to have one of my writers, a well-known martial artist test and evaluate this product. Of course, his findings were that this impact device wasn’t as effective at stopping an attacker as a hit from a 12 gauge would be, and the product took quite a bit of training and practice to use properly and effectively. The fellow who sent me that product threatened to sue me if I ran the review, but I ran it! And, in fact he didn’t sue me. So, please, if you want me to give you a guarantee that I will give you products a positive review on SurvivalBlog, then don’t bother contacting me or Jim Rawles – that’s not the way we do business. SurvivalBlog readers deserve a fair and honest review of products.
 
The newest product under review today is called the “Original AR-Rest” and is being produced by Montie Gear. The folks at this company contacted me several weeks ago, and asked me to review some of their products, one was their new sling-shot, they were out of stock, but promised one would be coming in a few weeks. The other product is their AR-Rest, which arrived quickly, as promised. I’ve got to admit, I’ve never heard of Montie Gear before they contacted me, however, they have quite a few products on their web site, that should be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers – check them out.
 
Okay, the AR-Rest, gee, let’s see, what’s “new” about a rifle rest, that hasn’t already been done? Well, the Montie Gear AR-Rest is portable. It comes apart and goes back together in a matter of seconds, and it can be carried in your shooting box or your AR rifle case. The AR-Rest only weighs about 19-oz, so it’s very lightweight, you won’t even know you have it in your shooting box or AR rifle case. The AR-Rest is made out of sturdy aluminum, that is industrial-grade black powder coated. There is a spring-loaded stainless-steel (wire attached)pin that holds this tri-pod together, too. The “rest” portion of the AR-Rest has soft rubber covers in the “V” of the rest, so your rifle won’t be damaged or scratched. The legs on the rest have grooves machined into – so when shooting over a bench rest or going prone, the rest really digs in and remains stable. There are also additional rubber covers for the bottom of the legs – for using the rest over the hood of a car – so you don’t scratch the paint on the car.
 
When shooting rifles for accuracy, I try to wring out as much accuracy as I can – without resorting to a “mechanical” rest of some sort. I usually shoot over the hood of my car, using a sleeping bag, rolled-up jacket, a soft, padded rest of some sort – or whatever I have on-hand. It gives me better results than just using an elbow to steady a rifle. The Montie Gear AR-Rest will give you a  more stable and secure rest, for those of you who want the most accuracy you can squeeze out of an AR-15 style rifle. And, this rest isn’t just designed for use with an AR, I also tested it with an AK-47, and even with it’s longer 30-rd mag, the rifle was still not touching the hood of the car. The idea behind the AR-Rest is that, you can use it with long magazines in your rifles, without the rifle “mono-podding” on the magazine – and the AR-Rest delivers in this respect. You can also use the rest for benching other rifles as well. Montie Gear makes several other models of rests, but I think the AR-Rest will meet most of your needs.
 
I did find that, my groups did tighten-up more with the AR-Rest, than with my AR over a rolled-up sleeping bag, so the rest delivered as promised, and the height of the AR with a 30-rd mag in it, didn’t allow the magazine to touch the ground – and as already mentioned, the same goes for an AK-47 with a 30-rd mag installed.
 
My one minor complaint with the Montie Gear AR-Rest are the rubber covers that are included, for installing on the bottom of the legs of the tripod. The rubber caps are a bit too small and don’t completely cover the bottom of the legs, nor do they stay in place when shooting. An instruction sheet is included, that states you can use Super-Glue to secure the rubber covers on the legs. You shouldn’t have to do that! The rubber covers that came with the AR-Rest appear to be an after-thought, and maybe purchased from an outside source – as an a quick fix to a minor problem. After firing several rounds through my AR on the AR-Rest, the rubber covers would slip off the bottom of the legs. And, “yes” I did try to Super-Glue the rubber covers on – and it didn’t work. I would suggest using rubber cement – that would hold the rubber covers on better. Of course, you only need to use the rubber covers if you’re shooting over the hood of a car and don’t want to scratch the paint job. When shooting over a bench, or going prone, you don’t need the little rubber covers. I’m not alone in my one minor complaint about the AR-Rest. You can view similar complaints on the Montie Gear web site – and I do applaud Montie Gear, for posting those comments from customers – most companies wouldn’t post negative comments. Thank you, Montie Gear, for your honesty!
 
I believe that Montie Gear should replace the little rubber covers, with something that is specifically made for their rest – it shouldn’t cost them very much. Another alternative would be to use some of that “plastic” dip – that you can get from most hardware stores. You dip the end of your pliers, or other tools into it, and it gives you a firm gripping surface. You can do the same thing with the AR-Rest, just dip the bottom of the three legs of the tripod into this solution, and it will work beautifully.
 
A lot of people shoot their rifles, over a bench, when shooting for accuracy at a target, so the little rubber covers won’t be needed, same goes for going prone on the ground. All-in-all, I was very pleased with the Montie Gear AR-Rest, it performed as advertised – it provided a solid rest for a rifle, so a person can wring the most accuracy out of their long guns when shooting long-range. I don’t see the AR-Rest falling apart – it’s very well-built, and it should last you through a lifetime of target practice. The rest retails for $59.95, and the price seems more than fair – especially for an American-made product. Pick one up, and watch your long-range shooting scores improve.

Letter Re: Electric Cars and Bicycles

Sir:
I had an epiphany a few years ago when I first viewed “Who Killed the Electric Car?” Since then, I’ve acquired several cars converted to electric and a Nissan Leaf. We bought our last tank of petroleum fuel in May of 2011.

Recently, I’ve been pondering how the electric cars might be used as a backup source of electric power. The battery packs of the conversions are readily accessible and can provide almost 100 kwh of energy. The Leaf’s battery is not accessible at this time. Inverters that use the car’s DC voltage (120-156v) as input are available but pretty rare. Ideally, I would like to find a source for a PV system where the car batteries could temporarily replace the PV panels in driving the inverter.

[JWR Adds: Nearly all home PV power systems have the inverter connected to a battery bank, rather than directly to PV panels. This eliminates the peaks and valleys of production caused by varying cloud cover.]

A higher cost solution would be to have two inverters, one for the PV panels and one for the car batteries. That would allow me to use electricity while the sun shines to charge cars as well as meet other demands and then supply energy from the car batteries when the sun isn’t shining. Commonly available battery backed PV systems use 24-to-36 volt battery banks which are charged from PV panels [through a charge controller]. My car batteries need to be charged through charg[ing transform]ers that have 220 VAC input. That is, the charger’s input must come through a transformer.

Our electric utility power is pretty reliable; I don’t think I have seen it down more than two hours. ~1 hour outages only occur once every year or two. We might see outages of a few minutes several times a year.

The primary function of a PV system would be to pump power into the grid. That is how it would be used 99% (or 99.99%) of the time. At this time, PV is not cost effective in my region. With electric utility cost of 10 cents to 11 cents per kwh, it takes many decades to pay for a PV system. So, I would have to justify PV cost with emergency or grid-down functionality.

I’ve been speaking here of lithium iron phosphate batteries here. When treated well, they are far more cost effective, long-lived, and trouble-free than lead-acid batteries.

My most recent electric vehicle purchase was a Prodeco bicycle. A lithium battery “ebike”, such as the Prodeco, is a great low maintenance people mover. Range is more than 10 miles without peddling. A great asset for when petroleum fuel is not available.

JWR Replies: Several of my consulting clients have Bad Boy Buggy electric ATVs. In addition to their quiet operation and utility as farm and ranch vehicles, they also provide a very portable battery bank. (They have eight large 6-volt deep cycle batteries.)

Recipe of the Week:

Ray R.’s Chicken Stew

We have a favorite soup recipe, made as follows:

Chicken Stew
16 c Water – for a soup instead of a thick stew make this 20 to 24 cups – we use water from our Berkey filter since it tastes better.
16 tsp Knorr tomato/chicken bouillon – adds a great flavor.
25 oz boneless skinless chicken – this can be fresh, frozen, or home canned – it is about a quart of my home canned chicken.
1 c Dry pearled barley – we buy these in 25 lbs sacks at Restaurant Depot which we first learned of from SurvivalBlog. We pack then into canning jars and vacuum seal then with a Food Saver using the wide mouth canning jar
attachment.
2 c dry lentils – again purchased in 25 lbs sacks at Restaurant Depot.
2 tbs dried onions – substitute fresh if you have it
1 tbs minced garlic
Large dash Maggi seasoning to taste – adds a great meaty flavor – we use the USA produced stuff made by Nestle, but it is made in many countries, and most Asian supermarkets carry it and Asian made copies. Maggi is sort of a wheat-based soy-flavored sauce product, but with no soy.
2 cans white beans – we have been using beans from the LDS cannery. Since they are no longer doing wet pack canning we will have to find another source or go to dried beans soaked overnight.
2 cans Rotel – the smaller size cans not the large restaurant sized cans.
2 cans diced tomatoes
25 oz fresh carrots – or the equivalent in dried carrots

Bring all of the above to a boil, then turn the heat down to a low simmer.
Simmer at least a couple of hours or as long as all day. We can fit a half recipe in our crock pot.

Wait 1/2 to 1 hour before serving add the Spinach.

7 oz fresh spinach or the equivalent in dried spinach.

Chef’s Notes:

Yields about 29 cups of stew (about 120 calories per cup), or a few more servings if you started with more water.

My wife likes this as is. I spice it up in my bowl with a with a few dashes of Liquid Smoke, and some Chipotle Smoked Tabasco sauce.

 

Do you have a favorite recipe that you have tested extensively? Then please e-mail it to us for posting. Thanks!

Economics and Investing:

From G.G.: 45% Of Americans Will Probably Run Out Of Money By Their 75th Birthday

Failed Illinois Governor Quinn: “Our Rendezvous With Reality Has Arrived”. (Kudos to B.B. for sending the link.)

Bryan E. sent this: Congress steering US economy toward a ‘fiscal cliff’

Economy’s Biggest Drag Right Now is Government

K.T. sent this: Missouri House Votes for Gold and Silver Tender

Graham Summers, by way of Zero Hedge: Spain is About to Enter a Full-Scale Collapse

Speaking of Spain, Peter S. sent this: S&P Lowers Spain’s Rating

Items from The Economatrix:

Sinclair – Shorts Now Trapped & Gold Could Gap Up To $3,000

US Dollar vs. Gold:  Epic Money Battle

So Long, US Dollar

Duration Risk:  How The Fed is Creating the Next Financial Crisis

Odds ‘n Sods:

File under Emerging Threats: Inside The Ring–The Brotherhood Threat. They are now seriously talking about terrorist use of compact non-nuclear EMP weapons.

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James C. suggested this instructional video: How to Make Pinhole Glasses.

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Yet another biased study: What is the the Most Peaceful State in the Country? “The report assigned a ‘peace index’ to each state based on tabulated data that looked at the number of reported homicides, violent crimes, citizens serving time in prison and police staffing levels. It also measured the ability to access and purchase small guns.” JWR’s Comments: Statistics show that the prevalence of carrying guns keeps folks peaceable. (Street crime rates in the U.S. have dropped, while concealed carry has greatly expanded. And while correlation does not necessarily imply causation, in my opinion along with our aging population, widespread concealed carry has contributed to lower crime rates.) Any guesses on how the American Redoubt States would have ranked, if that last factor were excluded? (Special thanks to David S. for the link.)

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Safecastle’s big sale on Mountain House canned freeze dried foods with the maximum allowed 25% off, free shipping, and buyers club member incentives and rebates ends May 6th. It is expected that Mountain House can prices will be going up very soon, so take advantage of this opportunity.

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Mary F. mentioned this: in The New York Times: Who Made That Mason Jar?

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Again, thank you for inviting me. You have prepared food, so I will not be rude, I will stay and eat. Let’s have one good meal here. Let’s make it a feast. Then I ask you, I plead with you, I beg you all, walk out of here with me, never to come back. It’s the moral and ethical thing to do. Nothing good goes on in this place. Let’s lock the doors and leave the building to the spiders, moths and four-legged rats.” – Conclusion of Robert Wenzel’s April, 2012 speech delivered at the New York Federal Reserve Bank

Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 40 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize: A.) A gift certificate worth $1,000, courtesy of Spec Ops Brand, B.) 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, and C.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $350 value.) D.) a $300 gift certificate from CJL Enterprize, for any of their military surplus gear, E.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $300 value), and F.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo.

Second Prize: A.) A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol. It is a $439 value courtesy of Next Level Training. B.) A FloJak FP-50 stainless steel hand well pump (a $600 value), courtesy of FloJak.com. C.) A “grab bag” of preparedness gear and books from Jim’s Amazing Secret Bunker of Redundant Redundancy (JASBORR) with a retail value of at least $300, D.) A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials, and E.) two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value) and F.) A Tactical Trauma Bag #3 from JRH Enterprises (a $200 value).

Third Prize: A.) A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21. (This filter system is a $275 value.), B.) 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, C.) Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy. This is a $185 retail value, D.) A Commence Fire! emergency stove with three tinder refill kits. (A $160 value.), and E.) Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security.

Round 40 ends on May 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Motorcycle BOV, by Jeff H.

I have what I would consider three different Bug Out Vehicles (BOVs): a 4WD pickup, a 4WD SUV and a motorcycle.  The bike of coarse could be placed in the back of the pickup and unloaded somewhere down the road as needed thus greatly extending the range of either individually.  As far as BOVs are concerned there are many advantages to using a motorcycle.  One is good fuel mileage. Another is the ability to go around snarled traffic and other obstacles.  Disadvantages are lack of carrying capacity and the personal protection of being in a big heavy vehicle.

As far as what motorcycle you would use, I would recommend one of the types know as Dual Purpose.  These bike types have the ability to go both on and off road.  I’d start with at least a 650cc for a single rider and I use a 1200cc because I ride two with my wife.  The bigger bike isn’t as easy to ride in the hard stuff but it can carry a heavier load.  Just don’t get a bike so heavy that you can’t pick up when it falls over, because it will at some point.  If the bike doesn’t come with one buy and install one of the large capacity aftermarket fuel tanks.  The bike I have has a range of about 350 miles on one tank of fuel.  It would be very wise to get a bike with a quiet muffler.  No need in letting everyone know where you are.

I personally ride with all the protective gear, helmet, gloves, pants and boots.  Select these items with your intended purpose.  All of mine are waterproof which I consider a big plus if you get stranded.  Note that through experience not all items advertised as water proof actually meet those criteria.  I use military issue waterproof, steel toed boots instead of regular motorcycle type boots for when you have to abandon the bike and take to foot.  My jacket and pants have lots of waterproof pockets.  In those pockets I always carry a folding knife, multi-utility tool, survival butane lighter, paper matches, LED flash light, some toilet paper in a zip lock, cash and copies of all pertinent paperwork. In addition, a password protected jump drive with lots of personal information, phone numbers, policy numbers, bank info, some photos, passport and birth certificate copies and land titles. A Fisher Space Pen is another item that has proven invaluable to me.  It will write upside down, in freezing cold, in zero gravity and under water.  In the US where allowed I carry my pistol and a small quantity of ammo. (I intentionally try to avoid traveling in states that don’t allow concealed carry.  No use in giving them any of my business).  I carry two wallets.  My real one and one filled with a few dollars and some of those sample credit cards you get in the mail.  The fake one is a give away in case someone is demanding my wallet.

I always carry a good road atlas as well as some of the DeLorme Atlas of the areas I’m traveling in.  Another item I use regularly is a GPS.  In case of a G.O.O.D. situation it is recommended to have several escape routes planned.  This is where hopefully the GPS satellites are still functioning.  The GPS I have is made for motorcycles and is waterproof and vibration resistant.  In addition the model I have allows you to plot detailed routes in advance on your computer and then down load them into the unit.  Each route can be displayed in a different color.  In addition I have loaded a complete set of topographic maps in addition to the regular road maps.  Since having the Dual Purpose bike, this allows you to plot routes through some very remote areas on trails that won’t show up on normal road maps.  Of course you have these marked on your paper maps as well.  I’ve found these work well in the US but in Mexico, South America and Africa, maps both paper and GPS are sketchy at best unless you are on a main highway.

One of my main Bug Out Route concerns is bridges (river crossings).  These are easy choke points and a huge issue of safety.  Last year flooding of the Missouri River between Omaha and Kansas City forced the closing of a few bridges causing one to drive many miles out of the way to get across the Mighty Missouri.  Think what it will be like if the New Madrid fault knocks out bridges along the Mississippi or an earthquake takes out bridges on the west coast. In Patriots the characters ran into trouble at a check point on the road.  I see this as a real concern. Having the Dual Purpose bike with knobby tires can hopefully safely get you around these types of points. In many other countries I’ve traveled in, check points with armed guards are common place.  Only a couple of times did they try and shake us down for some cash.  This type of a situation is where having the fake wallet with just a couple of bucks in it comes in handy.

 When my wife and I travel on the bike we carry all our gear on the bike.  I consider this good training for a G.O.O.D scenario.  We trade off on camping and staying in hotels depending on where we are.  You quickly learn what is important and what is not as storage space is very limited.  We make use of saddle bags (panniers) and a dry bag.  In one pannier I carry tools and spare parts.  These need to be chosen based on your bike and your abilities.  One of my friends asked me what I thought was the most important tool to carry and I told him a pair of Vise Grips.  He asked why not a wine bottle opener and I replied that with the Vise Grips I could make a wine bottle opener. An LED headlamp with extra batteries is a very important item.  I like the ones that have high and low settings.  Some times you need just a little light and on high they seriously impair your night vision. On my first trip with my new LED head light, I pulled it out to begin setting up camp only to find it was completely dead.  I didn’t have spare batteries because I knew the new batteries would last for way more hours than I needed for several trips.  Well that was before the on/off push button accidentally got pressed in my pack.  Now I have spare batteries and remove one of them from the light before I pack it.  I also carry a small cheap (in case it gets confiscated) machete.  This is a common tool all over the world and I’ve not had it questioned at any checkpoints.

Other supplies I’ll say are very important are duct tape, silicone rescue tape, bailing wire, Quicksteel epoxy putty, Loctite 248 (this is like a chap stick and won’t leak), an assortment of bolts and nuts, rope, zip ties and tire repair items.  On a recent out of country trip the Quicksteel was used to repair a hole in a radiator, a broken turn signal and a broken lever mount.

Along with the basic tools including wrenches, screwdrivers, etc, I carry a small triangle file which can be used to repair damaged bolt threads as well as other uses.  Another handy item is a Stanley 15-333 8-Inch Folding Pocket Saw.  This saw is like a big folding knife that uses reciprocating saw blades.  It will store a couple of extra blades in the handle.  I carry a wood cutting blade, a metal cutting blade, and a carbide grit blade that can be used to cut hardened steel like a padlock.  We once used these to manufacture a needed part in a remote area in South America. One more item, although I’ve never needed to use it, is a few 3/32” E-6010 welding rods.  These can be used with three 12 volt car batteries and some jumper cables to make an emergency field repair.

I haven’t had hardly any issues with flat tires in car or bike in the US in years. After saying that, I was assigned to do some volunteer work in a Midwest City that was partially destroyed by a tornado.  One of the things that became readily apparent was there were lots of flat tires and more than one tire per car. In a TEOTWAWKI situation I would suspect flat tires to be a huge issue and highly likely.  Having a hand pump or compressor and tire repair tools and supplies will be most important.  On the bike I carry a small 12 VDC compressor, tire plugs, patches, spare tubes and tire irons just in case my tubeless tires can’t be repaired with a plug. 

Traveling in remote areas in foreign countries is a real eye opener and good practice for when things are not so good here.   One of my first remote bike trips was in Baja back in the 1980’s.  When we arrived in a small town there was a line at the gas station.  People had been there for 3 days waiting for the arrival of the next gas supply truck.  In South America one gas station was so remote they had to start a small generator to make electricity to operate the gas pumps while another station was just a rack with 2 liter pop bottles filled with gas. Traveling in these remote parts of the world you don’t pass up keeping your tank full because there may not be any fuel down the road, something that may happen here way too soon.  We had just left Santiago, Chile four days before the big quake in 2010.  Talk about being lucky and being glad I keep the survival items with me.  Here’s another tip, never fill up your vehicle if there is a fuel tanker at the station unloading fuel into the stations tanks.  This stirs up any crud that may be in the stations tank and you will pump it into your vehicles tank.

We have it too easy here in the US, or at least until TSHTF.  Here in the US we think getting patted down at the airport is a big infringement of our rights.  In a grocery store in Namibia all customers were patted down before leaving the store and there was a military guard with machine gun at the entrance. At several other locations, stores had little to sell and shelves were basically empty.  Leaving one town the next morning after a rain storm had all the ditches along the road filled with people bathing, washing clothes and filling their buckets from the puddles of rain water.  These are some of the things that are commonplace in many parts of the world but not yet here.  I know I’m preaching to the choir, but get and store the items you want while they are still available as they are luxury items in many places and in the future they may be scarce here also.  In Zambia I paid about 32,000 of their dollars (“Kwacha”) for two beers.  The point being that cash, even the US dollar, may not be worth much in the future.

Traveling on normal roads in the US isn’t that hard on a vehicle, but in a TEOTWAWKI situation, off road or remote travel will introduce a lot of vibration.  This is hard on the vehicle, passengers and supplies.  Your vehicle whether a car, truck or motorcycle needs to be prepped.  It’s amazing how many things will shake loose.  I use Loctite on all the nuts a bolts.  I recommend Loctite 290, which is medium strength wicking formula that you can apply to already fastened bolts thus negating the need to undo every fastener.  Other things you don’t think of, are things like pills.  They will turn to dust if not properly packed and some medicines can be deadly if taken as a powder instead of a slowly absorbed pill. I’ve had holes rubbed through packed clothes that touched the inside walls of the panniers.  I’ve also learned to pour my water into recycled soda bottles.  The thinner walled water bottles don’t hold up well under vibration and even the heavier duty soda bottles need to be carefully packed.

I carry a pretty complete first aid kit that I packed into a foam lined camera case.  I won’t go into the contents as there are many good lists available. Because I’ve traveled in remote areas in several foreign countries I’ve had special shots and pills required for things like typhoid, hepatitis, tetanus and yellow fever.  If one studies the aftermath of areas where disasters have occurred and the diseases that become issues I’d recommend getting those shots now.  My doctor is aware of the type of travel I do so he has prescribed other medicines for “just in case”.  I just plainly asked him what he would take with him if he was going where I was going.  A couple of different antibiotics and some pain medications supplement the other over the counter medicines I normally pack.  One really important medicine is an anti-diarrheal.

Because bulk and weight are precious commodities on a motorcycle during normal travel, just a jar of peanut butter and crackers are used to supplement daily food stops.  In a SHTF situation I have another dry bag packed with a pack stove, mess kit, food items and additional water as well as a Katadyn water filter.  I carry the typical backpacking camping equipment for setting up camp.  A Gerber pack axe for its size and weight it is pretty useful tool as well as an additional defensive weapon.  Some OD green heavy thread and some booby trap string poppers make a good perimeter guard and can be attached to items that might walk away.  They won’t hurt any one and the loud report will probably scare away all but the most determined.

While a motorcycle isn’t the ideal BOV for everyone, it has some advantages and I consider it another backup to the back up.  Ideally in a group evacuation a motorcycle could be very useful as a scout vehicle and in less than total collapse situations they allow quick fuel efficient travel. My final tip for when TSHTF is to remember to pack a roll of toilet paper.

JWR’s Comments: It cannot be overemphasized that choosing a motorcycle as your bug out vehicle will necessitate storing nearly all of your gear and storage food at your retreat. While not for everyone, a dual sport motorcycle can add tremendous versatility to your mobility.

Letter Re: Disasters and the Dreaded Multigenerational Scenario

Dear Jim,
We have already seen how the largely bankrupt USA has dealt with the Hurricane Katrina disaster. New Orleans remains partially empty and its population is much lower. Those who had any money left when the hurricane was announced to hit. If they returned, it was to recover a few belongings and collect their insurance checks before ceding the property/ruin back to the FedGov/State. Surrounding areas where the Hurricane spent its fury have been abandoned. The wrecked 9th Ward of New Orleans was not rebuilt. Someday it will flood again, and this time with few people to complain, it will probably turn into a swamp and spin doctors will make it sound like this was a happy accident. The sad fact that the USA doesn’t have the money to keep rebuilding poor people’s homes when they get flattened by natural disasters is the NWO of our DMGS (Dreaded Multi-Generational Scenario).
 
Someday the New Madrid Fault will break again near Memphis, and the Midwest will be largely flattened like it would have been back in 1805, had it been built up like it is today. The aftershocks will rattle the Midwest for the following 80 years, since that’s how long they had aftershocks Last time. There were earthquakes during the Civil War that were direct aftershocks following the New Madrid quakes. Stone/masonry tends to fall apart in quakes, depending on luck and positioning. There are places where the shaking is worse than others, and places where it is not as bad. This is complicated by lots of factors so luck determines who gets hit or missed. At least the Midwest has food to eat.
 
Someday the Big One will hit California. If it hits Los Angeles, the damage to the infrastructure and water supply will cost a Trillion Dollars to repair. California insurance companies cannot afford this. Neither can the State government, as the budget is not organized such things. [Some conjecture deleted, for brevity.]
 
If the Big One hits the San Francisco Bay region, the damages are likely to be worse and more expensive than in Los Angeles, since the San Francisco Bay Area is more expensive, more valuable, and more established in a smaller area. The bay itself has been landfilled in various places, and homes and buildings placed on that. These are expected to fail in a strong enough quake. Many did in the 1989 quake. Entire elevated freeways were destroyed by the shaking, and bridges damaged. And that was only a 7.0. The Big One is in the 8.6-9.0 range, much stronger. Imagine all the water, sewer, natural gas, and electrical power being torn up by the ground waves. That’s trillions to repair, and years to repair it. The population can’t wait that long. Many of the places hit would not have the money to pay for repairs, so most of the area would be abandoned, much of the old buildings bulldozed as unsafe, even if they go through the shaking somewhat intact, just because they have no public utilities. Nobody talks about costs in Hollywood disaster movies, or that those costs are so huge to rebuild that it stops making sense. The East is likely to announce that the disaster areas are mandatory evacuation zones, and all civilians are required to leave. This is about money.
 
Because we live in a time where money is largely concentrating in the 1%, and jobs are all going to China, massive unemployment means no tax revenue. Even if there’s no lives lost in a disaster, there’s no money to pay for rebuilding. With many mortgages underwater, walking away is the smart move, financially. The above scenarios are likely at some point in the future, inevitable really, just as Hurricanes keep pounding the Gulf and Atlantic coasts, and tornados rip up midwestern towns. At some point, people will be choosing between insane tax rates or leaving, and most will pack up a U-Haul with their surviving material possessions and go somewhere not ruined yet. When the Big One hits California, taxes for the state should go so high that it will probably be a good time to flee. Leave Big Agriculture to keep growing the food we eat. Just go somewhere else.
 
Your job is to recognize when the place you live stops making sense and to leave while the leaving is good. – InyoKern