Preparedness Notes for Thursday — February 27, 2020

1

On February 27, 2012, Wikileaks begins disclosing 5 million e-mails stolen from private intelligence company Stratfor.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 87 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $10,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A gift certificate from Quantum Harvest LLC (up to a $2,200 value) good for 12% off the purchase of any of their sun-tracking models, and 10% off the purchase price of any of their other models.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical 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,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  7. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Second Prize:

  1. A Front Sight Lifetime Diamond Membership, providing lifetime free training at any Front Sight Nevada course, with no limit on repeating classes. This prize is courtesy of a SurvivalBlog reader who prefers to be anonymous.
  2. 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,
  3. A $300 purchase credit for any of the products from EMPShield.com
  4. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  5. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  6. An assortment of products along with a one hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

Third Prize:

  1. Good2GoCo.com is providing a $400 purchase credit at regular prices for the prize winner’s choice of either Wise Foods or Augason long term storage foods, in stackable buckets.
  2. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  3. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  4. Naturally Cozy is donating a “Prepper Pack” Menstrual Kit.  This kit contains 18 pads and it comes vacuum sealed for long term storage or slips easily into a bugout bag.  The value of this kit is $220.
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. A transferable $100 purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Round 87 ends on March 31st, 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.

Psychological and Physical Survival – Part 3, by K.B. MD

14

(Continued from Part 2. This concludes the article.)

—

Part 3 – Preventive Strategies

Yesterday, in Part 2 we covered disaster’s effects such as depression, grief, and PTSD. Today in Part 3, we will focus on numerous preventive strategies. It is imperative to work proactively at protecting the psychological health of your entire group. This will require advance study and forethought for some unless you are blessed to have an individual in your group with medical and/or counseling experience to call upon. Nevertheless, it is crucial to think, read, and plan for psychological stress management as we do for other aspects of survival. Also keep in mind that these are skills and preparations that you definitely will use as an individual during your life even if there is no disaster or TEOTWAWKI. We will all face stress and loss which we will endure more successfully with some of the skills covered below and which will assist us in helping others in our homes and communities.

While I am a licensed M.D., retired disabled, I am not a psychiatrist and remind our readers that I am neither diagnosing nor prescribing. Please obtain prompt medical care from licensed practitioners as long as they are available.

Three Areas to Strengthen

There are three areas that we will focus our attention on strengthening. They are physical, emotional, and spiritual. Some of you will already be acquainted with portions of the material, but there is certain to be new food for thought and helpful references listed below for further study.

Physical (Fitness, Work, and Withdrawal)

We all know the benefits of regular scheduled exercise in managing stress. Put yourself on a 3 or 4 times a week fitness program after medical clearance from your practitioner. Even after a disaster when there will be excessive physical work, people will still need opportunities to unwind such as a relaxing walk or private time for meditation or prayer. Now is also the time to focus on a healthier diet. Decrease reliance on junk food, alcohol, tobacco, and drugs. With medical assistance, deal with health problems now and learn which medications are absolutely required for your survival. Aim for a better, healthier you, whatever that is, given your age and medical situation.Continue reading“Psychological and Physical Survival – Part 3, by K.B. MD”

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

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SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods— a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from “JWR”. Our goal is to educate our readers, to help them to recognize emerging threats and to be better prepared for both disasters and negative societal trends. You can’t mitigate a risk if you haven’t first identified a risk. Today, we look at some more Wuhan flu news.

Coronavirus Floods South Korea; Europe Begins to Isolate Italy

We’ll start with this piece linked over at the Whatfinger.com news aggregation site: “Tsunami-Like” Coronavirus Floods South Korea With New Cases; Europe Begins To Isolate Italy: Live Updates. A snippet:

“None of these numbers are even remotely credible any more, and serve merely the propaganda purpose of giving the impression that Beijing is winning the war against the spread of the Coronavirus, when in reality nobody has any idea anymore what is going on on the ground in China, and is why workers refuse to show up to their place of business. “

JWR’s Comment: I’ve had several readers write to ask for advice on how to make the decision on when to self-isolate.  I’d say that you decision point should be based on A.) The age and health of your family members, B.) the first reported cases in your county, and C. Any news reports of mutation to a more deadly strain.  If anyone in your family has a chronic lung condition, immunosuppressed, or is over age 60, then you need to be ready to self-isolate once there is a reported case in your county. But regardless, you should keep your family well-stocked, to be ready. (“Worst case” is the advent of a new virus strain that has a higher rate of lethality.)

Iran: Severe Virus Outbreak?

Iranian Resistance Declares Regime Covering Up Severe Virus Outbreak

Steve Bannon: Pandemic! Coronavirus Is Out of Control

Steve Bannon: Pandemic! Coronavirus Is Out of Control In China. What MUST be done.

Bahrain: Apocalyptic locust swarm stops traffic

Apocalyptic locust swarm stops traffic as sky turns black in terrifying footage.

Continue reading“The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“I wish to be useful, and every kind of service necessary to the public good becomes honorable by being necessary. If the exigencies of my country demand a peculiar service, its claim to perform that service are imperious.” – Nathan Hale

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — February 26, 2020

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This day, February 26, is the birthday of Major-General Orde Charles Wingate (born, 1903, died 24 March 1944), an eccentric British Army officer who organized special military units in Palestine in the 1930s, and in Abyssinia, Sudan, and Burma during World War II. He is most famous for his creation of the Chindits, airborne deep-penetration troops trained to work behind enemy lines in the Far East campaigns against the Japanese during World War II.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 87 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $10,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A gift certificate from Quantum Harvest LLC (up to a $2,200 value) good for 12% off the purchase of any of their sun-tracking models, and 10% off the purchase price of any of their other models.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical 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,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  7. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Second Prize:

  1. A Front Sight Lifetime Diamond Membership, providing lifetime free training at any Front Sight Nevada course, with no limit on repeating classes. This prize is courtesy of a SurvivalBlog reader who prefers to be anonymous.
  2. 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,
  3. A $300 purchase credit for any of the products from EMPShield.com
  4. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  5. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  6. An assortment of products along with a one hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

Third Prize:

  1. Good2GoCo.com is providing a $400 purchase credit at regular prices for the prize winner’s choice of either Wise Foods or Augason long term storage foods, in stackable buckets.
  2. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  3. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  4. Naturally Cozy is donating a “Prepper Pack” Menstrual Kit.  This kit contains 18 pads and it comes vacuum sealed for long term storage or slips easily into a bugout bag.  The value of this kit is $220.
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. A transferable $100 purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Round 87 ends on March 31st, 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.

Psychological and Physical Survival – Part 2, by K.B. MD

6

(Continued from Part 1.)

Part 2 – Disaster: Depression, Grief, and PTSD

Yesterday in Part 1, I covered types of stress and began to touch on tools and techniques for control. Today in Part 2, I will discuss disaster’s effects including depression, grief, and PTSD, while Part 3 will focus on numerous preventive strategies. While I am a licensed M.D., retired disabled, I am not a psychiatrist and remind our readers that I am neither diagnosing nor prescribing. Please obtain prompt medical care from licensed practitioners as long as they are available.

Who Is Susceptible?

People who survive disasters may experience depression, grief, and PTSD among other psychological conditions. In addition, they may also have more serious and long-lasting adverse effects on physical health. Who is susceptible? Everyone.   Let’s begin with children. After Hurricane Sandy, as many as 35% of children experienced signs of moderate to very severe PTSD at 9 months post-event and still 29% at 21 months. Often people don’t even think about the emotional impact of disaster until 6 to 8 weeks post event when survival becomes easier. Until life eases, adults and children just trudge along untreated. Another study of survivors (all ages) of mass shootings revealed that 28% develop PTSD and approximately 1/3 have a resultant acute stress disorder. Level of impact on emotions depends upon disaster, proximity, and duration. First, what was the type and severity of the disaster? How close was the person to the crisis? This second factor ranges from being in the middle of a terrible catastrophe as the worst to merely learning of it on the media as the least. First responders, assisting family members, and other workers are in between in severity. Gender also has an effect.   Women and girls are more susceptible to adverse impact on emotional health than men and boys. (No, I’m not being sexist!

I, myself, am a woman so please no accusations. Thank you.) Since some of today’s college students are needing cry rooms, emotional support llamas, bouncy castles, cookies, and coloring books just to endure the “rigors” of college, consider how poorly they will survive a genuine disaster!

What Can Help?

What can help? The support system of family and friends is crucial to having greater resilience after a disaster. This cannot be over emphasized. If this is not possible, there must be hope for help from the government and charitable organizations, plus counseling. Even if family and friends cannot help each other, it is very healing for survivors to have the opportunity to gather together and share their common experiences.   In the TEOTWAWKI, we must keep hoping, stay positive, and help one another as much as possible. The church or other area structure/organization can serve as a site for gathering to share memories of the common event and to discuss solutions to problems. Information intake forms could serve to note the expertise and various professions represented in the surviving community.

Psychological Effects of Disaster

Depression, grief, and PTSD will be all too common. We need to be aware and watch for the danger signs of these and other psychological conditions among our family and friends. There is no way to become a quick expert, but we can all learn some of the most common signs and symptoms and have a list to refer too. I suggest a few mnemonics below, but others are available if you prefer.

Depression

For depression, my mnemonic is SAFE with two points for each letter:

S- Sad- Expresses feelings of hopelessness, pessimism. Suicide risk or reckless behavior risk?

Sleep disturbance- May exhibit either insomnia (especially in early morning) or excessive sleeping.

A- Angry- Is irritable, short-tempered.

Activities- No longer interested in favorite hobbies nor in sex. Unable to feel joy or pleasure.

F- Focus- Displays a decrease in mental concentration, memory retention, and /or decision-making.

Food- Decreased or increased interest in food with a 5% weight change up or down.

E- Energy- Is lethargic and lacking in initiative, or perhaps agitated.

Esteem- Expresses self-hate and/or feelings of guilt, worthlessness.

 

Is this person “SAFE”? Does he/she have a sad expression and feel that there is no hope for the future?

Do they wish that they would not wake up in the morning or that they had never been born? (Suicide danger signs) Have they considered committing suicide or have a plan? Is their normal sleep pattern disrupted? Are they no longer interested in the things that used to make life seem worthwhile? Are they eating less or more? Are they unable to concentrate or make normal decisions such has what clothes to put on in the morning? Is their behavior sluggish and lethargic or perhaps agitated and restless? Do they have survivor guilt or think that they are worthless and don’t deserve to live?

If the answer is “yes” to a number of the above statements, the person needs help. If suicidal, do not

leave them alone. They need to be under constant observation until out of danger.

Grief

Well, I’m sure we can all identify grief, but consider the known acronym DABDA.

DABDA—denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance

These are the five stages of grief according to the Kubler-Ross model.   Please keep in mind that a person will

not necessarily experience all of the stages, nor in any particular order.   It is not unusual to deny/refuse to believe that someone is dead. “He/she is just asleep and will wake up soon.” Anger may be expressed as, “He promised not to leave me!” An upset person may also make a bargain with God, “I promise I’ll give up……….. if he comes home safe.” Those grieving need kindness, spiritual comfort, the closeness of supportive family and friends, a chance to verbalize their loss vocally and perhaps also by journaling, plus encouragement to continue normal activities of daily living (eating, sleeping, etc.) The grieving process cannot be rushed and will last however long is necessary.

PTSD

RISK FACTORS

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) will unfortunately be a more common occurrence after a catastrophe.

Again the intensity of the experience plus the length of time living under the life-threatening situation will increase the possibility of developing PTSD. Some of the risk factors for developing PTSD include the following:

  1. A high risk, dangerous, or stressful job such has being a first responder or member of the military
  2. A history of early life trauma or abuse
  3. A family history of depression or anxiety
  4. Predisposing temperament
  5. Variations in brain function and structure

People with a naturally smaller pregenual anterior cingulate cortex of the brain, an area that regulates emotions, are more prone to develop PTSD. It is a vulnerability factor. After trauma, the size of the orbitofrontal cortex, an area that eliminates fearful memories, may actually decrease in size.

Keep in mind that one may develop PTSD without being In the actual center of the event. For example, a mother who knows that her children are in dreadful danger in a natural disaster and cannot reach them may develop PTSD as a result of her separation from them. She experienced a time of extreme personal vulnerability ie intense feelings of helplessness and fear.

SYMPTOMS

The symptoms of PTSD are usually of four types. My mnemonic is “RAIN”. Just remember that having PTSD will definitely rain on your parade. I am not being flippant in saying that. PTSD can cause great distress and disruption in lives, and those individuals are deserving of compassion and assistance.

RAIN –

  • Reactions
  • Avoidance
  • Intrusion
  • Negativity

First, reactions are changed. A person may be hypervigilant and easily startled. There may also be feelings of guilt and self-destructive behavior such as excessive drinking, drug use, racing of vehicles etc.

Second is avoidance of anything associated with the traumatic event eg food, location, sounds, activities. This may also include detachment from others, emotional numbing, and flattening of affect. Third, are uncontrollable intrusive thoughts and memories with resultant severe anxiety and impaired functioning of the patient. Flashbacks and nightmares are other intrusive elements. Fourth is negativity. The person possesses negative feelings about himself, others, and the world. He/she suffers from a sense of hopelessness along with an inability to experience positive feelings such as joy, love, etc. Other components are negative effects on concentration and perhaps lapses in memory of the traumatic event. Please note that children 6 years of age and younger may act out the traumatic event during play and experience nightmares. If a patient exhibits warning signs of suicide do not leave him/her alone. Always seek prompt professional psychological treatment if at all available. The sooner treatment is begun the better and faster the patient will recover.

Tomorrow we will conclude with Part 3, preventive strategies which may make a crucial difference in survival not only of an individual, but also of entire communities. We can start preparing now! Don’t wait!

Some Useful Links

The following are a few of the many helpful sites I’d recommend to supplement what I’ve presented in Part 2.:

—

(To be concluded tomorrow, in Part 3.)

 

 

JWR’s Recommendations of the Week:

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Here are JWR’s Recommendations of the Week for various media and tools of interest to SurvivalBlog readers. The focus is usually on emergency communications gear, bug out bag gear, books and movies–often with a tie-in to disaster preparedness, and links to “how to” self-sufficiency videos. There are also links to sources for both storage food and storage containers. You will also note an emphasis on history books and historical movies. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This week the focus is on a Argentine Model 1891 Mauser rifle. (See the Featured Antique Gun of the Week.)

Books:

One of Avalanche Lily’s recent reads, following a recommendation by reader W.F.: Eating On The Wild Side.

o  o  o

A good general reference: Mauser Military Rifles of the World

o  o  o

The Rocket Mass Heater Builder’s Guide: Complete Step-by-Step Construction, Maintenance and Troubleshooting

o  o  o

The Old Farmer’s Almanac Vegetable Gardener’s Handbook (Old Farmer’s Almanac (Paperback))

Continue reading“JWR’s Recommendations of the Week:”

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — February 25, 2020

2

February 25th is the birthday of bluegrass music legend Ralph Stanley (1927 – 2016). His harmonizing and high tenor solos had an almost haunting sound to them.

—

Be advised: I will be putting Elk Creek Company on a Shipping Hiatus, starting February 27th. (I’ll be traveling for the month of March, and gathering and a cataloging new inventory.) I’ll resume shipping orders around April 4th. Please mark your calendar to check back at the Elk Creek Company store page on April 7th. You can then expect to see the addition of at least 20 more carefully selected antique guns. Thanks for your patience. – JWR

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 87 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $10,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A gift certificate from Quantum Harvest LLC (up to a $2,200 value) good for 12% off the purchase of any of their sun-tracking models, and 10% off the purchase price of any of their other models.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical 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,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  7. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Second Prize:

  1. A Front Sight Lifetime Diamond Membership, providing lifetime free training at any Front Sight Nevada course, with no limit on repeating classes. This prize is courtesy of a SurvivalBlog reader who prefers to be anonymous.
  2. 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,
  3. A $300 purchase credit for any of the products from EMPShield.com
  4. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  5. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  6. An assortment of products along with a one hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

Third Prize:

  1. Good2GoCo.com is providing a $400 purchase credit at regular prices for the prize winner’s choice of either Wise Foods or Augason long term storage foods, in stackable buckets.
  2. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  3. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  4. Naturally Cozy is donating a “Prepper Pack” Menstrual Kit.  This kit contains 18 pads and it comes vacuum sealed for long term storage or slips easily into a bugout bag.  The value of this kit is $220.
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. A transferable $100 purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Round 87 ends on March 31st, 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.

Psychological and Physical Survival – Part 1, by K.B. MD

25

The three parts of this article will describe:

  • Part 1 – Stress- Types and Tips
  • Part 2 – Disaster, Depression, Grief, and PTSD
  • Part 3 – Preventive Strategies

—

Part 1:

Everyone has experienced challenges in life such as illness, injury, bereavement, unemployment, financial loss, social dislocation, overwork, sleep deprivation, hunger, pain, cold, loss of power, civil unrest, etc. The chance of encountering some or all of the above skyrockets during times of prolonged disaster or TEOTWAWKI.  How will you or your loved ones, adults and children, fare during disasters? In reality, all of us will feel tremendous stress and over a third of us will be afflicted with a psychological condition (see Part 2). There will be no escaping it, and stress threatens survival by negatively impacting upon our emotional and  physical health. It even suppresses our immune system and makes us more susceptible to viral disease.

No one is immune to emotional stress, no matter how resilient we may think we are or how determined we may be to triumph over any situation. Eventually stress will manifest itself and can impact upon physical health even to the point of causing death. Consider a few of the possible results such as hypertension, unrelenting tachycardia (rapid heart rate), or myocardial infarction (heart attack). Remember that stress affects not only the individual but also reverberates throughout the entire household and community.

Today in Part 1, we will cover types of stress and begin to touch on tools and techniques for control.

Part 2 will discuss some of disaster’s effects such as depression, grief, and PTSD, while Part 3 will focus on numerous preventive strategies. While I am a licensed M.D., now retired disabled, I am not a psychiatrist and remind our readers that I am neither diagnosing nor prescribing. Please obtain prompt medical care from licensed practitioners as long as they are available.

This series covers information that may be helpful in the event of TEOTWAWKI and I invite our readers to share other positive tips that they may have, especially after careful study of the full 3-part series. While I encourage the reading of all 3 parts, the third section is especially important as a component of survival preparation which may make the difference between living and dying.

Types of Stress

I encourage you to take a look at the Holmes and Rahe stress scale, one for adults and another for children. These show us a point system for 43 life events. For example the death of a spouse is 100 points, dismissal from work is 47 points, and a change in financial state is 38 points. If one’s yearly total is 300 points or more, there is a definite risk of illness. This total and more could easily be reached during a prolonged disaster. Dr. Karl Albrecht published his model of four common types of stress in his 1979 book, Stress and the Manager. These are: time stress, anticipatory stress, situational stress, and encounter stress. There are other ways of subdividing stress, but we will now discuss Albrecht’s stress categories, with a TEOTWAWKI application.

Time Stress

After a disaster, chores will abound and there will not be enough time to accomplish them all.

Time stress will require prioritizing tasks and assigning them wisely to those best able to finish quickly. In order to avoid burnout, consider switching chores around to provide variety and change in type of work stress, both physical and emotional. Remind workers to stop, stand up, and take a few deep breaths when they feel pressured, if the situation permits. A lot more time if necessary and continue to encourage the group and promote a sense of supportive community.Continue reading“Psychological and Physical Survival – Part 1, by K.B. MD”

SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

31

This weekly column features news stories and event announcements from around the American Redoubt region. (Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and Wyoming.) Much of the region is also more commonly known as The Inland Northwest. We also mention companies of interest to preppers and survivalists that are located in the American Redoubt region. Today, we focus on the Greater Idaho Movement. (See the Region-Wide section.)

Region-Wide

DSV was the first of several readers to mention this: Secession in the Pacific Northwest? Some Oregon residents petition to join Idaho. JWR’s Comment: If the Idaho and Oregon’s legislatures are agreeable to a Greater Idaho, then I’m agreeable to a Grander American Redoubt. (And beachfront property for Idaho!)

o o o

Here is some video commentary from Vincent James: Oregon Counties Trying to SECEDE to Idaho While Virginia Secession Talks ESCALATE.

o o o

Greater Idaho movement wants to ask Douglas County voters to leave Oregon for Gem State

o o o

Trump has flipped the 9th Circuit — and some new judges are causing a ‘shock wave’

Idaho

You’ve gotta love Idaho: Idaho girl, 11, brings AR-15 rifle to gun legislation hearing

o o o

A new listing near Grangeville, at my #1 Son’s spin-off SurvivalRealty.com site: Idaho Homestead with solar power on 33 acres

o o o

Case of missing children tied to doomsday beliefs, three deaths. Digging in to this news, this just gets more strange.

o o o

Take a look at this company that I just heard about, headquartered in Sandpoint, Idaho: Bright Lights Solar

Continue reading“SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt”

Preparedness Notes for Monday — February 24, 2020

7

A couple of folks who have bought our waterproof 2005-2019 Archive USB sticks have had questions about how to use them. Hugh Latimer has provided the following explanatory notes:

The SurvivalBlog Archive stick is an offline copy of the web site. As such, it requires a web browser in order to display the contents. However, the web browser does not need to be connected to the Internet. This has been the case with every archive year, produced in the past. Because it is “offline” that means there is no way to provide and index or search function because those are things that the web server provides. To use it, insert it into your computer and open it with your file browser. In the root folder of the drive, there is a file named “index.html“. Simply double click on that file and it will open up just like the web site does on your computer sans the “search” function.

Every article contains a “print” function (seen in the form of a small printer icon at the top of each article) that can be used to provide a print-friendly format of the article that will expose the internal links, replacing them with footnote markers with the actual link used spelled out at the bottom of the article. This is the same functionality as the “online” version hosted at SurvivalBlog.com.

The extensive bonus content (expanded again for the 2005-2019 edition) has been incorporated into the navigation links on the right hand bar of the archive.

The archive can be used with smartphones and tablets as long as you have a USB adapter that fits both the phone and the drive and your device can see USB drives as attached file storage. It will require a relatively new(ish) computer (with an operating system from within the last six years or so) because the drive is formatted in the industry standard Microsoft “exFat” file system. Old computers will probably not be able to see the USB drive.

Oh, and by the way, we are now down to less than 125 USB sticks, from what might be the final batch produced in 2020. If you want to buy any, then don’t hesitate!  I expect them to sell out in the next 10 days.

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Today, we present an product review by our Field Gear Editor, Pat Cascio.

MCK Micro Conversion Kit for Glocks, by Pat Cascio

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I’ve always been of the mind that the less you do to a firearm, in the way of customizing it, the better off you’ll be. I’ve come to this way thinking for a number of reasons, first and foremost is the problem of liability. So I don’t like to do a lot of custom work on a firearm for my own use.

The grand old 1911 is the most customized handgun in the world – has been for a lot of years. I used to do a lot of custom work on 1911s – not only for myself, but for some of my customers, when I was doing gunsmithing work. Now, with that said, I’ve seen this happen in court, and I’ve read about it numerous times. If you are involved in a shooting, and you used a customized firearms, the prosecuting lawyer will rake you over the coals, with questions like: “isn’t a factory gun good enough for you, but you had to have custom work done on it, so it’s more deadly?” “Why did you put a hair-trigger on your gun, so you could shoot people faster?” How about handloaded ammo? ”Doesn’t factory ammunition kill good enough for you, that you had to reload your own ammo, making it more deadly?” These are just a few of the things you might face if you shoot someone. So, I keep “customizing” to the bare minimum these days.

The Glock handguns are the second most popular firearm when it comes to customizing. There are all manner of simple drop-in parts you can install yourself on a Glock. I prefer night sights on my Glocks – some come with them, and some don’t. The reason for night sights is because I don’t want to purposely shoot at a person that might not be the intended target. Secondly, I also like the fiber optic sights, those really allow you to see the sights so you can better hit what you are aiming at. Okay, so far, so good – nothing much a lawyer can tear you apart for. I’ve installed some lighter trigger (pulls) on some Glocks over the years. However when it comes down to it, I don’t do that any longer – I don’t want to be accused of having a “hair-trigger” on my self-defense handgun. I think, with a little bit of practice, anyone can master the “mushy” trigger pull on a Glock, no need to replace the factory trigger.

So, this is why I prefer, for the most part, to keep most of my handguns “as-is” from the factory, I don’t need to be questioned in a court of law, as to why I changed something on a self-defense firearm. Now with that said, there are some “customized” parts for a Glock, that I think are worth looking at. I don’t mind an extended slide release in the least. And, installing some after-market rubber slip-on grips – not a big deal, either. But today, we’re looking at a Glock accessory that is fairly new and worth checking out, the Micro Conversion Kit from Roni.  It is being sold all over the place these days, at some great prices, too.  The original Roni kit was just “okay” but it was pretty spendy, and it just wasn’t “right” to my way of thinking. But now they have improved on it, with this newest version.

So, what is a Micro Conversion Kit for a Glock? Well, in a nutshell, it is a device that turns your Glock into something akin to a short-barreled rifle – but not really. This is hard to explain, but let’s see if I can do it. The MCK is a polymer device that allows you to insert your Glock handgun into it – and it latches on to the front Picatinny rail, and on the rear, so that locks the Glock into it, solidly. Takes just a few seconds to do, and many police departments are buying the MCK for their officers, who might have to do a building search or go into a hostage situation, because it makes the Glock more accurate and it locks solidly into your shoulder – even though it has an “arm brace” on it – that the BATFE now says you can shoulder.Continue reading“MCK Micro Conversion Kit for Glocks, by Pat Cascio”