One of the primary considerations we need to keep in mind for emergencies is the benefits of fire. With a proper fire you can keep warm, cook food, sterilize water, signal for help, keep insects at bay, see at night and many more benefits come from fires. But today, we need to restrict ourselves in many cases to fires that may not be so efficient or convenient for our best interests. As a society we have drifted away from fires in the home for many reasons, and that’s too bad. I remember when I was a little kid that on occasion my Dad would build a fire in one of our two fireplaces and we little kids would huddle around the fire, gazing in awe at the crackling logs and glowing coals, as we unknowingly kept warmer than we would have been without that fire.
And then there have been many occasions growing up where we have visited relatives, and there would be a fire in the fireplace, and during the summer a fire in the barbeque pit in somebody’s back yard. And don’t forget the campfires as we enjoyed the great outdoors. For some strange reason I remember this one particular camping trip where we all went camping, except for my mother and younger brother, and when we arrived at the campground it was drizzling pretty bad. The first thing my dad did was to get a fire going in the fireplace, put some water on to boil and after the tent was up make us some hot chocolate. We huddled around that fire on that dark soaking summer evening and the warmth dried us, and entertained us as well. I think without that fire we would have all been miserable campers, instead of happy campers.
With these thoughts in mind, turn to what we have today and the home you live in, and think about your emergency preparedness plans. If the power were to be out for several days, does your home have what it takes to keep you warm, cook your food, sterilize your water and light up your nights? If it does, bravo for a job well done. If it doesn’t, why not?
There are many options today for alternative heating, and most people with a survival mindset already have a plan in place for when the lights go out. Some folks use what is affectionately called a top hat, or kerosene heater. These are possibly the best choice you can make in the way of emergency heating, as you can also cook on them as well. Toyostove, Kerosun, Corona, and Dyna-Glo are all popular names, and they are all similar in appearance and operation. Dura-Heat, Sengoku, and Kero World are some other names on the market as well. So there are plenty of choices available. This type of heater is what is known as a convection type heater.
Instead of taking air from another location and blowing to the area you want to heat, such as in a hot air furnace, these heaters heat the air within the room the heater is placed in. as heat rises from the top of the heater it draws cold air in through the bottom to be heated, and continue the cycle. In this way the temperature of the room becomes consistent throughout the room, instead of having a room with cold spots. With radiant heat, only certain objects in the path of the heater become warmed. With an ambient heater only a small area becomes warmed. These more limited heaters are usually propane or butane powered, and while they work well, they don’t have the same capabilities.
Often times tank mounted, the propane style are radiant, and catalytic in nature, whereby a screen covers the burner assembly, and the flame burns inside a cage like structure. Supposedly this consumes all of the harmful particles of the gas and its burn process. the heat is directed in one direction only, and can be quite effective in smaller contained areas, such as ice fishing shacks and other small shelters. If you desire to go the propane route, there is a convection type heater available as well, and for general use is a better choice. This type of burner works the same as the kerosene fueled convection heaters. One popular name for the radiant propane heaters is the Mr. Heater Buddy heaters. Widely available, these units can be powered by either a bulk tank via an optional hose, and the smaller ones by the one pound canisters of propane you can get in most hardware and camping stores. The biggest unit is claimed by the manufacturer to be able to heat up to 400 square feet, so bear that in mind when shopping for a portable heater.
Another type of heater on the market is the butane powered type. Not widely available here in the US, the butane heater is more popular in Europe. Delonghi and Calor are a couple of well name brands. Butane has a lower BTU rating than propane, so it takes more fuel to do the same job, but on the other hand is a safer fuel. But as a plus, the butane heater manufacturers make some more 
attractive units that can look good in your home. In my opinion, I would prefer to reserve the butane for small portable stoves and lighting appliances. Their efficiency is much greater in that respect even with the lower BTU rating. Perhaps if a greater variety of butane heaters and larger canisters of fuel were available I would have a different opinion, but in a survival situation, an inability to get fuel for your needs is a critical point, and the lack of bulk butane’s availability removes it from my list of choices for survival equipment.
And herein lies the rub of making your decisions for any type of heating unit. Where is the fuel for it going to come from? When talking about a full fledged break down of the world around you, are you going to be able to call up the oil company and order a tank of oil for your furnace? While localized disasters such as the great ice storm of 98 occur, you are only talking about a short period of time. But there are other problems to contend with as well. A tank of oil for your furnace is useless if you have no power to run the furnace. You have a generator for electricity? That’s a good move, but what will you do when the gas supply runs out?
Long term, your best choice for a back up should also be your best choice for long term use with no commercially available fuel source. That leaves you with little option, and usually means wood. Or in some parts of the country, coal. Wood is a plentiful fuel in most parts of the country, and can be had in an emergency situation for the cost of the labor you put into harvesting it. Of course, the idea of simply going into somebody’s forest and hacking up their trees will rankle some folks, so you have to take care in where you get your fuel from. And if you are really prepared you already own your own woodlot or acreage where any trees you cut are your own.
A wood stove provides an excellent heat source, as well as an appliance for cooking. They can be had new for as little as a couple of hundred dollars, and sometimes used for next to nothing, if you look around some for one. But there are some drawbacks to owning one. For instance, if you live in an apartment building, what are the chances you can install one in your apartment? Thinking about the long term ramifications of this issue puts a different picture on your wall, doesn’t it? Here you are, living in a dinky little apartment with a jerk landlord who has left you in the cold because the world outside came to a screeching halt. No electricity, no fuel deliveries, no gas stations open, stores and supply houses all shuttered because of the catastrophe, what to do, what to do?
If you have a survival mindset, you’ll see what I am saying here and resolve that situation now, not later. But if you are stuck in an urban setting and cannot get a wood stove, at least get yourself one of those top hat style heaters mentioned earlier in this piece. I had one when the ice storm of 98 hit and we were without power for just over two weeks. My house was always in the seventies, and I could cook on top of the heater as well. And this was in the middle of a Maine winter, mind you. While there were no local places to by kerosene for the unit, I did have two hundred gallons of #2 heating oil in my tank for the boiler, which was useless because of not having electricity. It was a simple matter to siphon the fuel out of the tank, into a five gallon jug and used that to fuel the old corona heater I had picked up that prior fall for ten bucks at a flea market.
While #2 fuel is not an ideal mix for those heaters, it does work quite well. I found the wick needed to be cleaned a tad more often, however. Probably due to a higher water content. But if you do have one of those heaters, it would be an easy job of siphoning fuel from anyone’s fuel tanks for your own use. That, of course is illegal to do as you would be stealing from other folks, but in an end time scenario where there no longer is any law, and the homes have been vacated by people fleeing from themselves, who cares?
The point here is that you need to take control of your own destiny and figure out what you need to do to survive in the end times. It won’t be a pretty picture, and there probably won’t be any source of assistance beyond what you, and people around you of the same mindset can provide for. Widespread infrastructure collapse will be a far worse catastrophe than events like Hurricane Katrina was. As bad as that event was, it was still a localized event and help was available from outside the area. With a complete breakdown, there won’t be an outside area to rely upon for assistance. Remember that when you formulate your plans for survival in the coming times.
Headlines from today’s papers are all hyping the Obama’s administration’s decision to move the terrorist detainees to a prison in Illinois from Guantanamo next year. Makes me wonder when the revolution will begin. But in real terms, I see it as just another slick move designed to show that the Great B.O. is really the “one” as Oprah seemed to like calling him. Another promise kept, no matter the cost. I suppose at some point and time somebody will decide to let Obama know that he won the election, and that he can stop campaigning anytime.
So, to get to the meat of the matter, I see this as a tragedy waiting to happen. Possibly even an engineered tragedy, as a way for the government to finalize its control over the taxpayers of this once free nation. But whatever happens, it’ll be a hoot!
Apparently the 1,600 bed prison was offered for sale this past October to the Feds. Not surprising that this offer comes from Obama’s home state of Illinois. Holding around 200 minimum security prisoners at the moment, it does seem like the facility is wicked underused, but is it really a good idea to plop these detainees, who would just as soon slice our Christian throats in our sleep? I mean c’mon now people, wake up and smell the burning toast! A promise is made to close Guantanamo by a presidential contender. That contender also promised to bring our families home from the Middle East conflict as well, and look how that turned out.
Anyways, he has a couple of choices here. We could close the center and farm off these detainees to other countries. Been there, done that, and nobody wants them because of the danger they pose. So Obama can’t make good on his promise that way. Another choice would be to close the center and simply let everyone free, depositing them into their home countries. Can’t do that either because of the threat they pose to the nations of the world. So, to make good on the promise, the center in Guantanamo has to be closed. He never promised to release them, just close the prison.
Aha! Here comes an offer from the Presidents own state of a very fine prison that is currently underutilized. A perfect solution. But wait, first, this prison has to undergo some major upgrades to make it more secure, and it won’t be available for at least six more months after that work starts. Hmmm. Job creation in Illinois, but nowhere else during the construction period. Speaking of construction, this prison was built in 2001 for around 120,000,000 bucks. I wonder how much the feds are gonna give Illinois for it? Not that they have any money to appropriate for it. Going by some articles, the money may come from the 2010 military appropriations to be voted on next year. So no matter how we look at it, Guantanamo isn’t closing anytime soon.
No big surprise there, however. Another lame promise from yet another lame politician un-kept. The promise was that Obama would close Guantanamo within a year. Not gonna happen, is it? It’s nearly the end of December, and short of just opening the gates and simply letting the few dozen (about 200) of detainees free there is no opportunity to move these people. But an even bigger problem with this scheme is that before these detainees are moved onto US soil, the government has to pass a law allowing prisoners to be held even if they are not awaiting trial. And let’s take that one step further. Should such a law be passed, who is to say that it will not be used to detain US citizens that disagree with the current administration? Suppose you get tossed in the clink because you were at an anti-Obama rally. What then? There need be no trial planned because you could legally be incarcerated, and denied your constitutional rights we now have. After all, these same congressmen passed a law earlier this year prohibiting moving these prisoners onto US soil unless they were being tried here, didn’t they?
With 1600 beds, the Thomson Correctional Facility looks like an interesting place. I checked it out on Google Map, and from the sky it looks like one of those vacation condominium resorts. It also has some strategic pluses, as well as some big negatives as well. But I won’t go into those as I’d rather not help anyone out here. I will say that there is ample opportunity for the facility to come under attack by unfriendly forces, and that attack could easily be successful. It will be interesting to see what happens to the mix of prisoners. For one thing, there are only a few dozen at Guantanamo, which means the rest of the facility will be dedicated to regular federal inmates.
The question here is how would these prisoners be guarded? Will the facility be surrounded by troops? Or will the normal cop wannabe looser security staff be put in place. You know the type, lazy, with an air of superiority, and an inflated opinion of their own abilities. Or better put, will they be capable of repelling an attack from the outside? And if the facility is in fact breeched, what about all of the other inmates, let alone the terrorist population within?
Dick the turban Durbin seems to believe the new federal prison will provide 3,000 new jobs for the area. Another hmmmm. Three thousand new jobs in Obama’s home state of Illinois. The whole idea stinks, especially when you place military security side by side with regular prison security issues and needs. I say keep these people in Guantanamo where they belong, and give them a military trial as they truly deserve. After all, they were captured from military units weren’t they? At least for most, they were. That makes them enemy combatants in my book.
So here’s an idea; let’s just quietly slip off the island one night, leaving the prisoners behind. Then we can through the keys over the fence and say, “Here ya go Fidel, enjoy!”
Here are a couple of stories on the issue;
As I go through my growing collection of survival related books, magazines and videos, I have noticed that little attention seems to be directed to the task of establishing hidden caches of supplies that can help one avoid capture, detection or whatever(with some exceptions). I’m not really certain as to why that is, as a secret cache can be a vital component to your long-term survival plans in the worst case scenarios that may soon play out here in the US. Part of a good plan to survive the coming times is to have a destination to go to when all else fails and you need to get out of Dodge before the Marshall rides into town, and by secreting caches along your planned route you’ll be able to get by with carrying less.
Perhaps one of those reasons for lack of coverage is because of the stigma that seems to have been attached to the idea of depositing these containers in the middle of no where, like a thief hiding his stolen treasure. No matter the reasoning, it is still an important aspect of your survival plan. But what exactly do I mean when I say hidden cache? A hidden cache is a container built to be placed underground for a long period of time, with essentials that you may need at a moments notice, but may be cut off from those essentials under extreme circumstances. Normally, when dealing with a survival situation firearms and MREs are usually the first things to come to mind. But other things can be cached as well.
Tools, maps, repair parts are all things to consider stashing away for later, because you may well need these things. But what exactly is a cache, you may be asking? A cache can mean a lot of things. For instance, if you are out hunting or fishing, and you suspend your catch from a tree to deter the critters, you have a cache of meat. There is also a sport called geocaching that requires people going around finding things others have hidden, using clues to find them, normally using a GPS device. But for our discussion, a cache is simply a container placed underground filled with whatever you have decided to cache, or hide. Frequently this will be a firearm and ammunition of some sort. So a cache can encompass a lot of meanings and uses.
How do you build a cache container? Well, there are as many ways to build a tight container as there are ideas for it, but there are a few tried and tested ways to go about it. For very short-term, you could get a heavy wall ammo can or locker, seal the lid with a toluene based caulking and paint the whole thing with a couple of layers of the paint that is used to coat industrial shop floors. But steel tends to oxidize fairly quickly, even if protected, so don’t plan on more than a couple of years at best. It could last longer, but I would not want to place my chances of survival on this sort of rig. A lot of people do, though, and some swear by the old ammo can cache.
To illustrate my point, let me say here that everyone I have talked to that recommends the ammo can regularly checks on their cache every couple of years, and replaces the can, and sometimes the contents. Other choices are rocket and mortar tubes, provided they are epoxy coated in and out, but the size is pretty limiting for most calibers. And then you have the problem of all that metal should a stray metal detectorist come along. Far better is the old standby, Poly vinyl chloride piping, or PVC as most people know it by. Introduced to the world in Europe early in the last century, it gained prominence during the 30s, and there are still homes using the then installed piping systems, over seventy years later.
The type usually called DWV, which stands for drain, waste and vent, is the better choice as it has a heavier wall, and if you can get it, schedule 80 piping is the strongest and most durable over time. Usually you’ll only be able to find schedule 40, though. But no matter, PVC piping has a life expectancy of over 100 years, and some say it could well last for an eternity under some circumstances. As to the sizes, most of it comes in ten foot lengths, with readily available sizes up to 24″ in diameter. Figure out what you want to store in the tubes, and get your size from that need. Just remember that the larger the diameter, the bigger the profile will be in the ground. Also, you’ll want to bury it in a vertical position for that reason.
Once you size your tube, cut it to length with a saw, and remove the burrs left behind. Lightly sand one end of the tube and coat it with a PVC primer. Then coat an appropriately sized cap with adhesive, and install it on the end of the tube. When dry, stick that end of the tube into a bucket of water and leave it there for a few minutes to make sure there is no leakage. If it leaks, seal it again, or start over. When ready to move on, take a fitting that will take a screw on plug, or a threaded cap and glue it to the other end in the same way. Coat the threads to the plug with a thread sealer, or tape and screw it onto the tube. Then submerge the whole thing for a couple of hours in a tub of water.
After a couple of hours is up, remove the tube and dry it off, remove the plug, and if it is perfectly dry inside, then you are good to go with it. Remember that when it comes to storage, moisture is your enemy. You want zero percent humidity in your cache tubes, or your material may/will be ruined. The next step is to pack the tube with whatever you want to cache. Insert a desiccant large enough for the space to be on the safe side along with your products. Make sure any containers with liquids are double sealed in a leak proof bag, just in case they get broken. It also wouldn’t hurt to double bag any ointment or creamy compounds you may have as well. I have read in a couple of places that you should also paint the tube with an epoxy paint, but I am not convinced it is necessary to do that.
This type of tube device should be more than sufficient long-term storage for just about anywhere. You could easily expect ten or more years, depending on how good it is sealed and what you have inside for product. However, I would try to avoid locating it in areas prone to earthquakes, swampy areas or bogs, and below a water level, especially near the sea-shore where the water may be salty. Also, think ahead and try not to put it someplace that might be developed into housing of a strip mall in a few years.
Once you’ve decided where to bury your cache, you’ll need to get an auger or post-hole digger for the burying part of the job. Remember, vertical burying means a lower profile if somebody comes along looking for buried treasure. A long hole will eventually create a long trench, a tell-tale sign that something is there that shouldn’t be. Dig your hole as deep as you can and place the tube into it. Pack dirt around and on top of the tube as tightly as you can to minimize settling of the earth and leaving a depression. Scatter the dirt so there remains no indications that any digging took place at the location. One trick here is to carefully remove a layer of sod and topsoil, then dig your hole. Carefully returning the sod to its location does a better job of hiding the fresh dig.
As for finding the cache agin, five or even ten years later, that’s a tough one. Scenery changes over time so merely writing a brief description of the spot may not be helpful. Some say take the GPS coordinates and save them as a waypoint in your data log. I say that is dangerous. Having a record that anyone can tap can cause you a lot of problems down the road. It is better to check the coordinates, write them on paper, and then later save them in some sort of coded message. That way, if someone gets your GPS, they cannot use it to find your caches.
As with any survival storage and supplies you may have, don’t broadcast what you have or where it is. You are just inviting trouble to come waltzing through your front door if you do. Things will be tough enough as it is without having to fend off greedy little lazy buggers that failed to provide for their own survival. Remember, if you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail.
There’s been a lot of talk lately about the threat of a cyber based attack against the US, and the possible targets. Exactly how much risk is there of your own home or business being attacked, or damaged in the fallout of a major cyber attack? To start with, if you are reading this post, you are at risk. If you depend upon the government or public infrastructure for anything at all, you are at risk. All things that require a computer to operate, and are connected in some way to other computers are at risk of being swallowed up in a cyber attack upon this, or any other nation.
The big picture shows that we, as individuals, can do little to prevent any such attacks from occurring. However, we can take steps to prevent our own little patch of land we call home from a direct hit. And this should be standard fare for many folks who have suffered from the abuses of targeted marketing and malicious software installed without our consent. Your machines, or systems can be protected by installing various brands of security software that can detect and prevent unwanted programming from being installed on your drives. Norton and MacAfee are probably the two best known brands. Constant scanning and updating will go a long way to prevention of these nasty little bugs we call viruses, spyware, malware and other choice designations that cannot be repeated in a family environment.
From what I’ve read, I gather that one of the easiest routes for these programs to take is through the marketing efforts of online advertisers. Especially the social networking sites. There are basically two types of online advertising, blanket and targeted. In blanket advertising you get an ad on your screen when you visit various sites that is pretty generic in nature. The ad has a link embedded in it so that if you click the ad, you’ll be taken to the advertisers website. Pretty simple and sounds harmless, and if that’s all you get out of it, no harm done. However, most marketing done today is targeted. This is dangerous from a security standpoint.
In the targeted advertising scheme, when you click onto an ad, the information is saved in your computer, and as you visit more and more sites, a record develops of your preferences, and ads are automatically placed that are geared towards these interests. Things like your age, zip code and other information you give out further develop this information into an accurate online profile that tells a lot about you to these advertising agencies. The trick here is that when you sign on to these social networking sites you must agree to their terms, and those terms usually include you giving them permission to store this information. These sites offer plenty of free stuff, but remember, nothing in this world, with the exception of Salvation, is free. And even then, your Salvation came with a price.
Free downloads of various programs and gaming material also include a lot of stuff you are usually unaware of. Things like automatically checking for updates can allow your computer to connect to the internet without you even being aware of it. There are a lot of ways that ill intended people can gain access to your computer and do so really nasty things to you, such a stealing your financial and personal information, and using that information to steal from you. Or maybe simply store pornographic material that you really don’t want. A recent case from out west relates how many innocent people had child pornography loaded onto their drives, and the perverts that put it there would access it and transfer it without the owners knowledge.
So, simply put, one of the prime aspects of survival is to always be aware of what is happening around you. And with computers, this can at times be difficult as much can go on without your being aware of it. I would suggest that you limit your attachment to social networking and gaming, and don’t click onto advertisements. If you want to visit an advertiser, close your browser after copying the link, and then reopen in safe mode and go directly to the website you wish to visit. The advertiser gets your visit, but the agency that placed the ad doesn’t get your traffic. And since they don’t get your traffic, that’s one less cookie you have to worry about.
Search engines work pretty much the same way, so no matter what, you will have to be on the lookout for unwanted cyber activity on your computer. But by limiting what you do, and having adequate protection in place you can lessen the risk to your own castle and personal life.
But on the infrastructure side of life, there is a real threat of major terrorism occurring. Current threats include the electrical grid, gas and oil delivery system, air traffic and more. There is little that we can do as individuals to prevent attacks of this magnitude from occurring, but we can prepare ourselves to survive after such an attack. For instance, is your home capable of being lived in without electricity? Do you have alternative sources of heating and cooking? How about communications? A battery radio and cell phones can help with that area of concern. These are just a few things to think about, and I have shared them in a simplistic way, but the threats are still there, none the less. At any given time we could be plunged into a world without power, and if that happens, how will you survive?
Lots of writers and dreamers say that tomorrow never comes, but to those of us who prefer survival over giving up know better. Tomorrow always comes quicker than we realize, and whether you like it or not, it’s just about midnight right now. The situation in the middle east is getting pretty heated and will probably pop wide open before too much longer. Sooner may be better than later because of the nuclear potential between Israel and Iran’s rapidly growing nuclear program. Added to the mix is the growing trend to dislike the Great B.O. and his policies by the Arab nations. I would presume they thought they were going to get someone who would sleep in their camp at night, but the Arabs guessed wrong on that one. Obama may visit their camp in the daylight, but at night he is a full fledged card carrying new world order proponent.
If things do blow into a mushroom farm in the Mideast, we likely will see little to no fallout in a direct fashion, so there is little danger to the US from that concern. However, we do need to bear in mind that at any given moment there are over 6,000 nuclear warheads that could reach anywhere in the US, be used against the US at a moment’s notice. So, nuclear threat is always a constant problem to the security minded. More than likely we will suffer either a dirty bomb or some sort of biological attack somewhere on our soil. If you are really concerned about the dirty bomb threat, then I would suggest you stay away from our bigger cities.
The problem with a dirty bomb is that for it to be effective it needs to be detonated in an area that has a large population, like New York, Chicago, Dallas, etc. My guess would be that we would sooner see biological warfare used against us first. Few people realize this, but did you know that a terrorist, flying a crop duster plane can fly low enough to avoid radar, and can spray enough anthrax in a matter of just a few minutes to kill thousands of people? They could easily fly in to a city from a rural area known for its farming on the pretense of flying to a municipal airport, and while flying over the city, spray the population like an angry skunk spraying a dog. How likely is that to happen? I’d say very likely, and probably before too many more months go by.
But if you have the survival mindset, you can survive. There are some things you can have on hand to ward off a biological attack, such as plastic sheeting and duct tape. Cover over all the openings to the outside as tightly as you can with the tape, using the plastic for the larger openings. Stay inside during and after the attack until the danger is over. Of course, you’ll need an emergency band radio to keep tabs on what is happening, with plenty of batteries if it isn’t a wind up model.
You can also build a decontamination shower pretty easily. Simply prop a spray nozzle over a protected area and wash away, sort of. You’ll need to dispose of contaminated clothing and such so you’ll need a trash bag, preferably contractor grade for that purpose. There are a lot of books out that can give you some detailed instructions on the subject, so I won’t go into detail on it here. But I will in a later post, so stay tuned!
I keep pounding on the idea of turning your yard into a garden so you can grow your own vegetables. It’s not a bad idea even when the times are good to do this sort of thing. Vegetables from your own garden are cheaper and healthier than any you can buy for the most part, and anyone can do it. Remember the victory gardens from the WWII era? The idea works the same way. And today, we can fall back on a lot of research for hydroponics and what is called intensive gardening. You can grow a lot of stuff in a very small area today with all of this knowledge. Even if you haven’t a yard, you can still do container gardening on the patio or porch. Just think of those juicy red tomatoes and crisp cucumbers and beans. Fresh peas, maybe some corn on the cob and potatoes from the oven. MMMMM-GOOD!! I can’t wait to grow some of my own veggies.
And remember, if you fail to prepare, you are preparing to fail.
