Archive for the ‘Prepping’ Category

A couple a weeks back I made the very silly mistake of chopping wood without gloves. Long story short, the hatchet I was using made it’s way to my middle finger and the result was 5 stitches. My wonderful wife patched me up enough to get me to the urgent care and I’m on the mend now. But the incident made us realize that our first-aid supplies were scattered and could be better organized.

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The movement is getting some more mainstream attention. This time, the spot isn’t all “crazy eyed” gun slinging bunker style, but rather, practical. Read the rest of this entry »

Here is a good article that simply reiterates some truths that we as Americans need to consider.

The Five Principles of Preparedness : American Preppers Network.

I recently had the “pleasure” of working on a Sunday. And besides the fact that I was missing church, I expected this to be a half day. With that in mind I had not brought a lunch, or money to buy one. I know, I know, I know… “prepper did what”? Well in my defense I did have 4 cups of instant noodle lunch available to me. When I realized I wasn’t going to be able to leave when expected, I busted out the cup-o-salt… I mean cup-o-noodles. The salt is what I am on about. When I bought this mess in a cup I was not on a survivalist mindset at all. This garbage has 1190mg of sodium. As my co-worker Scott said, “that’ll shrivel your tongue!” He was almost spot on. I had water available to me. I probably consumed close to 60 oz that day as well. But it did not help.

The lesson to myself and to knowledge I want to share with others is to be very aware of the contents of your food. Whether the food is dehydrated or canned or prepared and frozen, the nutritional value or lack there of is very important. Even canned foods can have high sodium contents for the sake of preservation. In the case of beans you can easily rinse them with clean water to reduce the salt.

So this also opens the questions of, what are viable alternatives to prepared foods for such a situation. I usually have packets of instant oatmeal available in my desk drawer and my back pack. But the body needs more than oatmeal. How does one prepare food in advance that has a decent shelf life? I think the real lesson, is to keep food in your pack at the ready for the day when you are without. Perhaps foil pack chicken, instant rice and a low-sodium soup mix.

Too often people prepare by simply buying a lot of supplies in bulk and stuffing them in a box “just in case”. While some of the supplies need not be opened until needed, others may need to be opened and used frequently to understand their proper operation.  For instance, in a bug out situation when one may need to leave on foot, would you be ready and prepared to do so in your current condition? Would you consider the weather and how much time would you need to dress appropriately in order to leave your home? What about navigation? Do you consider your destination and landmarks along the way? Today I decided to begin what I hope to be a series of training outings.

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Well it’s the end of the year and sites all over the net are doing their roundups of the best of 2011. So here is our best of… Ecolante’s Best of the Web’s best of….

Lifehacker’s – Best Explainers of 2011 – This collection is sweet, they had some really good articles this year that I would recommend to anyone.

HowToGeek’s – Best of 2011 – Here is one that has some practical geeky goodness. Everything from how to get free wifi to using a soldering iron. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.

Survival Mom – Top 10 Items for Beginning Preppers – Not exactly a best of 2011, but this article is a great starting point for any one who wants to be a little prepared for whatever life (or the planet) throws your way. Survival Mom also has a great article on the best state to tough out in a TEOTWAWKI situation.

Merry Christmas,

Ecolante

Just a thought, I have a couple of old Nintendo DS units. These units hold a charge for a decent amount of time with occasional play. The challenge could be to see how long it takes to charge these units from being “dead” and measure the time and draw with a Kill-A-Watt. Other questions… can a DS be charged with solar power? Lots of possibilities. And the solution to keeping all the games you need in one place is a flash cartridge. With a flash cart, the possibilities are endless.

It’s come down to seeking recipes and ways to cheat your stomach into “thinking” it’s full. This is a trend sweeping Europe and it’s something that Americans should pay attention to. It’s yet another reminder that our nutritional security is about to be compromised.

Here’s the lesson. Each week, try a new recipe that can be cooked anywhere [read: open fire, esbit/hobo/alcohol stove] and learn how to cook different recipes well. There are many homeless people who were not planning on being homeless a year ago. When you are used to living a certain way, any disruption can be uncomfortable. Start learning to live with less, maximizing what you have and enjoying more.

More people seeking Depression Era and WWII wartime survival tips.

When I came home from church on Sunday I was very hungry. I ate some left over chicken and started thinking about grid down survival. I decided to give the Esbit stove a try. I had some left over soup in the fridge and decided to give that a go. For this experiment I cooked outside on the ground of my patio. I used two petroleum cotton balls for fuel and my mess-kit to cook in. I did not time the experiment, but I would say that the soup was nicely simmering after about 7 minutes. That’s an assumption. But let me tell you there is something special about open fire cooking. I felt like I had earned that soup. Read the rest of this entry »