It’s quite interesting seeing a nice summary of their experiences, and how living a truly primitive lifestyle for 13 months changed the way they think.

Would you have the skills necessary to live in this manner? Even with whatever supplies you might have on hand? What can you do to make life a little bit in this type of situation, even if it’s for only a week or two after a major earthquake? I can bet that no matter how well prepared you might be, it wouldn’t take too long for some areas to live in a near iron age state when it comes to their reliance on pre-packaged supplies from a store.

Audience Warning: some National Geographic style nudity in a couple of scenes

Click here to view the embedded video.

Today, Wednesday November 9th, 2011 at noon (MST) Utah time the National Emergency Alert System will be conducting a nationwide test for the first time. The Emergency Alert system system is meant to allow governments at every level to alert their citizens to events that may affect them. The hope is that the system will be usable by local cities, counties and states as well as by the federal government to issue alerts at the national level. These alerts may cover child abuduction/Amber alert notices, sever storm warnings, tornado warnings, terrorist attacks, or pretty much any conceivable notice that a government may want to advise the public of.

As interesting and useful as this system will hopefully prove to be, I think it provides another, far more important purpose. It serves as a great reminder to check on your emergency plans and gear. Take few minutes today to check your car kit and your 72 hour kits. Are they still complete? We often “borrow” gear from our readiness kits and then forget to put them back or replace consumables. Use today as a reminder that as preppers we need to stay on top of our preps. Preps are not a one-time purchase but a commitment.

For more information on the test today, visit www.fema.gov/eastest/

Here are the details from the instructor:

I must limit the size to 40 people so sign up early to reserve a spot. If you must cancel please let me know immediately so I can free up a slot for someone else. If you must cancel please do it as soon as you know you will not be coming to make room for someone else!!

-. …- –… …-

One Day Ham Radio Class for the Technician (entry level) license.

Saturday, Nov 19th, 2011 7:30am to 5pm

Room 276 in the Howard W. Hunter Law library in the J Reuben Clarke law building (JRCB) on BYU campus. If you get lost ask someone on campus. We start before the library opens so be on time so you can be let in. Park in the lot immediately east of the law building. Don’t park in the restricted areas like Dean’s spot, delivery etc….Enter through the right set of the east facing doors just left of the service entrance and go halfway down the hall and turn right. You are now facing 3 doors with the elevator on your left. go through the door on the right that has the large round sign “caution automatic door”. Go through the detectors by the main entrance and past the circulation desk. Room 276 has a green blinking light right next to the door to your left about 100 feet in. I have an interior map I will send if you want.

An interactive map of campus is here: http://byu.edu
Click on “Campus Map” in the lower left.
It is building #16 on the map; the J. Reuben Clark building JRCB.
Another map is here: http://map.byu.edu/campusmap.pdf It is building
#16 in this map also.
GPS N 40 14.977′ W 111 38.718′

From 7:30am to noon is classroom instruction and then a break for lunch between noon and 1pm. Bring a lunch or you can buy lunch at several places close by on and off campus. Between 1pm and 5pm is self study using a computer program. When you are ready, in the afternoon, you may take the exam. You don’t have to take the test that day if you are not ready and would like to study more. There are plenty of opportunities to test later.

Each student needs a laptop computer for self-study in the afternoon. The laptop needs to run MikeRowesoft Windows with an optical drive to run a program from CD. Borrow a laptop if you don’t have one. Bring an extra laptop if you don’t mind loaning it. The room we will be using has power at every seat for a laptop. I also have a CD for Linux and Mactel (The newer Mac that has an Intel microprocessor) laptops if you can boot off the CD drive. If you have access to a laptop but don’t want to install the program The Mac/Linux CD also allows you to run the program without installing it (this is great if the laptop is not yours or if it was borrowed from work).

I have a handful of laptops to loan during the class. There are not enough of them to cover all who attend so everyone who can needs to bring a laptop. If you have an old laptop gathering dust you no longer use that runs any form of Windows I am looking for donations to use with the class.

There is no charge to take the class but the cost of taking the test is $14.00. You need to bring two forms of ID, one preferably with a picture. The electronic form you fill out requires your Social Security number (thanks to congress….). We do not put your SSN on any forms. The most common mistake is forgetting ID and a Social Security number…… Don’t forget!! This is especially a problem with those under 18 who have not memorized their SSN.

No programmable calculators…..The test is given on computer and graded immediately. Specific instructions how to use the exam program will be given. It is similar to practice exams available on the Internet.

E-mail nv7v@ucares.org (preferred) or call Steve or Susan N7QZU (801-465-3983) to let me know if you are coming and bringing a laptop (please bring one… beg, beg….bring extra laptops if you can).

Don’t forget:

•  $14 check or cash
•  Laptop if possible

Sorry to have to include this section but I continue to have candidates come to the test session without proper ID.

You want to take the test not run home to get your ID!!!

ID requirements for the test session are rather liberal. The preference is for ID with a picture on it issued by a government entity. It is often difficult to find ID for children and many people only have a driver’s license with them so be sure to remember to bring two forms of ID.

The following qualify:

• Social Security card
• Birth Certificate
• Passport
• Driver’s license
• State ID card
• Concealed Weapons permit
• Medicaid card
• Military ID
• Library card
• Student ID (Government run school)
• Faculty ID (Government run school)
• Your automobile registration that has your name and address
• If you can’t find anything else a canceled letter addressed to the test candidate will work for one of the two IDs.

The following don’t qualify:

• Credit Cards (even those with a picture)
• Warehouse club card
• Temple recommend
• Work ID (unless you work for the government)

Notice the pattern…. ID issued by a government entity works. ID issued by a private entity does not.

Course Information

GOLD PROSPECTING FOR FUN OR PROFIT

Only 5 percent of the world’s gold has been discovered. With gold currently trading at over $1500 an ounce, panning for gold has made a real comeback. Learn new methods of panning gold that you can use 12 months of the year. Fee includes prospecting equipment you take home with you. No early registration discount. CEUs: 0.15 Hours: 1.50

At $39 this seems like a bargain for an evening of instruction on what could be a fun and profitable hobby. Here is a Link to the course. I hope to see you there!

Local first-aid company Shield-Safety is hosting two community preparedness fairs and wanted to spread the word to different preparedness groups and companies that might be interested.  If you are looking to attend, the dates and locations are as follows:

Lehi:

Sept. 16th 5 pm to 9 pm
Sept. 17th 9 am to 7 p

Herriman:

Sept. 30th 5 pm to 9 pm
Oct. 1st 9 am to 7 pm

Both events are free for attendees, and will feature first-aid training classes, and other opportunities to learn preparedness skills.

If you are interested in hosting a booth (vendor or community) we have a copy of the information you need here for download. The hosts have stressed to me they are very eager to work with all community resources such as CERT, safety officials, and other local companies.

The host, Marjory Wildcraft is also not shy about referring the viewer to the books that they consulted when learning and direct you to them for more in depth information. This is in contrast to many other “experts” I have seen over the years who keep their information close to the vest. Marjory appears to genuinely want to provide information to help others get on the path to self sufficiency by sharing everything they can fit in to the 2 hours of video on the DVD.

DVD Section Summary

The DVD is broken down into a number of chapters that cover the 2 hours of content. I’ll include some brief information on each section.

Section 1: Overview about 4 minutes in length

Just like it says, this a basic introduction, describing the makers, their property and philosophies.

Section 2: Water about 10 minutes in length

An old saying is that without water you are nothing. Water is king, especially here in the high desert of Utah. This section explains the main sources for getting water and which ones are best for food production. Marjory and her family have tried several different ways to collect and store water, some of which worked better for them than others.

Section 3: Garden about 20 minutes in length

This is one of the longer sections of the DVD. While there is plenty of good general gardening information here but I would recommend that for anyone outside of their area of Texas you look into getting information focused on your specific are. Many of the techniques demonstrated can be used in most climates, but the plants and specific processes needed, fertilizers, local pests, etc. will need a local perspective. Your local Universities Extension program likely has an Agricultural department with this information publicly available. Here in Utah, the Utah State University Extension office is a great source.

Section 4: Rabbits about 9 minutes in length

One of the primary meat sources for the family are rabbits. This is a relatively short section explaining why the family chose rabbits, how to house them, what breeds they chose and why and mistakes that you can avoid.

Section 5: Home Butchering about 18 minutes in length

This section is not for the squeamish. It centers around in depth video instructions on killing and butchering a rabbit. Hide tanning is also mentioned, but is not well covered. After this there are still pictures of the process to butcher chickens with a brief mention of other animals like raccoons, deer, elk, etc. that could all be sources of meat.

Section 6: Poultry about 8 minutes in length

This section provides a decent introduction to chickens, their predators, and some problems to look out for. Marjory outlines what breeds they use and why. Some Polyface Farms influence can be seen here as well as they rotate the chickens through different areas to help improve and maintain soil quality and to cut down on weeds and insects.

Section 7: Dogs about 5 minutes in length

The creators of this DVD are clearly sold on the benefits of having dogs in your life, mainly to fend off unwanted animals. They make some pretty convincing arguments. A short section is included on training, but as with most topics covered here, if you want to really get started in using working dogs, further research will be required, but this touches on some of the basics so you know what you are working towards.

Section 8: Perennials: Orchards, Food Forests, and Edible Landscaping about 18 minutes in length

This section has some really useful information, but again your best bet is to consult with your local University’s extension program to apply what you see in the DVD to your area. The types of edible foods that you can grow in your climate can vary greatly from those presented in this DVD or in books on the subject so do your homework on what works where you live.

Section 9: Other Essentials about 11 minutes in length

The second to last section contains information that the DVD creators think is important but doesn’t fit well in a previous section. There is plenty of good information here and is too varied to give a brief accounting of.

Section 10: Thanks about 4 minutes in length

As you might expect, this is the section where the creators thank those who helped in producing the DVD.

Bonus Material

Throughout the DVD Marjory references different books and documents for those seeking more detailed information on a particular subject. Included with the DVD is a CD-ROM loaded with many of the referenced documents in PDF format. My copy had 65 PDF documents included ranging in subject from Solar Food Dehydration to Insecticides to Hide Tanning. While I haven’t spent a tremendous amount of time reviewing the documents, they seem to have been compiled with care to supplement the information provided in the videos for those wanting more information. Often during the course of explaining what the document covers, Marjory will give a location to download the document. This is a good resource in case the information on the CD bonus disc were to become out of date.

Closing Thoughts

This DVD provides a quick introduction into many aspects of self sufficiency. As with any brief introduction, further research will be required. Having this documented example of an integrated home/small farm food production system has the potential to save you time and money by following proven, working examples.

The information in the DVD is optimized for southern climates, particularly the makers specific region of Texas. Viewers from other regions should also find it educational and useful, that being said, this is of course an introduction into many varied concepts that relate to self sufficiency. I don’t think it can be said enough, integrating all these ideas and concepts into your life will take some hard work, research and trial and error. The results should be well worth it however.

Giveaway Information

The producers of this DVD have kindly provided us a copy of this DVD to giveaway to one of our lucky readers. To enter, post a comment about this article letting us know what you would like to learn from watching the DVD. We will select one winner at random from all the comments on Friday June 17th and send them their own copy of this preparedness DVD.

When the Utah County Sheriff got the call about him falling in, I happened to be very close to the canyon just finishing up a picnic with my family.  I immediately headed towards the canyon and was almost there when we (Utah County Search and Rescue) were paged.  I was the third person on scene and was working with the Lone Peak Fire Department and several other local police and fire departments.  We set up right across from Timp Cave and started watching the river for a body.  Over the next hour, well over 100 members of the SAR Team and local PD/FD arrived and spread out over about 10 miles working our way up and down the river.  He was finally found after I had been there almost 2 hours.

Jayson was pinned in what is called a strainer.  Several logs were across the river and there was a lot of debris under the logs.  Swift moving water applies an enormous amount of force – it took several minutes and several men to work his body off of the strainer and out of the river.  My assignment was about 30 feet downstream as safety – half a dozen team members and I were positioned such that if one of our people working with Jayson’s body fell in the river we would be able to pull them out.  Once his body was freed from the river he was carefully passed amongst about 20 people to the shore and placed onto a stokes (stretcher).  Once everyone was clear of the river, the safety team moved to the stokes and he was carried to an ambulance.

I am attempting to convey a lot of imagery here, details you probably don’t always hear.  I’m doing that for a reason.  I DO NOT want to pull your kid out of the river – or YOU!  Four families in the last week have for some reason thought it would be ok to have their kids near the river – and they were WRONG.

In this case, and the details are not entirely clear, the mother either fell in with Jayson or jumped in after him.  She was fortunately pulled back out by two bystanders who risked their lives to grab her.  She was unconscious, hypothermic and immediately transported to the hospital.  She was extremely lucky that they were able to get her out of the water, as the ones who pulled her out were extremely lucky that they did not become victims themselves.

Those of us who live and play here know that you can often ford the Provo and American Fork river without too much danger.  Such is NOT the case right now and will not be for the next month and a half at least.  The rivers are extremely high and extremely fast – which equals EXTREMELY DEADLY.  With the current conditions of the water right now, if an adult went in I would say they have about a 90% chance of dying.  That goes for the Search and Rescue Team as well – our training, gear and preparation allows us to lower those odds as well as working as a team and controlling situations – but it’s still a huge risk.

If you’re taking your children in the mountains – which I highly recommend you do – just be cautious, aware and alert.  Do NOT let your children near the river!  The banks are water logged and getting hammered by water much higher than they’re used to.  Collapse of the bank into the river is a huge potential problem.  Just because you’re standing on dry ground at the edge of the river does not mean you are safe, that bank could collapse from your added weight with no warning.

Tell the story I just shared with your kids if you’re going to be in an area where the rivers are running.  Let them know that other kids like them are dying from falling in.  Show them a line 20 ft away from the bank and forbid them not to cross it.  Keep your eye on them – getting distracted for 30 seconds could easily mean you look back and your kid is gone – and 30 feet down the river – and they’re not coming back alive.

Whatever you do, don’t think “that won’t happen to me”.  There is nothing special to the river about you or your kids – it will devour you violently if you end up in it.  My kids have a lot of experience with the local rivers and I won’t let them anywhere near it.

Please, heed the warnings of the media, the authorities, of me – Do Not Let Your Kids Near the River for the next month.  There are plenty of places to play and have fun in the mountains without risking the river.  Pulling kids out sucks, I really don’t want to pull yours.

When:

Saturday, June 11, 2011

10:00 AM – 2:00 PM

And a nice video explaining things via the local newspaper, the Daily Herald

Click here to view the embedded video.

We will be selecting one winner at random from those who comment on the review post that will be published next week. Complete details on how to enter to win will be included in the review post.

In the meantime, check out this DVD preview.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Very fine Steel Wool will act as a conductor and will carry the current from the positive to the negative end of a battery.  It ignites because it isn’t designed to hold and carry that current.  It doesn’t actually ‘burn’ in much of a usable capacity.  Rather, it incinerates and provides a flame for a short time giving you an opportunity to put a flame to your tinder.  Before you  get your Steel Wool going, you need to make sure your tinder is ready (I suggest using a Vaseline soaked cotton ball) to put the flame to.

There are several ways to do this, including rubbing a 9 volt battery on the Steel Wool itself – which works fine but burns up more Steel Wool than you really need to.  What I prefer to do is take a small amount of Steel Wool and roll it basically into a thick wire that is long enough to connect the positive and negative ends of your batteries.  Once you have your igniter rolled, hold the battery and one end of the igniter on the positive (or negative, doesn’t matter) terminal of the battery and with your other hand, connect the other side of the igniter to the other terminal on the battery.  You will almost immediately get a spark and flame from the Steel Wool.  As soon as you have an actual flame, touch the Steel Wool to your tinder and blow lightly if you need to.  Your fire should be started!

There are a couple small caveats here.  1) You need to use fine Steel Wool – that means buying 0000 or quadruple-ought Steel Wool.  Other types will work, but this works best.  2) You can use a 9-volt, 2 AA’s or combinations of other batteries.

Finally, the intent of this article is to show/remind you of an alternative method of starting a fire and some other cheap ideas of things you can store for fire making.  I’m not advocating carrying around Steel Wool – I’m advocating having as many possibilities to start a fire as you can.  I carry a couple lighters with me everywhere I go, but I’ve never carried Steel Wool.  One way to look at it is, in a TEOTWAWKI situation you may have friends and/or loved ones that didn’t prep as well as you.  They probably have a flashlight though – if you give them some Steel Wool out of your storage, you can gift them the ability to start a fire.

The following video shows the entire process from start to finish: