Category: TEOTWAWKI Survival

Posted on

Two HAM radio classes in Pleasant Grove

TWO NEW TECHNICIAN CLASSES
ham_antenna
The Technician license is the entry level license for getting started in HAM radio. The Amateur Radio Club of Utah Valley often presents one day courses followed by a test to obtain your Technician class license. They have just announced a three day class and another one day class in the Pleasant Grove area. I obtained my license about three years ago. It really is easy!

04-07.Feb.2009

Three-day Technician Class (Trent, N7GMT)

14.Feb.2009

One-day Technician Class & Exam Session (Steve, NV7V)

(See http://www.arcuv.org/ for more info)
Continue reading “Two HAM radio classes in Pleasant Grove”

Posted on

Are You CERTified?

Too often I feel that we get into a “bug out” mentality that leads us to think we’ll be fending for ourselves in all circumstances, always looking out for number one.

I disagree. While there are a select few instances in which we must reduce our focus to our own life and our immediate family, I think that the majority of scenarios will involve neighbors (ideally and hopefully) working together to get through whatever has happened.

Enter CERT. Becoming CERT trained is an important part of your personal preparedness and a necessary tool in being of use to neighbors during a TEOTWAWKI scenario. Here’s a summary of the program:

Continue reading “Are You CERTified?”

Posted on

Preparing for a Nuclear Attack: Your Bug-Out Plan

This is the third in a series of posts that will go over preparation for a Nuclear Attack. The first can be found here. The previous post in the series is here.

As we’re previously discussed, if we are subjected to a Nuclear Attack, it is imperative that you have someplace to go, the means to get there and that your destination is well prepared.

Bugging Out

Continue reading “Preparing for a Nuclear Attack: Your Bug-Out Plan”

Posted on

On Junk Silver or Silver Coins or Bullion Coins and Bartering

dimes_smlI’m trying to get this all figured out, it’s kind of confusing! Junk Silver, Silver Coins, Bullion Coins, Pre-1965 Coins – it turns out they all pretty much mean the same thing! Hard-Core TEOTWAWKI Preppers know that pre-1965 silver coins are made up of actual silver and have good potential barter power. That bartering capability comes from the fact that the U.S. Mint has guaranteed the amount of silver in these coins so they have a known value. Bullion Coins are generally considered the easiest way to have known values of precious metals – hence their potential barter usage. So far this is fairly common knowledge, but there is a lot more to know in order to do this properly – and I’m trying to get it all figured out.

Continue reading “On Junk Silver or Silver Coins or Bullion Coins and Bartering”

Posted on

Backing up your computer and preserving your files

flashdrive2The fantastic Food Storage Made Easy blog has a great post out on how to set up a regular backup process for your computer. They recommend using my favorite backup company, Mozy – a Utah based company that was started by a friend of mine and was acquired about a year ago. Check out their post here. If you don’t yet have a backup plan setup, I highly recommend reading their post and following their advice!

Like Preppers are inclined to do, I want to take their post further down the Rabbit Hole. Continue reading “Backing up your computer and preserving your files”

Posted on

Preparing for the flu

Influenza, more often called the flu is a well known companion to Winter and colder weather. Typically, the flu is a minor annoyance to most people but it kills a surprising number of people in this country each year, typically the very young or very old.

While it hasn’t been reported widely in the media, the UK has begun to experience a longer, deadlier flu season. This got me thinking about preparing for a deadlier flu. Besides basic sanitation such as frequent hand washing, what can I do to prepare myself and my family for such an event?

After doing some research, I compiled a list of links that one should read if they are interested in knowing what to do to prepare for, treat and recover from a harsh flu outbreak. These links below are from the Center for Disease Control website on the flu.

Symptoms of the flu

Treatment and Prevention

Prevention for Infants

Recovery

Posted on

Welcome Back to the Storm

Welcome back, I hope your Christmas was as good as ours.  Now it’s time to get back to the grindstone of life.  I hope the recent focus on the family will keep us all looking at how to keep them safe in what is coming to us all.  With a flailing economy, people will do anything to keep afloat.  You need to make sure you are prepared ahead of time.

stormcloudsbrewingnowmorethaneveryouvegottolivewithinyourmeans

Posted on

Food Storage – Flavorings: Have you stocked up?

In a TEOTWAWKI situation very little will be available in the way of treats or delicious flavorings. Have you thought about making some preps to be able to provide a flavorful break from the bland day to day eating of rice, wheat and beans for over a year? More than just being able to provide something yummy to yourself and your family, good sweets will likely be a sought after barter item. The simplest treat to make and sell/barter would be hard tack candy. There are few ingredients to hard tack, we’ll get to those in a second. The most important ingredient in hard tack is flavoring!dscn0599

Now I want to digress for a minute and talk about Vanilla Flavor. Vanilla extract is a VERY time and labor intensive product to make. In fact, it is the second most expensive spice in the world next to saffron. The majority of the worlds vanilla comes from Madagascar – and it’s being destroyed! 80% of Madagascar’s Vanilla farms are currently being killed off by a deadly fungus! This most likely means that the already expensive flavor is going to skyrocket in price. Vanilla is one of the most common flavorings – it is used in baking all kinds of products and is also commonly added to powdered milk to enhance the flavor.

Continue reading “Food Storage – Flavorings: Have you stocked up?”

Posted on

The British called, they want their guns back.

Real world modern and historic data have shown that government efforts to suppress gun ownership negatively affects law abiding citizens while having little to no affect on criminals or the criminal use of firearms.  Citizens of England and Australia have come to that realization, perhaps too late.

Listening to these people talk about the incremental way that their rights were first infringed upon, then completely taken away reminds me of a famous quote by Martin Niemöller:

“First they came for the Communists, but I was not a Communist, so I said nothing. Then they came for the Social Democrats, but I was not a Social Democrat, so I did nothing. Then came the trade unionists, but I was not a trade unionist. And then they came for the Jews, but I was not a Jew, so I did little. Then when they came for me, there was no one left to stand up for me.”

As liberty loving Americans we need to stand up for not only our Rights but the Rights of others.

Posted on

Wood burning stoves as a prep.

Here in Utah it is very common to have a basement, often fully finished.  My house is no exception.  Our basement is around 2,000 square feet with only two finished rooms, both bedrooms.  The previous owner of our home had ducting installed to heat the downstairs, but to do so would require another furnace which they apparently decided to set up in the closet of one of the two bedrooms.

In the interest of preparedness and to avoid losing a closet (and therefore a bedroom per building code) I started looking into the option of installing a wood burning stove in the basement.
Continue reading “Wood burning stoves as a prep.”