If you read me often, you realize that I generally advise people to prepare. Plan for things that can happen, and stock accordingly. Stock material supplies, AND stock knowledge. Knowledge is worth it’s weight in gold for it’s own sake.

What does your library look like? Mine has a LOT of “How TO” books, and I have a lot of personal knowledge. I have the knowledge in my head and the books for reference.

I can blacksmith, I can garden (quite well too, I might add). I am a decent jackleg primitive paramedic. I can fabricate in wood, steel, aluminum and brass. I can smelt copper, cast and forge…iron or brass. I can make bows. I can live off the land with just a knife and enough clothing to keep me from dying of exposure (I was actually comfortable for about 2 weeks that way one summer, just to see if I could….). I can make fire about any way possible. I can fell a tree and move the logs…Then spit and stack them as building material or as firewood…all by hand. I can clean your wound and then stitch you up and dress it and care for it to keep it from being infected.

I can, given a bit of time (and suitable material), produce adobe, clay bricks, tan leather, preserve food…and make containers to protect it.  Given flint, I can make all sorts of useful things. I can make black powder given the materials…and I can find or make those, given time. I can identify and locate and use most herbs available in the midwestern United States (my AO).

I learned to do these things for fun…and I occasionally do them outside of a classroom…for real (except the wounds).

I can engineer and build structures, including bridges and such. I can do basic (and not so basic) plumbing. I can work with nearly any home or light industrial wiring. I can make and use simple machines in innovative ways…Levers, pulleys, inclined planes, rollers, etc (and I occasionally still do, even when there is power equipment that can do it easier…Just for practice).

I can repair almost anything, except bad bearings and vehicle electronics (and I can likely cobble up or substitute temporary replacements for those in a pinch).

As importantly, I have close friends who are dependable who can do the same. The pool of knowledge available is deep and broad. I was lucky. I had a great set of teachers to start me out in my father and his father. I took it from there. And I have good people around me who can do the same.

I need more chemistry and medical knowledge…but I am working on that.

How about you? If you need help moving a washing machine, sharpening that knife, or changing your oil, you are a risk rather than an asset if and when. If you can’t fix anything in your house, can’t change the brakes on your car, can’t build a wall or roof a home, glaze a window, swing an axe, change your own sparkplugs, fell a tree,  pull a splinter or dress the wound, or things like that, then you need to learn, or at least have that knowledge on your bookshelf.

Otherwise, you are a liability. Or will be.

“Man is free the moment he wants to be.”

Voltaire

But I had a great time at the Indy Blogmeet.

Old NFO and The Big Guy traveled far to meet with us, so Midwest Chick and I  drove the two hours to meet with them and the rest: Roberta (of course), Tam, Joanna, Brigid, Don, Jack, Old Grouch, Kerry, Karl (with his famous hats as prizes), and a cast of thousands….I was lucky enough to get to sit next to Tam for some great conversation.

We had excellent service, and an unflappable waitress, who kept us full of assorted beverages and made sure that there was room for the many and assorted appetizers and (somehow) kept our food orders straight, even while ignoring the display of lethal hardware.

The portions of conversations I could follow included the color of electrical arcs, the destructive mechanism of of overloaded and overrun turbines, the incredible awesomeness of the Navy’s railguns, the damage electrical current does to cutters (and other metal implements) when the power is (of course) “off” (you checked it yourself didn’t you?), and the relative merits of assorted knives and multitools (there were enough of the former for about 2.8 per person, and at least one of the latter to equip each attendee….we could have disassembled a car with all of them).

As we arrived early for the meet (we left early in case there were issues with the 130 mile trip) we met up with Brigid and OldNFO for a bit of impromptu shopping for spices and such, and I had the fun of chasing Brigid’s truck through the northeast side of Indy’s traffic…..A challenge, I assure you, to keep her (and Midwest Chick) in sight as they wove in and out of traffic (likely Brigid was urged to challenge me by Midwest Chick?). It was fun as I had time to chat with OldNFO during the chase trip. We spent way too much money at Penzy’s and Artisanos for specialized spices and oils and vinegars and salts and such….But they will be put to good use in my kitchen, I assure you.

It was a good relaxing day. I was tired early though, due to my (apparently not yet fully) recovery from a bad case of flu earlier in the week…We’d have liked to stay and have dinner with Jay and OldNFO, but the 2 hour trip home was looming, so we left about 4.

If you weren’t there, you missed it. Sad you.

Was talking to a man the other day….He knows me, and knows I am a prepper.(I sometimes preach…what can I say?)…He isn’t, but he has all the toys…boat, cars, jet skis, motorcycles, etc…. During the conversation he asked if I am still prepping? “every day” I replied…”You?”

“Nah” he said. “I’ll just come to your place”.

“Don’t even think about it, brother…”I replied. “Not unless you show up with 6 months worth of food for every person you bring, along with a rifle and pistol for each person and 500 rounds of ammo for each weapon…Else I’ll give you one meal and show you to the gate and wish you luck. No tickee-no washee.”

“But if I have all that I won’t need to come to your place!”

Exactly.

Hope I never see him, if and when.

But he’ll make his choices, just as I make mine. 

 Might be worth getting up early, especially you deer hunters.

Supposed to be something special.

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2011/02dec_lunareclipse/

Think quick….Be ready

React.

Or be dead.

Then you should.

“Surviving the Economic Collapse” : This is likely where the US will be in 10 years….Europe in 4…..Maybe less.

unless something bad happens….

And you should read “One Second After“…And “Lucifer’s Hammer“. Both are fiction (and dramatized). But both are very plausible scenarios which COULD happen. And which should get you thinking about what you might have to do to deal with the aftermath. Unless you really don’t want to survive….

I do NOT think that things are going to change in a bright flash which in one second changes the world we live in. The more likely scenario is that things slowly slide into an Argentina-like devolution of our country. Less and less “official” productivity…Fewer and fewer people paying taxes and more and more people taking rather than contributing to society…Less and less culture and civilized behavior. (go to the “bad” part of any medium sized town or larger city for examples of the behavior to which I am referring … and lets us not forget how large crowds of “Urban Yoots” can act)….. your hours of work slowly ending up buying less and less as prices edge higher and higher and inflation destroys your buying power. Police and courts and laws becoming less and less effective over time. More and more criminal behavior (which becomes more and more blatant) and less and less you can do about it.

The above statement does not preclude me from preparing to have enough time in a “SHTF” or “grid down” scenario to learn to deal with and adjust my lifestyle. To prepare for the big change which could occur. To plan for and deal with the things I can, and think about what I can do for the things I cannot realistically prepare for.  To stock things which may become scare rapidly. To have available things which I cannot easily make.Tools, seeds, food, etc. To acquire knowledge that will help me prosper in a less technological society.

Nor does that belief preclude me from having a Bugout Bag (some call it an Oh-Shit!-Kit) handy if I need it.

But whatever you think, please, prepare. Prepare for what you think might happen. Prepare for the worst you can reasonably prepare for. Get out of debt (I am working on that part), get some knowledge, and get preps so if and when you have knowledge. But please, prep.

Remember: Darwin is brutal…and uncaring.

Advice on what to buy in case of Eurozone Breakup: “precious metals, tinned goods, and small Calibre weapons”   (click here for link) (for some reason the link won’t highlight, but it is worth the read)(I got  all of those already anyway)…do you?

All my retirement is already out of the Euro (as nearly so as to be total, anyway). I moved it to other sectors about 6 months ago. If you haven’t done so yet, you might want to think about it. There is no safe haven anywhere, but you can minimize the damage to your portfolio by being elsewhere with your money. Yer still gonna take a hit of the Euro melts down, but a much lesser hit if you don’t own any Euro investments. 

 Best is, of course, to buy gold, but it is harder to store and that scenario may not work if your money is tied up in a 401K or an IRA. But you can do a lot of good for yourself by careful placement of you money away from Europe and it’s associated funds.

But if you haven’t looked at your investments lately, you might want to think about it. You should be doing a review every 6 months anyway, but now might be a good time to review. 

YMMV.

Patriot nurse.

Seems to know what she is talking about. Decide for yourself though. I have no idea what her credentials are. And I am likely not qualified to judge them anyway. But her videos do bring up some good points.

Found via THIS post.

Harry Morgan has passed. Aged 96

A varied career, but I will always remember him as Detective Bill Gannon from “Dragnet”, and as Sherman Potter from “Mash”. He appeared in many other films.