Mega Disasters

 I LOVE the Show Mega Disasters on the History Channel!  Here is a quick link to an upcoming episode about a BIG Quake in San Francisco.

Mega Disasters: San Francisco Earthquake

Warning: Not for any of you cave dwellers stick stuck on dial up!!! Lots of graphics and ads.

 

Oh, One final note for the day.  BEWARE OF ONLINE CAMERA RETAILERS WITH SEEMINGLY LOW PRICES.  As preppers we order a lot of gear online as it is mostly specialty type gear that is not available in brick-and-mortar stores.  Please beware.  I almost got burned just today on a “too good to be true price” … guess what?  It was.  Be VERY leery of those online price comparison sites as well.  Most of them are owned by the very companies they are listing as the low price choice with a high customer rating!  Before you buy from one, google the website and see what pops up.  I did, and I was unpleasantly surprised to see the number of people scammed by the site I had just placed an order with.  Luckily, I cancelled it in time. 

-SP

 

The Writing Is on the Wall!!!

It is a great time to a be a preparedness or survival blogger!  There is so much $hit hitting the fan right now, I just wish I had more time to blog!!

Here is the list of things happening that has caused me to order several new cases of Mountain House and Provident Pantry #10 cans from www.beprepared.com, pick up a new SIG, stock up a few hundred more rounds of ammo, finally buy a police scanner and generally fear for the future:

Oil prices.  Is this peak oil?  No one knows.  But supply and demand economics are certainly telling us something.  How can we not be there?  These high prices are here to stay and that means a faltering economy and higher prices for EVERYTHING else.  High prices drive the crime rate up and that threatens you and me!

Iran: WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON THERE?  Check out this story where it was leaked that Bush has been carrying out covert operations against Iran for a while now!  Three wars is three too many with the economic problems we have here at home!  If we even think of attacking Iran the world economy will CRASH and CRASH HARD because of the worries over oil supply.  Not only that, but the rest of the world will freak out when Iran (who we all know is totally crazy) retaliates against the US and our allies, namely Israel.  Then Israel will retaliate against Iran (because Israel is hard-core and they live in a tough “neighborhood”), can you say thermonuclear war? 

Economy: Look, I am a reasonably intelligent and informed individual.  Everyone in the world has their own opinion about when the credit crisis is going to end, what is going on with the whole derivatives game and what inflation is doing.  This is what I ABSOLUTELY KNOW ABOUT THE ECONOMY: (1) Know one knows a damn thing for sure, (2) Things have gotten way out of line due to lack of government regulation on things they don’t understand (how can you draft legislation about derivatives if you don’t know what the hell they are?) (3) There is a very good chance that a major piece of $hit is headed for the very large fan centered on wall street.  If the jobs figures keep coming out and looking bad, you can expect the market to drop even further.  I am personally invested in the market and I am starting to worry.  I am worrying about all these stories of banks having to sell stock to raise the required minimum capital required by the banking regulators.  I am definitely keeping more cash around the house than normal.  I look at Bank of America and see that their dividend yield is over 10%!!!!  With interest rates paying around 2% why aren’t professional money managers jumping all over this and buying every bit they can get their hands on?  I don’t know the answer, but I do know that if a 10% yield from one of the oldest banks in the country isn’t enough to get you excited then I don’t know what is!!!!   [I offer you no financial advice and you should not rely on my statements as financial advice.  Always consult a certified financial adviser for investment decisions and do not rely on the misinformed rants of an Internet blogger].

Terrorist Attacks: Remember those guys?  Not really huh?  And that is exactly when they show up.  You think they forgot all about how much they hate us, no no my friend!  They know that the best time to attack is when your adversary is weak.  The US hasn’t been this weak in a long time.  Just my thoughts guys. 

It cannot hurt to get some extra food, water and personal protection squared away because the coming months or years may be rocky.  Even a small disaster can cause major supply interruption.  In my neck of the woods the biggest single threat is a large earthquake.  A large quake could shut down power, water and supply distribution quite quickly. 

Don’t trust 911 to save your family from a criminal, don’t trust FEMA to feed your family after a natural disaster and don’t trust our government to make wise decisions. 

-SP

Your Single Biggest SHTF Threat Is?

Fire! Fire! Fire!

Yes, Fire is your single biggest SHTF threat.  All the planning in the world cannot stop your retreat from being engulfed in a blazing inferno.  In California we are getting SLAMMED by fires.  I am about 50 miles away from the closest fire but the air is still brown and smokey and you can smell it everywhere.

The one by me was started by a good ole-fashion, mother-nature-supplied lighting storm!  But during a disaster the possible sources of serious fires increase exponentially!!!  Burst gas pipes or mains, blown transformers, power poles being knocked down, riots, people burning anything to stay warm and even general mischief can cause out of control fires.  They can sweep through cities and towns as well as wooded isolated retreats. 

There isn’t much you can do about post-apocalyptic fire.  You need to be able to move out at a moments notice.  Have back up locations set.  They don’t need to be stocked but KNOW where you are going in advance.  Keep the bug-out bags stocked and be ready to roll.

To help save your house you may want to try to form a make-shift local fire brigade.  Everyone in the neighborhood agrees that no matter who’s house is hit you all band together to fight it because ultimately you are preventing the fire from spreading to their house too!  You can form a standard bucket brigade, that is assuming that the water is still running, of course or someone has a pool that hasn’t been drained.  You can check out this site on Home Firefighting.  Some systems use pools and lakes.  Pretty cool stuff but at a couple grand only the best equipped and well funded groups can afford them.   

Never under estimate the power of fire!

-SP

Health Care in Crisis - Guest Article

Today’s article comes to us from RB.  She details ideas on alternative forms of healing and treatment. 

Remember that survival blogs and preparedness blogs are here to help you get IDEAS that you can apply to your own unique preparedness situations.  This article is a perfect example.  At first I was admittedly sceptical about alternative forms of medical treatment.  However, after reading RB’s article I found IDEAS that are very applicable to my own unique situation.  I believe that if there is a major disruption in services do to a SHTF event, medical care is going to be the most serious.  When faced with a medical need and there is no one else to help you alternative forms of treatment may be VERY valuable.  Thank you to RB for taking the time to write for us.

As our economy worsens and food, gas, and health care become more unaffordable, we need to begin taking our own health into our own hands.  We won’t be able to do our own heart surgeries but there are alternative medicine/health practices that are easy to learn and do from which we can reap great benefits for health.  I would like to mention three in particular.
  Reflexology:  there are books and videos available anywhere.  I found a great video at the Goodwill store for less than $3 and a book at a used book seller for $6.  This is easy to do, once you have the technique down.  I can do reflexology on my husband’s feet while we sit and watch a movie (takes about 45-60 minutes) and bring his blood pressure down by as much as 15 points.  It’s usually closer to a 10 point drop, but for a borderline/mild hypertensive person that can be significant.
  EFT:  emotional freedom technique.  There is a website that explains EFT and gives a free book you can download to get you started.  It is tapping on acupressure points to balance your energy zones.  It is easy to do, it is painless, and can show rapid results.  They also have DVDs that you can purchase and an email newsletter that you can receive for free.  The website is www.emofree.com.
  Ki-iki-jitsu (I think that is the proper name for it) better known as KI:  this is also a technique that balances energy zones.  They have a GREAT book of emergency techniques for things like how to stop bleeding, how to stop a reaction from a bug bite, how to stop a heart attack, how to stop a seizure.  These emergency techniques are super easy.  For instance, to stop any type of bleeding simply place your right hand over the area that is bleeding, place your left hand on top of your right, at right angles, and hold it there until the bleeding stops.  You don’t even have to put pressure on it.  The website offers books and videos/dvds to learn the techniques.  They also offer classes that you can take.  The website is www.kinginstitute.org.

Please keep the content coming.  So far I have had a very positive response from you readers.  I appreciate your time as I know how difficult it is to make the time to write.

-SP

Government Spending

The one single issue I feel strongest about is out of control government spending and general fiscal irresponsibility by our government officials.  It makes me sick to see how weak our country’s finances are when they could be strong and mighty.

Please check out Mr. Perot’s new site and support the movement that the government’s runaway spending is going to seriously effect our children’s and grandchildren’s quality of life if it doesn’t destroy the country completely. 

-SP

Unexcused Absence

Readers,

As many of you have noticed I have not been posting with a steady frequency.  The truth is that gas prices, food prices and the general state of the stock market have forced me to sell my computer, cancel my ISP and forced me into bankruptcy. 

Well, actually that has not happened YET!!! Like many of you I am really starting to feel the pinch of a failing America.  I am sad to report that many of my fellow preppers, friends and family are in the same predicament.  I have no answers, no witty comments and no advice for you. 

Here is what I am doing to stay above water and prepare for what I believe is a very hard landing.  I am stocking up on food, water and ammo.  Surprised?  You shouldn’t be. 

Food: I am worried that even IF we have enough food to go around and are not subjected to real shortages there is going to be no way to get the food from the fields to my table.  Food (as well as everything else in this country) is shipped via trucks. Large trucks that get very little miles per gallon and which use diesel fuel.  You know, the fuel that is over $5.00 per gallon right now!!  There are trucker strikes in Europe right now and they are getting ugly.  Check it out here.  There is a lot of talk about truckers simply refusing to haul freight because they can longer make a profit.  Without those trucks… the US economy is in deep $hit!!!

Water: California is coming into a serious drought. Southern California is hardest hit because they import all their water.  When supplies of a precious commodity such as water are so tight we are very susceptible to a serious problem developing from a minor interruption of service.  A small earthquake that damages the California Aqua duct would be disastrous.  Any sort of earthquake activity in California can seriously disrupt the flow of what the Romans called the “nectar of the Gods”.  Why?  Because you can’t live without it! 

Ammo:  Well, this stems from a general deterioration of the US.  We are making enemies faster than we can count.  Those enemies are forming together against us.  There are reports that Russia is behind the latest computer attacks on our legislature.  Don’t ever forget how pissed off Russia is at us for winning the cold war.  If you were in a serious long term rivalry with another person or family and they “won” … you would never forget it!  You would be constantly waiting for your time to seek revenge.  Russia has nukes huh? 

With food prices on the rise there is also a rise in welfare and food stamp claims.  What does that mean?  More people are hungry and desperate.  When they get to starving, they will do ANYTHING to feed themselves or their families.  Crime is going to rise seriously. 

I try to remain as impersonal as I can while blogging.  However, I feel that those of you who continue to visit my site deserve to know why I have not been getting to writing.  I am currently studying to take the California State Bar exam to become a licensed attorney.  That means that I not only have little or no time… I have NEGATIVE time.  I have more things to do than I have time.  So sadly enough, the blog had to suffer.  I am truly sorry for that. 

I have been resisting this for a while but in the interest of keeping the blog going I want to send out a signal flare.  By that I mean I want YOUR help.  There have been many fantastic comments posted.  Some thoughts are far more insightful than my own.  SO I would like to ask for your help in getting good content for posting.  (Yes, I realize that is what Rawles does and I am not happy about having to do it). 

Send your posts or ideas to suburbanprepper @ gmail.com and I will gladly put them up.  No prizes or anything like survivalblog.  But you do get the satisfaction of contributing to the survival/prepping community and seeing your name in lights (sort of)

Thanks for all your support.  As soon as the Bar is over, I will have a lot more time to devote to the site.  Not only that, but by that time the world will be in so much crap there will be plenty to write about!

-SP

If It Isn’t One Thing … It is Another!

Well, for a while it looked like the subprime mess was going to sink the US economy, spread to the rest of the world and sink the planet into a global recession or depression.  In my opinion that was a little over the top. 

I call the US the “teenage girl” of the global economy.  We buy everything and do nothing.  The only thing that keeps us going is an influx of cash for no substantial reason.  For teenage girls it is mommy & daddy and for the US it is foreign investments.  Either way it can’t last forever and eventually that teenage girl has to suck it up get a job and do SOMETHING to actually EARN rather than live off someone else.  The US needs to get off its A$$ and EARN some money (at least more than it spends!).  Otherwise, we are going to have to resort to some pretty unpleasant alternatives to keep this country moving.  Astronomical tax rates and extreme cuts in benefits are likely.  The analogy is akin to that teenage girl stripping at the local “gentleman’s club”.  She doesn’t want to actually do ANYTHING about her spending too much but has no other choice to keep herself in Coach purses and BMWs.  Stripping sucks but living without tangible goodies it WAY WORSE.

Every day I am swayed more that the US is headed for disaster.  Not a quick “you can live off your preps until the dust settles” type but a “forever changing oh my God how did we NOT see this coming” type disaster.  The US has had its time at the top and now it is someone else’s turn.  All great civilizations fall!  That is guaranteed.  It wasn’t IF the US would eventually fall to ruin it was WHEN.  I personally was hoping that I would see my grandchildren live the American Dream that I am living but there may not be enough time!  I LOVE this country!  I am a true patriot and I am very PROUD of the American Spirit.  I am sure the founders of this great nation are rolling in their graves to see what has become of it.  Career politicians, out of control spending, dependence of foreign energy, immigration policies with no rhyme or reason and a faltering economy.

I see three main “snakes in the wood pile” that may individually or collectively bring us down:

1) Economy: I do NOT mean the subprime mess.  The conditions during the great depression were far worse and we got through that in a few decades.  I mean the spending more than we make fiasco!  Nothing makes a Nation weaker than owing other people money.  Strong nations have their bank accounts overflowing!  We are not borrowing money because we have to, we are doing it because our political system is so BROKEN politicians feel that need to BUY votes and don’t have the BALLS to make budget cuts!!  If we don’t make a change soon the interest on the national debt will eat up the budget which will force a drastic increase in taxes.  This will KILL the US consumer, start a recession/depression, which will drive down wages which will in turn decrease tax revenues and then the government won’t even have the ABILITY to raise money.  The debt gets called in and we have to send stealth bombers to “settle” the debt thus starting WWIII. 

2) Immigration: What an ingenious idea!!! As of today Mexico cannot defeat the US with a concentrated military attack, but what about a slow assault via population shift?  Flood California, New Mexico, Nevada and Arizona with Mexicans and let them vote!!!  Brilliant!  That way they elect officials who are sensitive to immigration thus loosening the restrictions and the problem becomes exponential!  Tell me, what would stop a Mexican population from electing a Mexican President?  When they control the numbers, the US is theirs!  In MANY states there are bilingual menus, billboards and street signs.  In my town, private schools are overflowing because public school classes are taught in Spanish and English.  How efficient can that learning experience be if every direction is given TWICE!   Also, what is the influx of illegals doing to the budgets of towns, cities and states?  It is killing it!  Schools are overcrowded, medicare is taxed out and Mary & Joe Taxpayer are the ones footing the bill!!!  Eventually it will force local governments into bankruptcy!  Oh, wait… it already did!   (FYI, I am not a racist.  I am not anti-Mexican.  I am PRO LEGAL IMMIGRATION!!! If you want to come here, you must jump through all the legal hoops like everyone else!  If you want to live in the US, then learn our language, pay your taxes and become a contributing member of our society and not that unwanted house guest that eats all your food, invites his friends over and complains about everything!) 

3) Foreign Oil Dependence:  Well this is the big one.  There is no shortage of info on peak oil and foreign oil dependence, but just know that this is serious!  The US is either going to have to go cold turkey on oil (by that I mean give it up for civilian use) or we are going to have to bend over and take it “you know where” for a long time, because we don’t have it and will pay anything for it!!!  Just think how powerful those “desert” nations are becoming!  If they wise up and stop living like Gods on earth with palaces and gold toothbrushes and start investing in armies and educations for their populations, they are going to be the next Superpower!  And the little US will be like a crackhead begging for another fix of oil! 

I am soooo sad to say this, but there is a good chance in the next 20 to 30 years that I will move out of the US!  I hope it doesn’t come to that but I refuse to pay $25 a gallon for gas, I refuse to learn Spanish and I refuse to pay 75% of my earnings to the government.  Sadly, I think that is where we are headed.

COME ON US, GET IT TOGETHER! 

-SP

 

Its Gonna Get Worse

It has been a while since I posted folks… and I am sorry for that.  Personal commitments, family, blah, blah, blah.

If you are like me you are really FEELING this gas and food nightmare we are knee deep into!  The news reported that at $130 a barrel for oil the relative price for gasoline is $4.50 per gallon.  As many of you know the price quoted on oil is for future contracts so there is a little bit of lag time before the price of gas increases based on the price of oil. 

So in California, which has the highest gas taxes thanks to our legislature, a national average of $4.50 for gas translates into $4.75 to $5.00 a gallon.  Now, since we haven’t gotten to “summer” driving levels, gas prices are on the low end.  From winter to summer, at least in my area, gas prices increase from 75% to 100%.  That puts this summers gas numbers at somewhere between $7.88 and $9.00 per gallon.  Holy $hit!!!

When are people going to show up outside congress’ door with pitch forks and torches.  You do know that it was Congress who approved the merger of the four major gas companies in the country into two right? 

Our leadership is so screwed up it is ridiculous.  Did you know that there are SEPARATE inflation figures for basing the legislatures salary increases on?  Yeah, one figure for you and I and one figure for them.  Guess which one accurately reflects the inflation in the US?  I would bet it ain’t the 2-3% they have been talking about for the last 10 years!!!

Baton the hatches kids, this is going to get ugly before it gets better!

-SP

You Get What You Pay For!

In my quest for a new and larger ”Get Home Bag” (which is a bag you keep in your car which contains supplies and tools to get you home on foot in case a SHTF event that renders your car worthless because of EMP, lack of gas or any of the million other things that can go wrong with your vehicle) I stumbled upon Voodoo tactical at MajorSurplus.com.  The bag I was looking at was a 3-day size (large) Tobago Large Cargo Pack.  I did some research and the online reviews were positive.  I must digress for a moment and explain that I am a Maxpedition lover!  Their packs are VERY well thought out, VERY durable but REALLY, REALLY expensive!!!  When I realized I wanted a larger pack I first went to see what Maxpedition had… It was $150, OUCH!  So I thought I would look somewhere else for a more reasonably priced alternative.  Back to my story.  The description of this Voodoo bag says it holds TWO 3 liter reservoirs (nice!) and has “tons” (I quote it for a reason) of pouches.  Well, I ordered the pack and received it yesterday…. What a POS!! (That means piece of $hit) The zippers pulled apart the first time I unzipped it.  There are NO pouches or organizational systems and I cannot figure out where these TWO reservoirs are supposed to go!  This pack is worthless!  It is getting returned TODAY!

You need a VERY high quality pack (in my opinion) for your SHTF gear because when/if you need it, failure is not an option!  This stuff has to be rock solid!!  Imagine running down the street from (insert SHTF bogey man like zombies or biker gangs) only to have the zippers on your pack rip open and your only gear spills onto the street!!  Bummer!  Spend the extra money, get the Maxpedition gear …. You WILL NOT be Sorry!!

While we are talking about Get Home Bags, I wanted to share the modular system that I employ.  In my trunk I have a medium sized Maxpedition Pygmy Falcon IIpack.  It is stuffed with all your standard goodies like GPS, maps, compass, food rations, water, flash lights, light sticks, fire starters, pepper spray, knives, tent, multi-tool, iostat, medical supplies, water purifier, Nuk Alert, etc.  But for a family guy, depending on WHO is with me, I may need more “core” supplies (food, water) as well as specific items (diapers, wipes, children’s fever medicine).  To accomplish this I use a modular system.  Here is what I mean:

For each kid I have a little cardboard box in the back of my car with their specific stuff.  Diapers, wipes, medicine, a wide brimmed hat for hot days, a poncho for cold/rainy days, sunscreen, an additional bottle of water and food bars.  If the kid(s) are with me when I need to bug out of my vehicle I take their supplies and put it into the attached Maxpedition Rollypoly attached on my bag.  If you don’t know what Rollypolys are check them out, they are a great way to have additional storage capacity on your bags without all the bulkiness.  If the kids aren’t with me, then I don’t need to take the extra gear.  I keep it as light as possible.  Maybe I take the water or food depending on the situation.  Just some ideas for you! 

-SP

 

Need a Reason to Stock Ammo and Guns?

Watch any of the behind the scenes series on prisons!  These are the hombres that are hidden from the general suburbanite’s watchful eye.  They are seriously bad dudes.  Rape, murder, you name it they have done it!  The risk that they will get out during a lawless/grid down situation and find their way to you is too great.  Be sure you have enough firepower to defend your family!

As a side note, the documentary I was watching last night was about the super-duper-uper maximum security prisons.  The ones where prisoners go after attacking guards.  The “units” as they are called only handle a fraction of the inmates as a normal prison because they are so dangerous.  These guys have to where “spit hoods” and rubber helmets because they like to head-butt guards. 

So I am watching this program and they show the procedure where THREE guards take about TWO HOURS to get this scum-bag murder rapist out of his cell for a HAIRCUT!!!! Really? Think of the cost per hour of these three guards to YOU AND I so this piece of $HIT can get a haircut!!

Warning politically INCORRECT opinion/statement ahead … stop reading if you are a liberal.  WHEN ARE WE GOING TO TAKE THESE TYPES OF PRISONERS OUT BACK AND PUT A BULLET IN THEIR HEAD?  The money that the government is forced to spend on these people could be used to help children, the sick or other people that really need it! 

What really pisses me off is that when it comes time for food rationing, I guarantee you someone is going to object to prisoners being the first to stop receiving food!!  “They have rights too!!” (SP throws up in his mouth).  But by sharing the limited food supplies with these people you essentially say that they are equal to the general law abiding public, in my opinion they are not!!  We may have to make some tough decisions in the future regarding our limited resources, I hope the policitians have the stones to start reducing what the prison population gets first.

Yeah I know, cruel and unusual punishment … how about the cruel and unusual crimes these guys are guilty of committing? 

-SP