We live in Utah, but make frequent trips into Nevada. Actually, we drive to Reno fairly regularly to visit family and friends there. The trip is not what you’d really call scenic, unless sand and scrub is your idea of heaven. It’s also a dangerous trip – the heat can be intense, and most of the driving is through no-man’s land, where help is not readily available.

Ever since my kids were little, I have made sure to impress on them the importance of good road safety and emergency planning, and I like to think that the message has gotten through to them.

It Starts before Hitting the Road

One of the things that I have impressed on my kids is the fact that emergency planning and preparation starts long before they hit the road. Like Winston Churchill said, “Let our advance worrying become advance thinking and planning.” For instance, wearing weather appropriate clothing is important, as is letting someone know where they’re going before they leave and when they get there. I also make sure they know to do a “walk-around” of their car before they leave, including:

• Checking the tire pressure
• Checking for fluid leaks (oil and coolant, for instance)
• Checking to make sure they have enough gas
• Checking warning indicators and gauges on the dash

Knowing What to Do When Danger Threatens

Of course, emergency prep goes much farther than just checking their car before they pull out of the driveway. My kids also know exactly what to do if their car breaks down in the desert so that they can stay safe. They know to:

• Call me or their mother immediately/call 911 if there is a serious threat
• Have their insurance information/emergency help card handy
• Stay with the car at all times
• Keep the windows cracked for ventilation
• Don’t run the car more than 5 minutes at a time for air conditioning
• Keep the radio off when the car is not running
• Keep the lights off when the car is not running
• Keep their hazard lights on
• Use road flares behind the car at night so they can be located more easily

Planning is Only Part of It
However, I think the most important thing for survival is having an emergency kit for car use, with the supplies and tools needed. I make sure that my kids have a full emergency kit in their car at all times, and that we do periodic checks on the kit to replace anything that might be going out of date or in danger of spoiling. Each of our kits includes:

• Water (1 gallon of water per person, per day)
• Food (we use prepackaged protein bars and similar products)
• A flashlight (with extra batteries and a spare bulb)
• Candles with a butane lighter (in case something happens to the flashlight)
• Blankets (it can get cold in the desert at night)
• Road flares for emergency use

I’ve impressed on my kids just how essential it is that they keep an emergency kit in their cars at all times, and I’m very proud of how well they’ve done with it. It might be the fact that I’ve guided them in this area, but they take emergency preparation very seriously, and I have no worries about them being able to survive if they’re stranded on that long stretch of desert road.

About the Author

Surviving more than 40 years of severe winters, a tsunami evacuation, a tornado and a plane crash has given Duncan Morrison a unique perspective on emergency planning and preparation. He likes to provide his readers with actionable, essential information, such as how to build an earthquake preparedness kit for their homes and cars. In his spare time, Duncan likes to workout, spend time with family and friends, and walk his dog, Sammy, the best dog EVER.

© 2012, ModernSurvivalOnline.com. All rights reserved.

The following submission is part of an ongoing Guest Post Writing Contest.

 - – - Rourke

Shoestring Prepping with Chronic Health Problems

by Robin

Today’s environment isn’t TEOTWAWKI, yet it may be a personal SHTF for many people. I live on an extremely limited income with chronic health problems. It is very challenging. This article was written on a old laptop rebuilt with Ubuntu when the manufacturer and Microsoft kept pointing fingers at each other. Just this fact meant knowing skills and availability of other options let me access a computer again without spending limited $$$.

Knowing your options, how to access them, and how to allocate resources and use them wisely is a survival skill that can be applied and honed beyond what may be called a classical survival skill. Learning the mindset and how to think is a skill. Having resources that are paper based are necessary if it takes time to access a computer or circumstances mean abandoning electronic media for a short or long term period. When faced with chronic health problems your time and energy must be budgeted as wisely as your cash flow.

Maximizing your living space to make life simpler now can make life as the externals worsen easier to cope with in that day. Budgeting time in fifteen minute increments to do your work as Flylady, at http://www.flylady.net teaches is a strategy.

Building a support system is crucial and it is for more than the sharing of preps. Looking at long term survival as opposed to short term there is much safety in connections with others of like minded people. Advantages are social, psychological, spiritual, physical, and material in nature. It will be easier to survive solo short term than long term unless you prepare yourself thoughtfully for long term solo and have the necessary aptitudes. If living in an isolated area already or for a bug out consider more than material preps and what you need as a flexible mental, spiritual, emotional mindset. The prerequisite skill sets and resources while in the personal SHTF are just as important to know and practice as when TEOTWAWKI happens.

Finding yourself without a income, unable to work, or dependent upon external resources knowing how to maximize what you have and having the mental strength to work what you need for current survival in your circumstances even if the world is a test. Knowing what you eat in a week, slowly build food storage system. This is useful if you have health problems and cannot get out or drive for an extended period of time. Keep track of what you eat during that period and replace it. You’ve just learned what is easiest and first chosen for food stuffs during a trial period. Replace when possible it will be there when it is needed again.

Determine your philosophy and post it. Keeping it in the front of your mind is important. The mental flexibility and preparation is paramount. With the proper materials and skills if you lose your ability to think clearly in the short and long term the probability of your encountering and more than surviving beyond circumstances beyond your control lessens. What brings you joy, security, perspective now and what strengthens those intangibles?

Learn what material preparations are prudent and you are capable of handing yourself. Get to know what type of support system you can build around yourself and what you can offer others so you are a resource not a burden. It takes time to develop a system that works for you. Consider your space, time, effort, health, resources and what you have most of and how to leverage that into obtaining or learning what you need for short and long term challenges. Whether workplace, getting home, a day, weekend, a week or longer periods of isolation your needs will change.

Start where you are and determine where you want to be. Life is an opportunity to learn.

From Rourke:

The above post was another entry in the ModernSurvivalOnline Survival & Preparedness Guest Post Writing Contest. Prizes for this contest include:

© 2012, ModernSurvivalOnline.com. All rights reserved.

The following submission is part of an ongoing Guest Post Writing Contest.

 - – - Rourke

What Preparedness Means To Me

 KoryN

EMMT

http://blog.emmt911.com

Preparedness means safety and security to me. Being prepared to me means not being afraid or overly worried about what ever might come my way because I have prepared ahead of time for it. Now I can’t prepare for every single possible contingency but I can do my best and let the chips fall where they may.

I carry EDC (Every Day Carry) items to take care of my immediate needs. Get a small cut, I’ve got you covered with the Band-Aids in my wallet. Need a flashlight to find the keys dropped on the car floor at night, I’ve got you covered. I don’t carry 10 pounds of stuff in my pockets, just a few things that I find come in handy and are used regularly. Thus they justify the weight of carrying them.

I’ve got a GHB (Get Home Bag) and vehicle/road side emergency equipment in both of my vehicles. If I get caught in a sudden rain shower I’ve got rain gear in my GHB. If I get stuck on the road for some reason I’ve got food and water for myself and several other people in the GHB and vehicle kit. A coworker has a headache, no problem I have Advil in the first Aid kit that lives in my GHB.

Now we get to the bigger stuff and the stuff that gets used less frequently. Home base, my castle in the suburbs. Six months of food and water, tools, supplies, all manner of equipment. Other then some of the items that do double duty for camping and fishing most of this stuff does not get used, but it’s there if I need it.

But do I know how to use all this cool stuff I’ve amassed? Yes, I do know how to use it. I’ve spent a lot of time reading, researching, taking classes, learning from like minded friends all the skills, techniques and know how I can. I’ll never stop learning because it means I don’t have to be afraid, I’ve got this or that covered.

For me preparedness goes beyond Emergency Management. What about being financially self-sufficient? No I’m not there but I work at it and squirrel away money just like I do rice and beans. Sure we “might” get a huge sunspot that causes a massive EMP. But it’s far more likely that I’ll need to pay the mortgage next month or that many years down the road I’ll retire. I can’t retire on rice and beans alone. I try to find balance between preparing for what might happen and what almost certainly will happen. The sun will come up tomorrow and I will have to go to work, or at least I hope so.

From Rourke:

The above post was another entry in the ModernSurvivalOnline Survival & Preparedness Guest Post Writing Contest. Prizes for this contest include:

© 2012, ModernSurvivalOnline.com. All rights reserved.

The following submission is part of an ongoing Guest Post Writing Contest.

 - – - Rourke

 Why I Prep….

by Clint Palmer

Governments and terrorist groups throughout the world thrive for more knowledge, new weapons and advanced technology. Although advancements in these various fields can be good, in the wrong hands they can be bad. With weapons of mass destruction at our fingertips the chances are low as they are high for mistakes or deliberate attacks. But weapons of mass destruction can come in the form biologically engineered micro-organisms. A potential biological attack is what I prep for.

Have you ever been sick or suddenly fell ill? Of course you have, why? Because, life begins with an organism also known as a cell and every living thing on Earth is a form of an organism. We have billions of types of organisms and we have various names they’re referred as. Such names are bacteria, germs, fungus, bugs, flu, virus, etc… I am sure you’ve herd one of the many terms used. As previously stated there are billions of types of organisms and they can be engineered into antibodies and in turn helps us to find ways to cure disease that comes in multiple forms. But, cells can also be engineered into harmful forms of bacteria which can be airborne or transported to one another by touch or threw fluids. With organisms around us all the time and everywhere we go it is hard to avoid getting sick or falling deathly ill. Keeping clean helps but doesn’t always do the trick because; new and stronger forms of organisms are being engineered to withstand the good antibodies we develop. It’s harder and harder to keep our immune systems strong and healthy so at times we rely on antibiotics or herbs to help bust our immune systems so that they can fight off bad germs but even then it’s hard.

There are many organisms that have been engineered from preexisting germs or created from scratch. Most of these engineered cells that have the ability to kill in the most horrific ways are secured and stored in safe buildings like science labs, hospitals or at the many Disease Control and Prevention Centers. But, what if they weren’t safe and had poorly been contained or poorly guarded? What if they were placed under the guidance of the wrong people or companies? What if a flaw in the system had them shipped where they don’t belong and these harmful bacteria’s was exposed to people or animals? What if a terrorist group hijacked a plan, truck, van, train or semi that was hauling harmful bacteria’s?

These are questions we have to ask our selves, situations we must think about. When the first group of settlers came toAmericaand war broke out between the Native Americans and the pioneers; we wiped out an indigenous population threw an act of tourism or ‘military strategy’. We wrongly gave the natives blankets as gifts of “piece offerings” but, those blankets had been deliberately exposed to smallpox which killed nearly if not more than 70 million of the Native Americans. It’s said the holocaust of the Native American people was far greater than that of Hitler’s holocaust which killed the many lives of over 6 million Jews. Hitler shows the evil and hate you can have against others and history shows that not only will people do what it takes to win or rule it can be done by simply introducing something as small as a virus.

Here are some many but not all reported incidents of outbreaks between 412BC-2009AD:

·         1580AD – The first recording influenza pandemic begins in Europe and spreads to Asia andAfrica.

·         Influenza pandemic starts again from 1700-1782, 1831-1834, and 1847-1848.

·         The “Fowl Plague” of 1878 is now known as the HPA1 avian influenza virus.

·         The “Russian Flu” of 1889-1890 spreads through Europe reachingNorth America.

·         1918-1919 the “Spanish Flu” circles the globe caused by an H1N1 virus, one of the worst pandemics to date killing more than half a million U.S citizens worldwide, deaths range from 20-100million.

·         In1957-1958 the “Asian Flu” starts the 2^nd pandemic of the 20^th century caused by an H2N2 virus killing millions worldwide including 70,000 Americans.

·         In 1968-1969 the “Hong Kong Flu” was the last pandemic caused by an H3N2 virus killing 34,000Americans.

·         In 1907 the Russian pandemic occurs.

·         May 1997 the first person known to catch H5N1 bird flu dies inHong Kong.

·         November – December 1997 18 humans with H5N1 bird flu inHong Kongdie. 1.4 million Chickens are destroyed.

·         November 1, 2005 122 humans infected with the H5N1 virus 62 die throughoutVietnam,Thailand,IndonesiaandCambodia.

·         January 16, 2006Turkeykills 764,000 fowl in attempt to control virus’ spread.

·         March, 2009 Baxter International “accidentally” mixes live avian flu viruses into vaccine materials, and then shipped to18 countries. A concern of a human-to-human pandemic circulates across the net.

·         April, 2009 suspected human-to-human transmissions of bird flu reported in Egypt. WHO denies human-to-human transmissions.

·         April, 2009 human-to-human transmissions confirmed.

·         April 27^th 2009 swine flu was confirmed in U.S schools impacting,California,Texas,New York,Kansas and other states.

·         April 28^th 2009 WHO raises pandemic threat level to “Phase 4”, WHO recommends against air travel restrictions. Some nations (includingChina) ban importations of pork fromMexico,U.S.

·         April 29^th 2009 First U.S death from swine flu reported outbreak confirmed spreading toIsrael,Spain andNew Zealand.

Resource

CLINT PALMER

From Rourke:

The above post was another entry in the ModernSurvivalOnline Survival & Preparedness Guest Post Writing Contest. Prizes for this contest include:

© 2012, ModernSurvivalOnline.com. All rights reserved.

             WE DON’T WANT YOU TO GET CAUGHT WITH YOUR PANTRY DOWN !!!!

• FREE wholesale club membership  ($29.95 value) buy true wholesale !
• FREE 1-week food supply (a $50.00 retail value) w/purchase of any starter pack
• FREE SHIPPING at event only
• FREE additional products added to specials below
• AND ( drum roll please ) ANNOUNCING OUR NEW SEASONED CITIZENS FOOD PROGRAM *** for everyone 60 & older !!

© 2012, ModernSurvivalOnline.com. All rights reserved.

Thank you Valerie for putting this together for everyone…..

Third case of flesh eating bacteria in Georgia.
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/third-case-flesh-eating-disease-diagnosed-ga/nPBPG/

© 2012, ModernSurvivalOnline.com. All rights reserved.

These 43 years has flown by. It is unbelievable. As a prepper I look to the future often and make numerous plans to prepare for…..whatever. So – I spend too much time thinking about my past and within the realm of preparedness I focus a lot of time in the future.

What about the present? What about today?

If have come to realize that I have got to spend more time on what needs to be done and experienced today. Whether it is going to eat lunch with my 8 year old or taking that camping trip THIS weekend rather putting it off again….I have got to place a greater emphasis on “now”. I need to take a look around before I miss something.

I worry that some day I will be a frail old man and will be thinking back to NOW and will have more regrets that I should have taken advantage the present. Knowing this I hope to change and spend more time placing an emphasis on today.

Oh, there is a knock at the door. Why are there a couple guys dressed in white holding a strange jacket at my door.

Hmmmmm…………

Rourke

© 2012, ModernSurvivalOnline.com. All rights reserved.

I am really looking forward to watching it.

- – - Rourke

Via http://www.nbc.com/revolution/about/:

Our entire way of life depends on electricity. So what would happen if it just stopped working? Well, one day, like a switch turned off, the world is suddenly thrust back into the dark ages. Planes fall from the sky, hospitals shut down, and communication is impossible. And without any modern technology, who can tell us why?

Now, 15 years later, life is back to what it once was long before the industrial revolution: families living in quiet cul-de-sacs, and when the sun goes down, the lanterns and candles are lit. Life is slower and sweeter. Or is it?

On the fringes of small farming communities, danger lurks. And a young woman’s life is dramatically changed when a local militia arrives and kills her father, who mysteriously – and unbeknownst to her – had something to do with the blackout. This brutal encounter sets her and two unlikely companions off on a daring coming-of-age journey to find answers about the past in the hopes of reclaiming the future.

From director Jon Favreau (“Iron Man,” “Iron Man 2″) and the fertile imaginations of J.J. Abrams and Eric Kripke (“Supernatural”), comes a surprising “what if” action-adventure series, where an unlikely hero will lead the world out of the dark. Literally.

© 2012, ModernSurvivalOnline.com. All rights reserved.

The following submission is part of an ongoing Guest Post Writing Contest.

 - – - Rourke

On Being Prepared

By J Cascarelli

I do believe in planning for the worst and hoping for the best. As a graduate engineer (retired), I try to look dispassionately at data and draw conclusions based on careful analysis. It is folly to engage in wishful thinking. Will we experience “TEOTWAWKI?” Who knows? Like many Americans, I watch the riots in Greece, Spain and Great Briton with a sense of curiosity. Could it happen in America? No one can know for sure. Here is what I do know. When the local team wins a national championship, cities go nuts. Cars turned over and set afire, store fronts are smashed and vandalized and mobs in the street create all kinds of havoc. Add to this the scenes of New Orleans with hundreds stealing sneakers, flat screen TVs and all manner of fence-ables.

We read about New Orleans’ policemen leaving their posts. A knee jerk reaction is, “How could they?” But, upon reflection, those cops saw firsthand all kinds of irrational violent behavior. They had families in the city too. Given the circumstances, I do not blame them for going home to protect their own families and homes. In a real crisis, how many first responders will stay on the job? For how long? Will back-up be available?

Lately, I’ve been watching “Doomsday Preppers” on the History Channel 2. I find it curious that people in condos or apartments are spending thousands on canned goods, bottled water and first aid kits. Often, little or no thought is given to defending their cache. They seem content to sit in their living rooms and wait out the crisis. One can only hope that their neighbors will respect the prepper’s property.

A few of the prepper families do think about defense. I’ve seen all manner of firearms, cases of ammunition and bunkers built under a garage. One guy had a “duce and a half” bug out vehicle. How long can a determined family last if things went nuts?  I guess that depends on what they are willing to do and what they can do. Those who prepare for the worst should ask themselves questions before creating a survival plan:

•         Who that I know can be trusted?
•         Is my place defensible?
•         How difficult would it be to burn me out?
•         Could I kill to save my own life or that of a family member? Note: Those who glibly say, “Sure,” should read David Grossman’s On Killing.
•         What if a mob tried to storm my house?
•         Where is the nearest prison? How long would it stay operational if the electricity went out for an extended period?
•         What if a stranger holding the hands of two children under five, asked you for help?
•         What will trigger my flight instinct? Do I know when to leave the home behind?
•         Do I have a place to go?
•         Will I be able to walk to the back-up facility safely?
•         Can I get to safety with the highways jammed with others fleeing riots and lawlessness?
•         How long will the police stay on the job? …the fire department? …the para-medics?
•         Could I fight my way to safety with a small child or an elderly relative in tow?
•         How long can my community function without electricity?
•         Will my prepper plans work equally well in the dead of winter as it does in the heat of mid-summer?
•         If I do have to kill someone to protect my family, will I have to answer for my behavior immediately?
•         Do I realize that in a world without penicillin and “flight-for-life” helicopters, even a minor injury could be fatal?
•         What about a triage plan?

I’m certain that there are more questions anyone could add which are situation and community specific, but this is a good start. No plan should be conceived without a candid discussion with immediate family members regarding the answers to these questions. Remember, the cavalry only arrives just in the nick of time in the movies. Will America turn into The Road Warrior in a day or two? Who knows? The one thing that I’m confident of is that the big variable crisis is how untrained, unprepared average Americans, who are lost without their cell phones, will act when TSHTF.

From Rourke:

The above post was another entry in the ModernSurvivalOnline Survival & Preparedness Guest Post Writing Contest. Prizes for this contest include:

© 2012, ModernSurvivalOnline.com. All rights reserved.

My main garden surrounded by several raised beds.

Yellow Crookneck Summer Squash

Peppers..... usually not one of my most successful crops.

Delicious Strawberries......

Zucchinis

Cucumber just starting to form......my favorite.

Tomatoes......

Lots of green beans............

Those that have been hanging around here at MSOnline for awhile know I really recommend developing gardening skills. Being able to supplement foods stored “just in case” with fresh fruits and vegetables is essential. An amazing amount of food can be grown within a small lot with proper soil management, crop rotation and watering frequency.

For any preparedness-mind person – gardening needs to be done NOW rather than when you must do it.

On a lighter note – it can be fun and rewarding!

Rourke

© 2012, ModernSurvivalOnline.com. All rights reserved.

 - – - Rourke

© 2012, ModernSurvivalOnline.com. All rights reserved.

This post is to assist in pointing many of you new to preparedness in the right direction. The acquiring and completion of this list does not get you ready for the end of the world. That is not the goal. What these 10 items provide is a good base which to build your survival system from.

So – here is the list:

#1 – LED Flashlight with extra batteries

 The flashlight is one of the most basic supplies in any preparedness system. Once the lights go out and the sun goes down the lowly flashlight will be very welcome and extremely important. When that  ”thing” goes bump in the night and the kids are scared a flashlight (or twelve) will provide comfort in addition to security.

There are a lot of great flashlights that do not have to cost and arm and a leg. The Nebo featured above is an excellent example.

Whatever is purchased make sure to get several sets of extra batteries as well.

#2 – Water / Food

Without food and water a survival situation can go from bad to very, very bad. A good start is putting back 72 hours worth of food for each member of your group or family. This does not have to be expensive or take up a lot of space. Purchasing extra food such as rice, beans, peanut butter, dehydrated potatoes, etc. at your local grocery store is certainly a good option. Ready made 72 hour kits of quality freeze dried food can be purchased and placed on a shelf just on case.

Water can be purchased by the gallon or in cases of small portable bottles. Look for ones on sale and stack them up next to your emergency food supply.

#3 - Fire

Fire can do a lot. Fire can heat, cook, signal, sterilize, purify, provide light, and protect. Grab a couple packs of matches and a few butane lighters. Save dryer lint in a Ziploc bag along with some petroleum jelly and fire you will have.

#4 - Guns & Ammo

 It is unfortunate that low-life hoodlums will take advantage of disasters and emergency situations and rob, loot, steal, and murder. Being able to defend yourself, your family and your supplies is required. Whatever firearm is chosen be familiar with it, be able to shoot it accurately and have plenty of ammunition and extra magazines (if applicable).

A pile of money is not needed to get something decent. I recently picked up a brand new Springfield XD9 for $399. Not bad. 

#5 - Blankets

Blankets can provide not only warmth but comfort as well should the need to sleep on a hard surface arise. Blankets can be folded to create a pillow. They also can be folded and tied to hold supplies. Blankets can also be used between two large poles to carry an injured person. Wool is highly recommended. A lot of uses and not easily replaces with an alternative.

#6 - First Aid Kit

 Got a boo-boo? Not a big deal in most cases however in a disaster-event one of the last things anyone needs is an infection. Depending upon what happens tree’s could be down, power out – lots of opportunities for injury.

Having a good basic first aid kit just makes sense. They can be purchased at Wal-Mart  for just under $10.00. I have one of the kits pictured above and am very happy with it.

#7 – Knife

 A good basic knife can do a lot of things and likely should probably be higher on the list. Depending on the specific knife, this tool can cut, chop, slice, carve, hammer, pry, stab, and hack. The KA-BAR is a good knife.

#8 – Radio

Communication is more than just valuable so you know what is happening r will be happening – it can be a morale booster. Bring stuck in a house with no power, no running water – with no connection to the outside world can wreak havoc on people especially kids. An inexpensive radio is a good start.

#9 – Fuel

 Back when Hurricane Hugo plowed through the southeast power was lost for several days in many areas. Gas stations also lost power and many people had no fuel for their vehicles. Having a few 5 gallon gas containers full sitting in a shed or in the backyard is insurance. Make sure you don’t store them in your house or garage.

#10 – Trash Bags

 Trash bags are extremely versatile and I recommend large heavy-duty lawn leaf bags. Plastic trash bags can provide shelter from the elements as well as hold waste. They can transport water as well as capture it from the sky.

Go to the store and get a box of large, heavy duty leaf bags.

Alright everyone no doubt opinions vary on what items should and shouldn’t be on this list.

What do you think?

Rourke

© 2012, ModernSurvivalOnline.com. All rights reserved.