roof top eagle's blog

Skills for the coming collapse

2010-09-01T05:55:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking of ways to acquire skills that could be helpful in a rough situation or the bad times that are coming to the whole world. I'm an international listener since the show is produced in the USA but I can see the writing on the wall that we are all going to need skills to survive no matter where we live.

When you think about it if you were wanting to start a prepping community where everyone brought something to the table in a mutual agreement where everyone involved would chip in and you'd all work together to survive through the coming economic collapse you need to ask yourself this question. What do I bring to the table?

In the emerging economy coming out of the collapse that is coming I think it will be hard skills that will help you sustain yourself. Can you build a security fence out of scrap lumber? Can you weld a tower together for a HAM radio operator who might not have the skills to build the tower and not have the money to buy a commercial tower?

Bob Maybe of Today's Survival Show did a show called Become a Jack of All Trades and Survive.I think he is dead on with that line of thinking. So the question comes up, how do you gain these skills?

Well there are many ways. You can take classes at your local community college to get some basic skills. I'm looking at a basic vehicle maintenance class and a small engine repair class offered. I'm also looking at some continuing education courses offered by some of the local high schools where I can learn a little bit of welding and carpentry. You can volunteer with Habitat for Humanity to learn some construction skills. You can even do an unpaid apprenticeship for a couple months in your spare time with someone who knows what you want to know. It can never hurt to ask. Take any chance you get to expand your skills!

In Ontario Canada where I live some people took courses paid for by the government to gain new skills after being laid off. Well if you qualify why not look at the long term and maybe go to a private career college for welding or something like that where you can gain a valuable skill and not have to pay for it? I don't agree with our government supplying these courses for people and funding them going to school again especially since the program was aimed at people who lost jobs that made a very good living who if they were smart could have had a big emergency fund and stashes of cash to get them through plus money to take a course if they were smart with their overpaid union jobs. But the thing is the government was going to do it whether we all liked it or not so if you can qualify why not take advantage of what your tax dollars are paying for?
Get books on things like plumbing and electrical work. This way if you have to at least you can look up how to fix something. Resources and knowledge will be huge in the new economy that is emerging.
Take any chance you get to learn skills and gain valuable knowledge.

[What have you done to prep this week?]

Frazer

Trends Journal - Excellent Resource

2010-08-17T05:28:00.000-07:00

Gerald Celente of the Trends Journal has been spot on in regards to his trends forecasting for a long time. He predicted the dot com bubble and the housing bubble. I recommend everyone go and subscribe to the Trends Journal found at www.trendsresearch.com I plan on subscribing soon myself. I've heard Gerald on the Alex Jones show and he seems to be getting things right. I think the Trends Journal can help you with your prepping by helping you make sound investing decisions and know more about what is coming up on the world stage so you know what areas to focus your prepping in. I`ll be sure to do a follow up once I have my membership and can give some first hand experience on how The Trends Journal has helped me!

Watch the video for a feel of what you'll get with The Trends Journal!

Pick Me Up Value!

2010-08-14T06:00:00.000-07:00

Today we are going to talk about the benefits of having some kind of pick-up truck available to you. You don't have to spend a lot of money to have a pickup truck, get a well maintained used GM pickup for $2000-$5000 but make sure not to go into debt to get it! These tools can be invaluable in all kinds of emergency circumstances but also in everyday life. Kymber talks in her blog posts about using old tires to make container gardens. It's a good idea you should check it out! If she didn't have a pick-up to get all those tires home she would have had to pay someone to do it! Often you can save money by picking up or delivering stuff on your own instead of paying for it to be delivered to you. All it will really cost you is the gas in your pick-up truck!

Now some of us don't want to have a big gas guzzler around the homestead and probably don't need a full size half tonne or ¾ tonne pick-up truck. Well, you can get the same utility from a simple Ford Ranger or Chevy S-10 just on a smaller scale! These pick-up trucks may be the kind of truck that looks like a truck saying "when I grow up I want to be a real truck!" but the sure have some utility depending on what they need.

Some features I'd look for in a pick-up is 4x4, this is good for if a major storm hits your area and you need to do some urban style off road driving to get the kids from school when most roads are impassable to a basic 2 wheel drive car or truck. In our Canadian winters 4x4 can be handy to get the kids to school if the busses aren't running and a bit snow storm hit. Or even just to get to the store to pick up a prescription for a loved one. I'd also look for an extended cab, this will allow you to transport more people and also lock some items inside the truck and keep them more out of sight than if you had them on the bench seat of a regular cab truck.

Now you might be thinking about insurance for the truck, maybe your just scraping by and don't have much room in your insurance budget to add another vehicle. I'd suggest a seasonal or casual driving insurance program and make sure to tell your broker that you won't be driving it to work. If you have anything resembling a farm you may be able to get farm plates and farm insurance which can be cheaper. Make sure to get the bare bones insurance since this vehicle is not a primary vehicle and just for use when you may need a truck. (Unless you do plan on using it day by day. I'm talking mainly to those who don't want or need a truck day by day and how they can take advantage of a pick-up truck in the few times they actually can use it) Sometimes I wished I had a truck are when I found a great deal on some furnature at a local discount house that buys stuff from Sears catalogue order returns and sells them dirt cheap but doesn't supply delivery. It would be nice to have a truck just to bring things home from that store. Even a small Ford Ranger could do the job decently.

Some things you can use a truck for if you had one (and possibly save money) are:

Transporting firewood (if you have a fireplace and a neighbour has a tree fall down, you can clean it up and take the wood, often the neighbour will not charge you and just be glad to get rid of the fallen tree)

Emergency transportation (if you need to do some sort of off road driving or just manoeuvre around a disaster zone and over objects in the road with the 4x4 option and higher ground clearance will let you go where most other vehicles can't)

Save on delivery charges (If you can pick up furniture at Leon's or the Brick you can save on their delivery costs)

Hook up a plough to clear snow

Get a friend out of the ditch

Transport dirt onto your property for gardens without paying the delivery fee

There are many more things you can do with a truck; these are just some options for you. If you really think outside the box I'm sure you can come up with plenty of things you can use a pick-up truck for if you need to and be glad you have it!

We do need to talk a bit about maintaining this vehicle that might be sitting much of the year. Some things I'd suggest are to put fuel stabilizer in the tank or even pump the tank into a gas can so that you can protect the gas. If you leave the gas in the tank you might want to syphon it out and change it once a year, maybe every 6 months syphon it into your day to day vehicle and put new gas into the truck so that you have fresh gas in it for when you need it. Something else I think would be handy is putting small solar panel and put it into the cigarette lighter jack so that you can keep a good charge on the battery so it will start up when you go to turn the key after not using the vehicle for a couple months. Even if you only use the truck once or twice a year while society is still functioning you might want to give it one oil change minimum a year under those conditions so that you can be sure the oil hasn't gone bad or something so that you don't kill your truck after letting it sit for a while. Even if you haven't put the standard 2000 km on it that year, you may not need to do it every 3 months but it does need an oil change at least once a year!

I hope you look into having a pick-up truck of some kind around your homestead; they offer great utility and can be a valuable tool if society breaks down!

[What is your 2010 preparedness plan?]

Frazer,

Feel free to follow me on Twitter and check out my Youtube videos.

The New Roof Top Eagles Blog

2010-08-11T08:46:00.000-07:00

Hey Prepper Army!

So I am revamping my blog, working on making it more specific in it's mission. My new mission is to provide information on practical survialism and common sense prepping!

I'll cover things like how to prep in an apartment, food storage ideas, sanitation ideas, good products and many other topics that have to do with prepping and modern survivalism.

You can click the twitter icon in the sidebar to follow me on twitter and you can subscribe to my feedburner feed to get this blog show up in your rss reader. Please use the re-tweet button and share this blog with your friends!

Thanks for reading Prepper Army!

Letter to Leatherman Tool Group Inc.

2010-08-07T07:15:00.001-07:00

I sent the following email to Leatherman Tool Group Inc. regarding their warranty repair service and a suggestion that I thought could make their warranty service better for some of their customers

Hi Leatherman!
I want to say you guys make excellent tools; they are among the best made pieces of equipment I've used. I've used competitor's tools but Leatherman always comes out on top! I've never had a tool last as long as my Leatherman wave!

I bought a S2 Juice model for daily carry a while back because I wanted something lighter and I must give you kudos for making a tool with all the tools I like to see on a Multitool in a lightweight basic package!

I did have a problem a while back where the back spacer popped out and it needed to be sent in for warranty service. I am very grateful for the 25 year warranty; it's just long enough for any factory issues to come to light! Now I contacted you guys and you gave me the address for Eastern Outdoor Sales and I sent it in for replacement. I sent it off and then called after a couple weeks to find out how much longer it would be. They informed me that they haven't got to it yet but through conversation I found out that the Juice line is replaced not repaired.

I'd like to suggest a change to your procedure for warranty replacement tools. It took about 3 weeks to get my new tool and I don't think that was necessary. If my tool was being repaired I'd see the logic of using something like a cue to decide who's tool gets fixed next, that is only fair. (A cue like when you get put on hold calling your cable company where they get to you in the order of when the call was received) I don't think putting a tool that is by default replaced and not repaired into that cue just to get mailed out is a good practice. Since the Juice line is replaced without any thought to it being repaired I'd think when the repair facility sees the Juice (or other models that may be replaced and not repaired) it would be nice to your customers just to mail out a new one upon arrival of the tool. There really is no need for someone to wait 3 weeks to get a tool that is replaced and never even considered repairable.

I'd like to close with this, despite this little disagreement with your protocol I am committed to buying Leatherman tools in the future. The very fact that I didn't have to go out and buy a new tool for $40+ dollars and instead just paid $6 in shipping is reason enough for me to stay committed to your excellent tools!

God bless you and thank you for your top notch tools!
--
Frazer

I'll be sure to post any follow up emails that they send me. I can't stress enough how Leatherman makes some of the best Multitool out there and I probably barring a major melt down in quality with never buy anything but Leatherman Multitools!

[What is your 2010 preparedness plan?]

Frazer,

Feel free to follow me on Twitter and check out my Youtube videos.

Why cancel Google Services?

2010-08-02T06:00:00.001-07:00

I've been listening to the Alex Jones Show and I have been guarding myself by taking what he says with a grain of salt. Before I buy any of his claims I look into his sources myself to see if they line up. I think this is how an independent thinker operates, independent thinkers like myself don't buy into anything unless we look into the facts ourselves.

Well some recent developments in what I've learned is that Google, the tech giant was founded by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) so I am cancelling as many of my services with them as I can. For example I used Gmail; the main reason was that I could funnel all my email accounts into the Gmail system just like you can with outlook or Thunderbird. Well I am going to delete my Gmail account once I get some stuff sorted out. I'm looking into using another blog service that is available to me since my blogs are on blogger which is owned by Google. I'll still keep a Google profile for use with blogger since I am part of the Canadian Preppers Network which uses Google.

My source for this information that Google is a CIA front company comes from an article on infowars.com called Ex-Agent: CIA Seed Money Helped Launch Google. An interesting comment by an ex-CIA intelligence agent Robert David Steele in the article are

"I think Google took money from the CIA when it was poor and it was starting up and unfortunately our system right now floods money into spying and other illegal and largely unethical activities, and it doesn't fund what I call the open source world," said Steele, citing "trusted individuals" as his sources for the claim.

Another good article this one on prisonplanet.com is called ``Former Intelligence Agent Says Google In Bed With CIA`` on this article I found this link to an audio recording of Alex Jones interview with Robert David Steele. It`s tough to find anything about the reality of Google`s relationship with the CIA so seeing that I can`t find a whole lot of credible information on these claims but I don`t want to risk it and I`m pulling as many of my Google services. I`m keeping Youtube and Blogger for commitments I have with friends who use Google services so I don`t really have a choice. However I am going to scrap my Gmail and Google account as much as I can and I am going to start a Google account with an untruthful alias email to protect my information.

Now it`s no secret that Google saves your search history and use it to predict what you will do in the future. For this reason I looked for an alternative search engine to Google. I found one that doesn`t record my IP address called ixquick.com. I don`t really have anything to hide I just like my privacy! I highly recommend that you listen to this interview by Alex Jones with Robert David Steele a former CIA agent. I`ll be sure to update you all when I find my alternative blog!

Oh and check out Robert David Steele`s website

[What is your 2010 preparedness plan?]

Frazer,

Feel free to follow me on Twitter and check out my Youtube videos.

EDC Update - July 22, 2010

2010-07-22T08:21:00.000-07:00

This is a video of my recent EDC Update.

Items I carry on a daily basis, some things change depending on the planned task however my daily carry is usually a variation of this. For example I might carry my full size Leatherman Wave Multi-tool if I plan on doing heavier tasks and I might carry my Streamlight Scorpion LED if I need a brighter light with more through from the beam and more power from the flashlight.

Contents of my Everyday Carry:
* Maxpedition Spartan Wallet (tough as nails)
* Moleskine Notepad (some of the best notepads out there)
* Fisher Space Pen (excellent pen for Canadian Winters, will right in frigid cold)
* Zebra Telescopic Pen (used as a back-up)
* Leatherman Juice Model S2 (great little knife, light weight and good quality)
* 16oz hand sanitizer
* 3'x3' 100% Cotton Bandanna (great for wiping sweat or tears from eyes, even can be used as a crude first aid implement purchased from Canteenshop.com)
* Microfiber cloth (for cleaning my glasses)
* House and Vehicle Keys (self explanatory)
* Streamlight Stylus Pro Flashlight (perfect Size for EDC, might upgrade eventually to the 4Sevens Preon 2 for more power out of a similar light)
* Motorola V9x RAZR cellular phone (simple is better, yeah I'd love an Android smart phone but this thing has served me well)

Frazer,

feel free to follow me on Twitter, and subscribe to my Youtube videos.

Go Free or Go Home

2010-06-11T04:49:00.000-07:00

Hey Guys,

I've been kicking around the thought of running Linux on my computer for a couple months now. I've finally given in and started making up to date back-ups of my documents, music and videos so that I can make the transition.

The reason I want to go to Linux (namely Ubuntu 10.04) is because I am running an old computer and from all accounts older boxes can run Linux pretty well. That and I am also ticked off with the monthly re-installing I have to do to keep errors off my Windows XP Pro Service Pack 3. It never fails that my computer gets sluggish over a month and I'm getting tired of re-installing my OS.

Linux can easily run for weeks and months without needing to reboot. I understand a lot of HAM Clubs use Linux for their repeaters and a lot of HAMs run Linux on tower systems like D-star since it can go so long without being rebooted whereas if they used a Windows PC they would have to reboot every couple days. Has anyone ever noticed how often they have to reboot their Windows PC?

Then there is the benefit of free software with Ubuntu and Linux. I'm tired of paying for over priced software. A basic office suite from Microsoft can easily cost $600 and after buying all the software you need to run the computer and do everything you want to do. You can easily pay $1000 on software before even buying the hardware for a decently equipped PC.

Thanks for reading and look forward to my recap of my first meeting with NPARC the local HAM Radio club I plan on joining.

Frazer

P.S. Follow me on Twitter and find me on youtube.

Writing your M.P. Can make a difference!

2010-03-09T11:19:00.000-08:00

I got the following email from my Conservative M.P. Rob Nicholson. Allow me to play pundit and read between the lines for you

Mr. Frazer

Thank you for your e-mail message regarding the English version of our National Anthem, O Canada. The Conservative government recently asked to hear from Canadians on the prospect of changing the language to make it more “gender neutral”, and they have spoken loud and clear. Canadians overwhelmingly do not want to open the issue, and therefore, the Government will not proceed any further with the debate.

Again, I thank you for writing to provide your input on this important matter.

The Honourable Rob Nicholson, P.C., M.P.

I could be wrong but I didn't hear him (Or any politician for that matter) ask anyone what we thought about gender neutrality in the national anthem. Nor did they ask the citizens to contact them to tell them what we think. The Conservative government just took advantage of the fact that many people did voice concerns then shut down a controversial position and took the glory by saying that they invited our opinion.

They really don't give a flying fart in a windstorm what we think if they feel the issues is above our pay scale (or brain capacity).....Only GM workers and CEOs wanted that bailout to happen, yet for a few more years our money is invested in a Vehicle manufacturer and we get no capital gains on any profits that GM may come in to!

Now I've tried to tone down my dismay at the government's handling of, well pretty much everything but the core of what drives me to mention this here is that it wasn't that the government listened to what we had to say because they invited it, it was because they were overwhelmed with the negative response the public had on the matter. So lets give credit where credit is due, the people of Canada have enough trust in the Government to call them out when something is out of whack.

At the same time if the issue is of a nature that any minority of people can get behind (and the media plays that minority up enough) or that benefits the government they will not listen to our opinion. They proved that when they bailed out GM because an Ontario NDP party let the "to big to fail" corporation off the hook for their pension insurance. The bail out was (while controversial) cheaper (if it works) than paying the billions they would have to pay if sued for letting GM off the hook.

I do want to thank Mr. Nicholson for responding to my email, although if you look at the original it looks computer generated, sort of like my name was electronically entered to a mass emailing of a message to everyone in a database who contacted them on the issue. I do have to admit I've heard from many people that since Mr. Nicholson is the Attorney General I'd be lucky to get half a sentence in personal correspondence of any kind. So that you Mr. Nicholson.

Godspeed Y'all

A reason to be ready for anything!

2009-07-22T06:46:00.000-07:00

I watched a video of my friend from Church Bill's story of being rescued at sea. At the time of writing this there is no media on the website in the hyperlink but it says there will be soon. I saw the discovery channel video on his facebook page. It is an amazing story of God's grace and a story of a miracle only God could provide. While I trust God fully, I believe he gave us the ability to have options. I often get people bugging me for what I call my EDC or Everyday Carry items. Which tend to include at least a flashlight and a Leatherman Multitool. My current EDC items include my cell phone, a pen, notepad, Streamlight Stylus Pro, Leatherman Wave, Spyderco Delica 4 and my keys which includes a micro Fox40 whistle.

It is times like what happened to Bill and his friends that spark the reason for my EDC system. In his story the boat they were on capsized in the sea and it took several days to get rescued, praise God that they all are okay now! That being said, while everyone has an EDC not everyone makes one that gives them as many options as mine does. And you know what? that's fine, it's what they are comfortable with. If I was on the boat with Bill and his friend and father I would have built a special kit of items to have on my body in case of emergency. On the high seas it would have probably been kept in a waist rig (or what is often called a fanny pack) and consisted of a waterproof seaworthy marine LED flashlight, a small marine LED strobe light, a Signal Mirror, Rite-in-the-rain notepad, a pencil, a Spyderco Pacific Salt folding knife, about 10 feet of 550 para cord at least one glow stick and a flare. I might have sprung for renting a marine Personal Locator Beacon on a lanyard around my neck or strapped to the waist rig. These items would have been affixed to my body in the waist rig so that if I fell overboard or anything separated me from the boat and alone I would still have all this gear. While there is definitely more gear on the boat it can't hurt to have some stuff on your body.

Now why would I have these items on me? well because like I said, I like to have options! Imagine if I didn't have this stuff and was to fall overboard and no one noticed right away...I wouldn't have had time when falling off the boat to grab some gear! This stuff could save my life! here are just a few uses for the items I listed...

Marine LED Flashlight

Signaling
light source (if the boat died but didn't capsize)

Marine Strobe Light

Signaling

Signal Mirror

Signaling

Rite-in-the-rain notepad and pencil

take notes without worry of water damage

Spyderco Pacific Salt Folding Knife

It's always good to have a knife on you
This model wouldn't rust from the salt with it's H1 steel
Defense against sharks (I don't like to be unable to protect myself)
cut rope, wetsuits or anything that might need cutting

10 feet of 550 Para Cord

Well for one 550 para cord is able to hold up to 550lbs without a problem so it's strong
To keep the crew together in case the boat capsized (Just like the guys did)

Glow Stick

Gives 12 hours of light so it could be a good signal device for at night for air rescue

Flare

Anyone who has been at sea knows a flair is a great way to get help
Again a signaling device

Personal Locator Beacon

These devices are used all the time to locate lost people in mountains, on the high seas etc. It would have alerted officials immediately of their distress and given their exact GPS location for a quick rescue.

You'll notice a lot of this stuff was aimed at signaling. I think one of the most pressing issues when lost at sea is being found. That and the biggest risk I could see of being at sea is getting lost. In addition I'd make sure there was a good first aid kit on the boat.

Some people make fun of my EDC items, that usually ends when they need to open a package and my knife saves the day or when the power goes out and they need to find something my flashlight comes into action. It's just giving me more options for any situation that may come up.

Watch Bill and team's story HERE