Survival In The Suburbs

Surviving Mobs, Protests, and Riots.

noreply@blogger.com (Survival In The Suburbs) — Sat, 30 Dec 2017 02:55:00 +0000

Living in Charlotte N.C., this is especially relevant to me. Unfortunately, Charlotte doesn't have the market cornered on unruly protests, mob mentality, and riots. Small towns like Ferguson MO, medium sized cities like Harrisburg VA, or large urban metropolises like New York, Los Angeles, and Milwaukee, have all experienced protests that spun up into riots that lasted several days.

Regardless of the incident that sparked these protests, or the motivations that spun them out of control, you and your family could be caught up in them inadvertently. No one who isn't rioting plans to get caught in a riot. You, however, need to plan and be prepared to get OUT of one.

There's generally two types of people who have a legitimate reason to be in an area when civil unrest happens. People who live there, and people who don't. I know that sounds kind of silly and very obvious, but think about it anyways. How you would avoid, or escape civil unrest depends on which one of those two types of people you are at that given moment. Someone who lives in NY would have completely different indicators that shit was about to go down, than someone who was a tourist and visiting Time Square. It gets even more complicated if you're in another country and trouble starts.

In Charlotte during the riots last year, groups of protesters would block traffic on major thoroughfares and at one point they blocked traffic on an interstate. If motorists tried to proceed through the blockade, the protesters would throw things at their windows, hit and kick the cars, and several times tried to pull drivers from their cars. One at least three occasions, protesters were on overpasses throwing rocks at cars driving under them.

If you're a local:
Avoid the trouble spots at all costs. Avoid choke points into and out of the area. do not go 'check it out for yourself'. Do not let curiosity kill the cat. Try to establish a communication link to first responders. I have a police scanner and also used an app on my phone called Scanner Radio. Its a free app and you can listen to many metropolitan area first responders, It will also alert me if there is an unusual amount of listeners for a particular feed. So if suddenly three times the normal number of listeners begin to listen to police calls in Dallas for example...I can do a quick google search for Dallas news and see whats going on.
You should already be prepared to bug in at this point. Get water, lock your doors, lock your car doors and stay out of sight. Keep everyone in the house. Don't open your doors for anyone. Partially open a window that is not obvious from the front of your house and routinely listen for changes in the environment around you. Smell the air around you. Sirens, gun shots, and smoke are bad signs. If this happens begin to harden your home by blocking doors and windows with heavy furniture. This is your home, be prepared to fight for it if you have to. However, always leave yourself an escape route.

If you're visiting:
If you're visiting the area and can safely leave, then leave. If for whatever reasons you can't leave, then bug in to wherever you are. Back your car into its parking space, and lock the doors when you get out. Gather as many supplies as you can into a back pack and keep the back pack with you. Water will be very important, keep some on you.
Harden your improvised bug in area as much as possible. Lock all the doors and windows. Barricade the and windows as much as possible. Clear a path to an exit point so you can leave in a hurry without causing yourself any injury. Turn off any lights that are not absolutely essential.
Get prepared to move locations if you have to. Keep your car keys and back pack (if you have one) on you at all times. If you're moving in unfamiliar territory you have as good a chance of running into trouble as you have of trouble finding you. If the cell network is still up and functional, use your mapping apps to plot a course away from where you are. Look and listen before you move.
If you have to move, move quickly and quietly. Stay out of site, stay out of lit areas if possible. Look and listen before you move.

Social unrest is a scary thing. All of the rules you follow and rely on others following have just gone out the window. Keep your wits about you. Trust your instincts, develop a plan and stick to it.

Remember I'm not an expert, and I don't play one on the Internet. My opinions are exactly that....my opinions. Thank you all for reading. As always, comments, suggestions, topics are always welcome....criticism not so much :)

Cell Phones in a Suburban Disaster

noreply@blogger.com (Survival In The Suburbs) — Sat, 09 Dec 2017 22:09:00 +0000

I think that in the event of a large scale incident everyone's initial reaction will be to use their smart phone for emergency communication and as a source for news. The smart phone has become an integral part of our daily existence. In one small device we have the ability to communicate both verbally and in writing. We can send and receive texts, emails, and social media posts. We can search for answers on the internet to most of lifes problems. We can get directions, take pictures and record videos. You get the picture. That's a good thing....sort of.

Smart phones are very convenient, there's no doubt about that. However, convenience comes at a price. Sometimes that price is marked in big read letters on the front of the package, and sometimes its hidden and you don't realize it until its too late. For all the convenience they provide smart phones can be a pain in the ass also. They're fragile, sensitive to adverse conditions, require a constant power source and a cellular or wifi signal to provide all of those wonderful conveniences we have become accustomed to having on demand at our finger tips.

With all that being said, they're still the best thing going. They bundle so many features and capabilities into one small, portable, relatively inexpensive package. Here are some of the most common problems, and solutions to those problems that will help you retain your ability to communicate in the event of a disaster.

Cellular network is not available - there is nothing you can do to fix this issue. You can try to work around this issue by finding an available WiFi signal that you can use, but you will not be able to restore the cellular network.
Saving Battery Power - There is a setting on your phone for Power Saving. Turn it on immediately. Turn off WiFi, and Blue Tooth....both of those are power hogs. Turn the ringer down and the vibration off. Turn off notifications for anything that is not critical. You dont want bullshit apps vibrating your phone and depleting your battery. Stop checking your phone every 20 seconds. Conserving the power you DO have reduces your need to recharge your battery. Rest assured, your device will run out of power at the worst possible time.
Recharging Your Battery - Have a secondary power source. Have a charging cord. I keep a small battery source like this, short charging cord, micro-usb to usb-c adapter, and micro-usb to iPhone adapter in a small waterproof container like this in my truck at all times. Keep your battery source charged. Keep an AC wall adapter in your vehicle. You can use other battery sources to charge your smart phone like a laptop, PC, car battery, solar charger, automotive battery jump-starter. Think outside the box.
Critical Contact Information - Keep your top 10 critical contacts information somewhere else in addition to your phone. I keep my top 10 in a piece of laminated card stock the size of a business card. Business cards fit everywhere. I would hate to find a working telephone and not be able to contact someone critical because I cant remember their number....which is stored in my broken or powerless phone.
Critical Documents - I keep images of my passport, drivers license, social security card, birth certificate....and all of those documents for each member of my family in a hidden, password encrypted folder on the sim card of my phone. If you need them, you have them, and you can open them on your phone and email them anywhere....like an Embassy.
Texting - This is the preferred way to communicate in a disaster. Texts queue up on the network in a different way than cellular calls. Texts will stay in the queue and be delivered even if the network is going up and down. Texts will also deliver in areas of very poor signal reception. I would build a group text list that you can blast a single text to multiple people versus sending multiple texts. Texting also leaves a permanent message on your phone unless you delete it. You can refer back to that text instead of trying to remember what was said during a stressful and overwhelming moment.
Location Services - GPS may or may not function properly if the cellular network is not available. Cached data is still view-able in Google Earth even if you're not connected to the network. If you have time, and most often you will, cache the area you're in and you can use Google Earth as a basic navigation tool in that cached area. If you're leaving, cache the route to the area and the area you're moving to.
Learn The Skills - Learn the skills you're replacing with your cell phone. The phone is great, but when the phone is no longer usable, you will be under alot less stress if you know how to actually perform some of the skills your phone is doing for you....like navigation. Learn how to read a map. Learn how to determine roughly where you are. Implement some alternate methods of communication, like 2-way radios.
Have A Plan - Don't just try to wing it as things happen. this is a recipe for disaster. Plenty of stuff will happen that you aren't able to plan for, give yourself every opportunity to be successful by having some sort of plan in place. Develop a plan, and then practice it.

The key to surviving any type of disaster is keeping your wits about you. Having a minimal amount of gear in your vehicle, or on your person, that will help you execute a contingency plan can be a life saver. At a minimum it will give you options and reduce mental stress, which will allow you to more clearly process and act on the environment you are in.

Here are some examples of types of gear mentioned in the post:

Remember I'm not an expert, and I don't play one on the Internet. My opinions are exactly that....my opinions. Thank you all for reading and being patient with my lack of posts while I sorted a few things out. As always, comments, suggestions, topics are always welcome....criticism not so much :)

Everyday Uses For A Vacuum Sealer In The Suburbs.

noreply@blogger.com (Survival In The Suburbs) — Tue, 30 May 2017 18:36:00 +0000

Anyone who is self reliant or who buys in bulk has considered a vacuum sealer. We've all seen them at savings club stores like Sams, BJ's, or Costco and other retail outlets like Walmart. Most of us have seen them on infomercials where a thrifty, creative home maker is vacuum sealing bulk purchased meats, or prepackaging every meal, marinating chicken in a hurry, or sealing up left overs so they last longer, etc.

They seem like a great idea and hit us in the budgetary sweet spot of not wasting money by not wasting food. I mean, who hasn't thrown out food that spoiled before it got cooked, or food that got freezer burned? Vacuum sealers seem easy to use....just place whatever you want to seal in a pre-sized plastic bag, place the open end of the bag on the bottom shelf of the sealer, close the lid, and press a button. What could be easier, right? Easy peezy lemon squeezy.

It really is that simple, at least at that stage of the process. But you should know, there's A LOT of things that have to happen before you place the bag in the sealer and press the go button. The first of those things is....you have to own a vacuum sealer. I own a Foodsaver brand. It's by far the most popular, to the extent that people refer to vacuum sealers as "food savers", much like people ask for a Kleenex.

Foodsaver isn't the only brand of vacuum sealer by any means, and this is in no way an advertisement for or an endorsement of their products. It just so happens to be the brand I bought 20+ years ago, which i still have and use. They have many models, with many features, and you can find some comparisons here.

This post isn't about which vacuum saver you should get, or which attachments they offer for which models, or even how awesome your vacuum sealing experience will be. This post is about what I have used my vacuum sealer to seal, the tips and tricks I learned along the way, and the results I experienced.

So, lets get right to it. As I mentioned earlier, there are quite a few things that need to happen before you press the Seal Me button, or whatever its called. We will assume at this stage of the process, you already have a sealer. So the next two decisions you need to make are what am I going to seal, and what am I going to seal it in? Simple right? Not really.

In my experience there are two types of things you would seal for storage; food, and not food.
So lets take a look at food first. There are three scenarios for sealing food:

1. Frozen, long term storage - meats, vegetables and fruits that you want to store in your freezer and use longer than 10 days from the day you sealed them. I've frozen meats that have kept for close to a year with my vacuum sealer. They might have lasted longer, but we ate them. It wasn't a science experiment, its just meat for dinner. What you store these items in is an important determining factor on how long they will store with little or no degradation. I used the vacuum bags and bag rolls made by Foodsaver. the bags are easy to use if what you want to store fits in them, but they cost more. they're already sealed on one end. So you fill and seal. the bag rolls on the other hand are just that.....a roll of bag material that you cut to size and seal on both ends. The rolls are less expensive, but you have to cut it to the length you think you'll need, seal one end, then fill it and finally seal the other end. More work, and 2 times the chance of a seal failure. There are things you can do to minimize the chance of seal failure:

Portion out the food you want to go into the bag ahead of time, don't try to do it as you fill the bags. If you'll 2x a portion for a recipe I would use two bags, dont try to fit a double portion in one bag.
Wash your hands after you portion the food. Meat will leave fat and grease on your hands and the bags as you fill them. This can affect the quality of the seal. I rolled ground beef into a big ball and dropped it into the open bag so it didn't brush the sides going in and contaminate the seal.
For ground meats I flattened them out before sealing and tried to get them all roughly the same dimensions. This lets it rest flat on the counter, keeps the bag in a relatively cohesive shape for sealing that doesn't have peaks and valleys in it. Those peaks will cause wrinkles the length of the bag and when the wrinkle reaches the sealing pad of the vacuum sealer it will fold over and create an air leak. Flat meat is also easier to store as it can be stacked.
Vegetables i just tossed in the bag, gave it a good shake to settle them into the bag, laid them on their sides flat, and sealed them.
I put a second seal on each end of the bag about 1/2 inch from first seal on the outside of the first seal. Make sure the seals don't cross each other, and make sure the first seal is good before you set the second seal.
If you mess up a seal, don't cut the bag shorter and try again, get a new bag. If it wrinkled with a longer bag the first time it will definitely wrinkle on a shorter bag the second time.
Let your food sit out for 15 minutes before you put it in the freezer. Most seal failures happen pretty quickly. If your bag doesn't look exactly like it did when you first sealed it, cut it open and use a new bag.

2. Frozen or refrigerated, short term storage - meats, vegetables and fruits that you want to use within 10 days of sealing them. This could be for marinades, left overs, stuff you want to cook in 5 days, etc. Newer machines will allow you to seal zippered bags, or any other food grade plastic bag. Those might be a better option for this than the rolls and heavier bags mentioned above. They wont have to hold a seal for months and I wouldn't bother with a second seal. Follow all of the steps for handling the food before you seal it, follow all of the steps should you notice a seal failure, and you should be good to go. I don't have a lot of experience with sealing short cycle foods because we either used it within a few days or kept it as part of a longer cycle rotation because we bought in bulk or on sale. I have however resealed jars once they've been opened, so they make that cool *thock* sound when you reopen them.

3. Dry long term storage - Dry goods that you plan on storing for an extended period of time. This is one of the ways I heavily used my sealer. I have stored many different dry goods, but they basically fall into grains, beans, and granules.They're sealed in slightly different ways and stored in differently ways as well.

Grains and granules - Flour (wheat and corn) and salt (not iodized) mainly. I used bag rolls cut to size. I simply placed the grains or granules in their original packaging inside the bag and double sealed them. This will protect them against airborne and insect contaminates. This will not protect your stored goods from rodent contamination.
Beans - All types of dry beans. I remove them from their packaging and put them into the bag rolls i have cut to length. I double seal them and place them into 3 gallon food grade buckets with lids. I get my buckets from Walmart. I ask the bakery for their empty icing buckets. They are always happy to get rid of the buckets, which I wash then dry and store my beans in.

The second type of items you would use the vacuum sealer to store is non-food items. these could include things like firearms parts, documents, matches, batteries, primers, medicines, the list is almost endless. these types of things would be stored in much the same way as beans and grains/granules. I stored small, sharp parts inside a small metal tin, and larger parts inside plastic potato chip tubes (think Pringles can) and double sealed them into cut to length roll bags. One complete parts kit per weapon into individual sealed packages. I tossed a parts list in each package, and wrote the weapon name on the outside with a sharpie.

Things like prescription medications, primers, and things that come prepackaged into small to medium sized packages, I simply dropped into the cut to length bag rolls and double sealed them. This will be a judgment call for you, things the seem easier to store, identify, and use/administer by their original packaging would probably be better served to bag and seal in their original packaging. This way you know exactly which medicines you have in the bag and the correct dosages.

Important documents and photographs would of course be sealed flat in cut to length bag rolls. As an additional step for documents I put them into envelopes and marked the envelops so I could tell the general contents of each one. I grouped the documents by each person in my family, I had a birth certificate, social security card, immunization record, and ID card among other documents for each person. I marked the outside with a sharpie by name. I had all the documents imaged to disk prior to vacuum sealing them. you could also group the documents by type instead. So you would have all birth certificates in one package, social security cards in another, etc.

In conclusion, a vacuum sealer is a great tool from a financial perspective in that it allows you to safely seal and store your food purchases for the log or short term. It's also a great tool from a practical perspective in that it can be used to protect non-food items from the environment and extend their life by a very long time.

I encourage you to do your own research on brands, models and features. I'm not an expert and I don't play one on the Internet. The opinions in all my blog posts are just that, my opinions. They're worth exactly what you paid for them. Feel free to comment, make suggestions for new topics, or just suggestions in general. You can submit them in at the blog site, anonymously if you want. Or you can e-mail me directly: survivalinthesuburbs@gmail.com As always, thank you for reading.

What a year it's been.

noreply@blogger.com (Survival In The Suburbs) — Wed, 04 Sep 2013 20:43:00 +0000

     I've not posted on this blog for almost an entire year. A lot has happened, both personally, and in general, during that time. Lets see....where to begin:

     I survived the DNC coming to Charlotte - what a blustery, blowhard mess that was. Hope & Change.... my ass. The city spent lots of money to make the city not look like the city. They hid problems like high crime hot spots and masses of homeless by moving them out of the main traffic routes of the DNC, only to move them right back once "the eyes of the country" were looking elsewhere.

     Obama got re-elected. We did it to ourselves. Enough said.

     The school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown Connecticut. What a horrible tragedy. For the anti-gun crowd...what an opportunity to take center stage and present a knee jerk reaction to an emotionally raw country. Ammunition and firearms prices skyrocketed, people panic bought even more than they planned originally, and Obama's "gun control" sold more guns than any other event in American history.

     The fiscal cliff resulted in my paying an increase in taxes, so more people could produce nothing for longer on my dime. There was no economic crash and burn as predicted, more like a hot flash for the working man.....who continues to carry the burden of the not really looking for work, and therefore not-working man.

     The Boston Marathon Bombing. Another horrible tragedy and a senseless loss of life. My prayers go out to the victims. How did this happen. Isn't the Patriot Act supposed to prevent this very thing, wasn't the Department of Homeland Security created to prevent this very thing? I gave up many of my rights and privacy "for the greater good", and this is what happens? Who dropped the ball on this? Why are we, as American citizens, not raising tee-total hell about this?

     Benghazi - Our government ignores please for help and leaves it's citizens to be murdered and defiled in an U.S. Embassy which is being over run. Then claims "we didn't know". There is an entire SITUATION ROOM where these things are immediately brought to light, and decisions about course of action are made. What happens....the idiot who's job it is "to know" resigns, and is now running for President. Great. Just Great.

     The NSA leaks, and electronic spying scandal by .gov broke big time. People who normally wouldn't give electronic communication a second thought were suddenly paranoid conspiracy theorists. Shade tree cryptologists abound, everyone is encrypting everything. Meh.

     The Trayvon Martin trial - George Zimmerman was acquitted of all charges and walked away a free man. This to the dismay of CNN news anchor Jane Valez-Mitchell who was shocked and obviously disappointed that not only were there no riots over the verdict, but there were more people in line at Taco Bell than on the courthouse grounds when the verdict was read. Creepy Ass Cracker leads Valez-Mitchell 1-0.

     I went to Greece for 3 weeks. I saw how well socialism doesn't work, first hand. Most of the "trouble" in Greece is in the large cities, not the rural areas where we stayed. People there are resilient, hard working, and self reliant. No matter what happens, they just keep on - keeping on. They grow their own food, repair their own stuff, mind their own business, and handle their own problems.

I promise I won't wait so long to post in the future. I plan on posting every 10 days to 2 weeks. That's the plan, and you know how plans go. Topics or gear reviews you like to see are always welcome. Help me out a little :)

     I'm not an expert, and I don't play one on the Internet. The point is to survive to fight another day.
Suggestions are welcome, topic suggestions are welcome, comments are welcome. You can post them on the blog, anonymously if you prefer. The point is to post them. If you would like you can e-mail me directly: survivalinthesuburbs@gmail.com

     As always, thanks for reading

Multi-tools. What I carry and why.

noreply@blogger.com (Survival In The Suburbs) — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 00:43:00 +0000

     I'm a pretty loyal customer. If I'm happy with something, a particular brand for example, I'll stick with it until I'm no longer happy with it or no longer happy with the company that makes it. I'm like that about food, clothes, tools, etc. For example I've bought Heinz ketchup, Levis jeans, and Nike shoes for as long as I can remember. My multi-tool of choice is the Leatherman Wave. When I bought my first Wave about 15 years ago, they came in real leather cases, which were dyed brown, and had a brass snap on it. Now they come in a black (sort of) leather case, with elastic on the sides and close with velcro.....ain't progress grand?

     Back then there weren't nearly as many models of Leatherman multi-tools to choose from, nor nearly as many makers of multi-tools in general. Nowdays anyone tooled up to make knives is making multi-tools. That can be good and bad at the same time. The good of it is that someone will invent something innovative and change the landscape of multi-tools. The bad of it is that most of the second tier and lower manufacturers will turn out worthless crap.

     I own two Waves, a surge, and a M.U.T.(Military Utility Tool). Those four tools fit all of my multi-tool needs. I keep one Wave in my tackle box, one Wave in my GHB (Get Home Bag), the surge in my truck console, and the MUT in my carbine deployment bag. I've never owned a Gerber multi-tool, but have heard good things about them. I've owned a few of their knives and the quality is sufficient for the price, I can't imagine the multi-tools would be any different.

     The Wave is a very capable tool for urban, suburban, rural, and wilderness survival. However it looses some of it's functionality in the wilderness as a majority of the tools are for tightening/loosening, stripping, or opening things that aren't normally found in the wilderness. or The MUT is an awesome tool for armorers or people who maintain their weapons in the field vs. on a cleaning bench. I can completely field strip any weapon I carry using only the M.U.T. The Surge is handy because it's smaller and lighter than the Wave, so it's likely to get dropped into my cargo shorts pocket.

     I don't intend to do a review of the Wave, everyone on the planet it seems has written a review on either the Wave or it's equivalent by Gerber. I did however write a review about the M.U.T. and you can read it here. It fits my needs very well, and as you'll see in he review it's quite capable.

     I realize I haven't posted in awhile, and for that I apologize. Life happens, and with small kids, it happens fast and without warning. However, we survived the summer, the vacations, the out of school kids, the back to school rush, and the death of another immediate family member (my mother in law). It's been a crazy ride. I'll write about surviving the summer in an upcoming post, I learned a lot.

     Remember I'm not an expert, and I don't play one on the Internet. My opinions are exactly that....my opinions. Thank you all for reading and being patient with my lack of posts while I struggled through a difficult summer. As always, comments, suggestions, topics are always welcome....criticism not so much :)

Review of the Eagle Nest Outfitters (ENO) Double Nest Hammok and One Link

noreply@blogger.com (Survival In The Suburbs) — Sat, 23 Jun 2012 19:59:00 +0000

I have been wanting to try hammock camping for awhile now. My son has an Eagles Nest Outfitters (ENO) Single Nest which he carries on all camping/backpacking trips. He uses it to lounge around at the campsite, but sleeps in his tent. I wanted to camp in a hammock shelter system versus a tent. After some research on the Internet, and checking out a few different options at my local outfitter I decided to buy the ENO One Link system.

The One Link shelter system comes with everything you need to camp in a hammock. It includes:

Hammock - Mine is the DoubleNest which is roomy enough, in theory, for two adults.
Bug Net - comes with a suspension line.
Rain Fly - with tie down cords and stakes.
Slap Straps Pro - The suspension straps for the hammock system, also includes caribiners.
Carry sacks for each component, and one larger sack that carries it all.

     I set up my hammock after packing it in about 5 miles on the AT (Appalachian Trail). The set up was easy and took about 10 minutes to set up all of the components. I had set up a single nest before, but never the whole One Fly system. I didn't use all of the rain fly stakes, but tied the rain fly anchor cordage directly to trees near me. I think I used one stake so i could control which direction the run off went, should it actually rain. The rain fly provided shade more than anything else. The set up went exactly as described in the documentation that came with the One Fly, with the exception of the bug net.

     The suspension cordage on the bug net was too short, it was only about 5 feet long and couldn't be used. I called Eagle Nest Outfitters when I got back and explained the situation. They sent me a new piece of cord, no questions asked. I can't speak highly enough for their customer service. I spoke with s guy named Adam, who really knew hammock camping. We talked about new products and swapped camping stories. It was refreshing to speak with someone who actually USED the product they were selling.

     The high quality of materials used in immediately evident when you get in the hammock. Everything I needed was included in the set up, and I used everything that was included. It turned out to be about 25% cheaper to buy the One Link system vs. buying everything separately. I think I'll add some different caribiners, and the possum pouch so everything is within reach, but that's about it.

     The Double Nest is comfortable and roomy. Getting in and out of the hammock with the Bug Net in place was a little tricky, but was getting easier every time I did it. I'm not a small framed guy, I'm 6 feet tall and weigh about 250 pounds. I'm sure it was amusing to see me try to get back in my sleeping bag which was on my ground pad which was in my hammock which was inside a bug net.....in the dark. Keep a headlamp handy, if for no other reason than to see me try to get back in my hammock.

Observations and suggestions:

Stretch the hammock very tightly the first time you use it. Let your weight settle it in for a couple of hours then re-set it. I work up and had settled about two feet below where I had originally set my hammock. This only happened the first time I used my hammock. The second time it only settled about 8 inches.
Use a ground pad in the hammock if it's going to be chilly or windy. Once you compress the insulation in your sleeping bag, you'll feel the cold air on your back every tine the wind blows.
Keep a headlight handy so you're hands are free to use when you're trying to get in and out of the hammock, zip up the bug net, rearrange your ground pad, etc.
Keep the attachment cords for the rain fly attached to the stakes and just roll them up in the fly. It will save you about 5 minutes next time you set it up. It probably won't fit back in the stuff sack for the rain fly, but it will all fit in the bigger sack anyways. I couldn't get the fly back in its stuff sack WITHOUT the stakes attached....so I left them on the second time I set it up and just never took them off again.
Using a shorter ground pad might help with staying on top of it. I woke up with mine wrapped around my legs, and never could get it set right again. It was dark, in a sleeping bag, in a hammock, in a bug net. Not a lot of wiggle room, and not a lot of options short of re-setting everything back in place. No fun at 3AM.

I like my hammock system and would recommend hammock camping. Getting the right gear makes all of the difference on the world. I'm not an expert and I don't play one on the Internet. Comments, questions, and suggestions are always welcome.

As always, thank you for reading.

Surviving the Idiots in The Suburbs

noreply@blogger.com (Survival In The Suburbs) — Tue, 29 May 2012 12:22:00 +0000

     This is a topic near and dear to my heart. I am absolutely surrounded by idiots. I'm in an Idiot Rich Environment (IRE if you will). Why is this a problem you ask? Idiots are generally harmless. Well....you know how beer makes anything better; if the foods good, beer makes it great. If you're pissed off, a beer will make you mellow. If you're hot and tired, beer makes you feel better. Conversely, no matter how bad things are....idiots make them worse. No matter where you are, what time of day or night it is, or what the weather is, there will be an idiot around you. Surviving the idiots on a daily basis is an ordeal.

     Idiots put in stressful situations become Super Idiots. For example, on the Appalachian Trail I saw an idiot pour all of his water out.
The conversation went like this - me: "Why are you pouring water out in the middle of the trail for everyone else to step on?"
Idiot: "It's heavy, I'm tired of carrying it."
Me: "Where are you going to get more water?"
Idiot: "I have more in the car, I'm only about 5 miles from the parking lot."
Me: "There's water closer if you can treat it"
Idiot: "I'm ok, the water in the car is bottled so I don't have to carry anything else."

  These are the kinds of idiots who leave their cars in the road obstructing traffic while they call AAA to fix a flat tire, or stand three deep in a doorway and have a conversation while others try to move around them. They're worse than Sheeple (Sheep people for the newbs). Generally sheeple have two modes; Graze and Stampede.....but idiots have a third mode: Obstruct. They have an uncanny ability to get in the way of anything productive and stand there. Just stand there....doing something completely unrelated.

     The question is....how do we avoid and thereby survive idiots in our midst? We learn to identify traits of idiocy from a distance, and simply go another direction. Easily identifiable traits of idiocy include, but are not limited to:
     People who are so self absorbed they fail to realize there is a line behind them, and they are the reason there is a line.
     People who are so unaware of their surroundings that they sit in plain view and pick their noses.
     People who will wait until a hurricane is within 2 hours of making landfall to go out and get supplies.
     People who think they can protect their family from a threat by "calling 9-1-1".
     The list goes on and on....please feel free to submit Traits of Idiocy to me either in the comments section or by e-mail. I'll post them as they come in.

    I think you'll find that idiots tend to congregate in certain areas. Avoiding these idiot rich areas is a good start to avoiding idiots in general, especially in a crisis. This post was written sort of tongue in cheek....sort of.

     I'm not an expert, and I don't play one on the Internet. Please feel free to comment and make suggestions. As always, thank you for reading.

Economic Survival in the Suburbs

noreply@blogger.com (Survival In The Suburbs) — Tue, 15 May 2012 11:39:00 +0000

     Making ends meet is tough in the suburbs, or anywhere else. Managing your finances and covering all of the expenses while maintaining some savings and prepping is a skill set. I can't speak for others and how they do things, I can only relate my own choices and why I made them. My family has one income and five members. One of my children is in college, one is in middle school, and one is in pull ups. It's always an adventure at my house. We have the usual bills like mortgage, car payment, taxes, HOA fees, gas, groceries, etc. There are the child related bills like college tuition, scouts, sports camps, dance, relate equipment, insurance, co-pays etc. Then there are the unexpected expenses like home repairs, appliance repairs, veterinary bills, computer dies, phone craps out, etc. Being able to meet those bills, and still have some left over for prepping is a major juggling act. Below are some things I did, and still do to not only pay off bills and the debt, but to avoid taking on additional debt and expenses in the first place. At the very least I have learned how to minimize the impact of expenses, shorten their repayment terms, and get longer lasting value from expenses I do take on.

Do the work you can do yourself, but know what you don't know.
      Clean your own house, cut your own grass, wash our own cars. Do the things you can do yourself. Don't pay someone else to do them for you. Doing things yourself will promote pride in yourself and your home, it will also teach your children how to have pride in themselves and their living areas. Learn to make minor repairs yourself. Internet sites like You Tube and Instructables are great Do It Yourself (DIY) resources. The flip side of tht coin is to know what you don't know. Don't attempt medium, large or complex projects unless you're very comfortable with lessor projects. Paying some one to fix your mistakes is much more expensive than paying them to do it right the first time. If you use someone to do the work....be there when they do it, and watch what they do. There are a couple of areas in my house I might attempt minor repairs on, but generally will call in a professional. Those areas are electrical, plumbing, and roofing. Mistakes in those areas can cause fires an flooding, either of which will be catastrophic both financially and to your family's lives.

   Only rich people can afford to buy cheap things.
     Don't buy the cheapest you can find only because it's the cheapest. You want to buy the best value for your money, often times that is not the cheapest. It often not the most expensive either. It is far better to buy quality components, even if you have to assemble them yourself. than the cheap/quick/easy option which might break or not work in 3 months. I buy the best quality I can afford in most things I buy. I can't afford to replace them. The best way to KNOW you're getting the best quality is to educate yourself on what you're buying. Do your research, the time your invest will pay for itself financially and in satisfaction of what you bought. No one like to feel like they got ripped off when they make a purchase.

   Maintain What You Own
     "Take care of your things" my mama used to tell me all the time when I was little. What she was trying to teach me is that if you take care of your things, you don't have to replace them or do without them once they're broken and no longer working. Change the oil in your vehicles, rotate the tires, and service the transmission; you will extend the life of your vehicle by 75,000 miles if you take care of it and keep it in good working condition. Change the air filters in your home, have the major systems in your home serviced regularly. it's much cheaper than replacing an air conditioning system. Keep our tools lubricated and clean, avoid having to replace tools. Paint when it's time to paint, caulk when you paint, replace toilet seals before they leak and ruin your floors. These are things that we all KNOW to do, but rationalize ourselves out of doing when the time comes.

   Avoid impulse purchases.
     I'm guilty of this one. I'm a terribly undisciplined shopper. I ALWAYS get drawn to the cool stuff on an end-cap at WalMart then convince myself I can't live without it. I go in to buy a box of light bulbs and $300 later......i have a ridiculous amount of crap I didn't need or even know existed, much less know that I wanted until I went in to buy light bulbs. I combat this by making list before I go shopping. Once inside the store I keep my eyes on the floor and repeat my list out loud....I know I must sound like the Rain Man to passers by. Whatever....I got light bulbs, and only light bulbs. Understand that stores are DESIGNED to make you impulse buy. That's why they put candy by the check out.....kids will inevitably see it and demand candy. The store (and your kids) are hoping you'd rather buy the candy than risk the embarrassment of beating your kids ass in the check out line of a Food Lion. Occasionally they do the right thing with the check out aisle and put useful items there. Things like spare batteries and flash,lights during storm season. Then my kids beat my ass for spending all of their candy money on batteries :) Circle of life.

Pay Down Your Unsecured Debt
     Use a debt reduction snowball or some other type of debt reduction strategy to pay down your unsecured debt. You will be amazed how much of a money suck unsecured debt is against your monthly budget.I used a debt reduction snowball to pay mine down. For those who don't know what that is, I'll explain as best I understand. Make a list of all of your unsecured debt (Credit Cards), and sort it from the highest balance to the lowest balance. Your lowest balance account is at the bottom of the list. Basically you make the minimum monthly payment on all of your unsecured debts, except one. The one with the lowest balance (the one at the bottom of the list) gets all of the money you were paying in excess of the minimum monthly payments on your other unsecured debt accounts. you pay off the lowest balance first. Once it is paid off, you pay the money you were paying on that account towards the account with the lowest current balance while paying the minimum monthly payments on all of the other unsecured debt accounts. Once you pay that balance off, you apply the funds to the account with the lowest current balance. At this point you are currently paying off the account which had the 3rd lowest current balance whens you originally made you list. You snowball your debt reduction up the list, paying off accounts from the bottom of the list and rolling up. I'm not a financial advisor or giving you financial advice, please don't misunderstand my point here. I'm just telling you what worked for me. There are literally HUNDREDS of debt reduction strategies, pick the one that works best for you. But do something to reduce or eliminate your unsecured debt.

     The bottom line is control your spending, and manage your debt effectively. Times are tough right now.we're in one of the worst recessions in the history of this country. It is just as likely to get worse as it is likely to get better. Who knows what will happen. I don't have the foggiest idea.

     I'm not an expert, and I don't play one on the Internet. The point is to survive to fight another day.
Suggestions are welcome, topic suggestions are welcome, comments are welcome. You can post them on the blog, anonymously if you prefer. The point is to post them. If you would like you can e-mail me directly: survivalinthesuburbs@gmail.com

     As always, thanks for reading.

The Quest For a Suburban Survival Vehicle

noreply@blogger.com (Survival In The Suburbs) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 10:36:00 +0000

     I have been looking into buying an expedition type vehicle. Something that has off road capability, is a daily driver, gets fair gas mileage, decent towing/hauling capacity, and room for 5 plus some gear. It should also fit my standard sized garage. I don't want anything extreme or technical to maintain. I'm not looking for a rock crawler or a swamp buggy.

     I currently have three vehicles (I'm downsizing to 2 vehicles), and I know what I like and dislike about them all. So maybe that's a good place to start:
    F-150 4X4 - I bought this truck new 12 years ago. It's been a champ. It has a big V-8, and an extended cab. I use the bed alot, but I use the extended part of the cab more. The cab is too small, the people sitting in the back seat are cramped I have 3 kids now, and it's a chore to get everyone loaded inside. There's not enough room left for everyones stuff, so that goes in the truck bed....weather permitting. I also can't leave valuable tools or equipment in the bed of the truck unattended for very long.

   Toyota Sequoia - I bought this SUV new about 10 years ago. It has a big V-8, but is 2WD. It has plenty of room for my family and their stuff, and loading it is easy. I drive it daily, it's reliable for now, but I can't haul as much in it as I can haul in the bed of my truck. But I like that everything I lock inside the SUV, is inside the SUV and out of the elements and a little more difficult for someone to steal. I've bought lumber, pipe, and yard stuff and I was able to load it all into the SUV without an issue. Plus the rear window rolls down, which is a feature I use almost everyday.

    Honda Odyssey - I bought this mini-van new about a year ago. It's the most practical vehicle I won. It's really easy to get the kids into it. The doors are all automatic and key fob controlled....click open...click closed. It can hold a good bit of cargo (like full sheets of plywood or sheet rock) if you remove the seats, and has a V-6 engine. It's the ultimate grey vehicle. Just try counting all of the mini vans you see in a suburban neighborhood, they're EVERYWHERE.

      So that's what I have, and what I like about them. I definitely want 4X4, and a large V-8. I know I want 17 inch rims and 285/75 tires, fog lights, recovery hooks, and skid plates. I'm stuck between a 4X4 SUV probably another Sequoia, and a full sized truck, probably a Ford.

     If I go with the pickup truck my first choice would be a F-250 Super Duty. I can get the Crew Cab option, the diesel engine, and a full sized bed. However I'll seriously under utilize the truck. I most likely will never haul or pull anything even close to the weight capacity of the F-250 Super Duty. It's about 10K more than the F-150 I would buy in it's place. I'd like to say "comparably equipped F-150" but that's not true. You can't get a diesel engine or a crew cab/full sized bed option in the F-150. If I go with the F-150 I'm afraid I'll always wish I had the F-250 even though it won't fit in my garage.

    If I go with the SUV, I will probably buy another Sequoia. I looked at the Tahoe, and even looked over one of those hybrid trucks that is part truck, part SUV, and not very good at either one. I can probably get a Sequoia for less than the F-250 but slightly more than the F-150 if I skip the Limited package and get the SR-5 package instead. I really like the rear window rolling down in the Sequoia, it makes putting small things (like groceries) in the back really easy. I use that feature almost every day.

     This is a big decision for me. I keep vehicles a long time, so it's a decision I'll have to live with for quite some time. It's a BIG financial decision as well. I have friends that get new vehicles every 2 to 3 years. They always have nice new cars and trucks. There's times I'm glad I'm not like that.....like when I go 8 years or so without a car payment. Then there's times when I'm rattling down the road in a 10 year old SUV, or 12 year old truck....that I envy them a little (or a lot).

     Another choice for trucks in the Toyota Tundra. I own a Toyota Sequoia, so I'm familiar with the fit and finish of the truck. It's 22 inches longer than the Sequoia, so it'll be a tight fit in the garage. Parking on the driveway is not going to be an option for me....for many reasons. This might rule out the F-150 as well as it's 18 inches longer then the Tundra, so...3 1/2 feet longer than my Sequoia. After breaking out the tape measure and checking some manufacturerrer specs, neither the Tundra nor the F-150 will fit in my garage and allow me to close the door. I could still park them outside, but I'm not very inclined to do that.

     As the time draws closer to making a final decision and buying a vehicle, I'll keep you posted as to which way things are going.

     Input and suggestions always welcome...ESPECIALLY on this topic. I'm not an expert and I don't play one on the Internet. As always, thank you for reading.

Review of the Leatherman MUT (Military Utility Tool)

noreply@blogger.com (Survival In The Suburbs) — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 02:00:00 +0000

     I've owned the Leatherman MUT (Military Utility Tool) for about a year now. I bought it after seeing it at a shooting class I took at US Training Center. It was purely an impulse purchase, but one I have not regretted. An operator taking the class with me had a MUT and showed me a few of the functions. I was hooked and had to have one. As soon as I got back home I started looking for the best price. I paid 104.99 with free shipping on Amazon. The price has come down a little since then.

   There are two versions: Utility and EOD, and they come in a couple of different color combinations. I bought the Utility version in Black and Stainless. That means the handles are black anodized, and the plier heads and knife blades are stainless steel. The other color option is black on black, where the plier heads and knife blades are black anodized like the handles.

   The utility version I bought has the following features:
     Needle nose Pliers - Pretty standard Leatherman needle noses. Similar to the Wave
     Replaceable Wire Cutters - the blades can be replaced when worn or damaged.
     Combo Knife - An inch or so near the base is serrated. Cuts well in my experience.
     Saw - Works as well as it works on the Wave. Not for cutting substantial limbs or boards.
     Hammer - The bottom of the tool has a hammer face Wear gloves if you hammer anything. It's not a  traditional hammer.
    Replaceable Cutting Hook - Used for flex cuffs or paracord. I like this feature which also comes with a thumb guard.
    Bolt Override Tool - This is a great feature. Frees a stuck bolt on the AR platform.
    Replaceable Firearm Disassembly Punch - Works on frame pins in a Glock among other pistols as well as rifles. The base the punch screws onto will also take a standard firearm cleaning rod. Neat.
    Replaceable Bronze Carbon Scraper - Ive used this lots, but never to scrape carbon.
    Cleaning Rod/Brush Adapter - accepts the male end of standard cleaning rods.
    Carabiner/Bottle Opener - Another neat tool. I clip the MUT to my gear using this.
    Large Bit Driver
    1/2" Wrench and 3/8" Wrench - Double ended box wrench that fits inside the MOLLE Strap on the   carrying case.
   Titanium pocket clip - Removable, and allows you to clip the MUT to your gear.

The carrying case can double as a pistol magazine holder, and also has two elastic straps I use to hold spare AA batteries.

    It's a well engineered and well thought out tool that is perfectly suited for military and law enforcement use. I consider it a great tool for shooters and it's a well used piece of equipment in my range bag. For civilian use it might be under utilized however. The MUT is big and heavy for civilian every day carry (EDC). The MUT is designed to help a soldier, contractor, or LEO keep a weapon running when it's needed most. The MUT provides tools and features that you simply can not get with other multi-tools.

     For civilian EDC, you might only use 3 or 4 of the 18 tools on the MUT on a regular basis. Not enough to justify the weight and size. When carried in the MOLLE case, the MUT is about the size of a Red Bull can. This can make for a long day if worn on your belt as a civilian, especially in a business casual environment. I also have a Leatherman Wave which I keep in my get home bag (GHB). I use it more than I would use the MUT in ordinary circumstances. When used under circumstances it was designed for, the MUT performs like a champ. It does things that other multi-tools just CAN'T do.

     I recommend the Leatherman MUT for military, LEO, and rugged civilian use. I think it's well designed well built, and reasonably priced. It has features you just can't get on any other multi-tool, and comes with a 25 year warranty. I bought mine on an impulse a year ago, and have never regretted it. I look forward to using it for many years to come.

   I'm not an expert and I don't play one on the Internet. Suggestions, comments, and topic recommendations are always welcome. Readers are always encouraged to leave comments, anonymously if you'd like, or you can e-mail me survivalinthesuburbs@gmail.com

    As always, thank you for reading.

Review of the Mossberg 930 SPX

noreply@blogger.com (Survival In The Suburbs) — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 12:34:00 +0000

     In my search for a home defense (HD) shotgun I have evaluated a Remington 870 Magnum, Mossberg 500 Mariner, Mossberg 590A1, and the Mossberg 930 SPX. I think the 930 SPX to the range this weekend and ran 250 rounds(225 low brass game loads, 15 00 Buck, 10 Slugs) through it. The 930 SPX is a serious contender to be my go to HD shotgun going forward. It has lots of features I want on a home defense shotgun, and provides a LOT of fire power..

Features:
Stock - Adjustable angle and length by adding shims provided with the gun, synthetic, swivel attachment points, pistol grip, checkered on the pistol grip and fore end.
Receiver - Matte finish, picatinny rail, safety, trigger guard is large enough to accommodate gloves.
Sights - Ghost Ring rear, adjustable, M4 style, fiber optic front, hooded, Ghost Ring rear is removable from rail.
Controls - Trigger is crisp, cocked hammer indicator, safety is easy to see and use, charging handle is easy to operate even with gloves on.
Capacity - 8 shot with 2 3/4 or 3 inch shells (3 more rounds than the Benelli M4).

Performance:
     Shooting this shotgun is a lot of fun. It cycles VERY fast, faster than I can pull the trigger. The 930 SPX points well and is comfortable in my hands. The forend stock is not bulky and provides a sure grip. As is the case with all Mossbergs, the controls are well placed and easy to use. The sights are easy to acquire in most lighting conditions. If you have any experience with the AR-15 platform, the rear sight on the 930 SPX will be very familiar to you. The trigger pull is crisp without a lot of travel. Loading the weapon, or reloading, can be a little cumbersome if you do not have something to rest the barrel on as the weapon weighs in at almost 8 pounds. It can be barrel heavy if you try to hold the weapon one handed by the pistol grip and load with the other hand.
      I managed to create a jam while loading by not completely inserting the round into the feed tube. I didn't seat it completely and the magazine spring pushed it into the space under the bolt, which prevented me from inserting another shell until I cycled the action to eject the shell loaded int the chamber, and load the shell that popped out of the mag tube. This was an error on my part, and something I'll have to address through training. I believe the 930 SPX can be ghost loaded, however I did not try it personally.

Value:
     This shotgun is a great buy for the money. I paid about $630 for mine, out the door. That's about $100 over half the cost of a FN SLP and a third of the cost of a Benelli M4 (depending on configuration). There are lots of accessories available for the 930 SPX, some of which I plan to get....some I don't. Mossbergs customer service is one of the best in the firearms industry, and their quality is very high.

Field stripping:
     Field stripping the 930 SPX is pretty easy. Simply remove the magazine tube extension by unscrewing it. Be careful when you remove the mag extension as the mag spring is VERY long and will fly out. It can be somewhat of a PITA (Pain In The Ass) to reinstall but it's not difficult, just somewhat frustrating.Then remove the hand guard, barrel, piston, and then the bolt. You can remove the trigger group by punching out the pins holding it in place if you want. I never have. I have learned that if you want to remove the trigger group, make sure the hammer is back before you remove trigger group or parts will fly out. There are a couple of videos on You Tube detailing how to break the 930 SPX down, I highly recommend watching them.

Going forward:
     Overall this is a great shotgun for the price. It's comfortable to shoot, versatile, easily maintained, and customizable. I highly recommend this weapon to someone who is in the market for a home defense shotgun. I plan on adding a sling, and a mag tube clamp with mini-picatinny rail. I'm not an expert and I don't play one on the Internet. Please comment with your own experiences with this shotgun, you can do so anonymously if you wish.

     As always, thanks for reading.

Storing Firearms and Ammunition in the Suburbs.

noreply@blogger.com (Survival In The Suburbs) — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 01:09:00 +0000

     We all agree that our 2nd Amendment Rights under the Constitution are the pillars of out basic freedom. Most , if not all, of us also agree that with that right comes certain responsibilities. Properly securing your firearms is one of those responsibilities. Keeping in mind that those responsibilities go up a level or two if you have children in your home.

     Most of us have children, or will have children, and almost all of us own a firearm, or will own a firearm, or should own a firearm. Then there are a few of us who really should NOT own a firearm. If you don't own a gun and aren't planning to own a gun, then this really doesn't pertain to you. However, if you do own one, or are planning on owning one, you really need to take a look at how you're going to secure your weapon and the ammo you have for it.

     There are only three basic places you'll need to store and secure a weapon, depending on if you conceal carry or not: on your person, in your vehicle, and in your home. We'll look at each of those scenarios, for long guns and handguns, and I'll go over my own personal thoughts on those issues as well as what I've done for each scenario. Keep in mind that a gun you can't get to when you need it is worthless, or a gun that won't function when you DO get to it is worthless, or a gun of yours that a bad guy gets before you do....is not worthless but is really bad.

     On my person: I'm of the opinion that my handgun is the most secure and accessible when it's on my person and under my control. With that being said, lets not go down some primrose path, simply for the sake of argument, that it would be more secure locked in a fortress safe inside a hidden room or something ridiculous. It still has to be accessible to be any help at all. So, I carry in an A-Holster custom made for a G23. It's comfortable, secures the weapon really well, is concealable, is very easy to get on and off my belt, and doesn't cost an arm and a leg. You can check one out here AHOLSTER. I usually put it on when I go out and take it off when I get back home. The rest of the time my G23, along with a spare mag, is stored out of sight to everyone, and out of reach to children, and is accessible within 10-15 seconds from anywhere in my house. I don't carry a long gun so storing those is for later in this post.

     In my car: I keep a Nano Vault 200 in each of my vehicles. That's in case I need to store my carry weapon when I'm out. It's extremely secureable, very easy to use, and costs less than $30. Check one out here NANO VAULT. I don't believe it's a good idea to store weapons in the glove box for many reasons, primarily because every car break in I have ever seen has resulted in the glove box being searched. Secondly, don't keep your gun where you keep your vehicle paperwork, it could lead to some sticky roadside encounters with law enforcement.

     In my home: I mentioned above how I store and secure my G23 in my home. Everything else is kept in a gun safe locked in a room that has a very strong door. Not the best situation for home defense, but the best situation for me. I have three kids, and on any given day, all of my kids friends are running around my house. Most of them are not raised in gun responsible homes, they're raised in gun avoidance homes......which GREATLY raises their curiosity should they come across a firearm. Some of them are too little to know that a gun is dangerous, some of them are too curious to avoid a gun should they find one, and some of them are reckless enough to think they can handle it themselves. So I triple lock everything except my carry gun. I currently looking into a wall mountable, trigger securing, keypad locking option for mounting a shotgun in my closet. It's kind of pricey, but would provide my access to a shotgun should I need it.

     That cover securing my firearms, lets look at storing them and the ammunition that goes with them. I store my long guns in a safe, not a cabinet, not a case, not a rack, a SAFE. I have a Goldenrod dehumidifier inside the safe to keep moisture out, and check them once a month. All stored ammunition, aside from what I require for daily carry is stored inside military ammo boxes, and those boxes are stacked inside a steel, locking, cabinet. Aside from the obvious ammunition, each ammo box contains an O2 absorber, a moisture absorber, and a label detailing when it was stored and an approximation of round count. Each ammo box is clearly labeled by caliber on the outside. I also have a box for range ammo, which I take with me when I target shoot or train. I top the range ammo off with stops to Wal-Mart or wherever I buy my consumable ammo. When I go once or twice a year to train, which usually runs through a few rounds, I rotate my stored ammo into my training and replace it when I get back.

     I can't stress strongly enough the need for a good holster, a car vault, and a good safe. Doing everything possible to keep your firearms out of the hands of people who should not have access to them is a fundamental responsibility of gun ownership. If you can't get on board with that, maybe you shouldn't own a gun.

     I'm not an expert, and I don't play one on the Internet. These are simply my observations and practices. Maybe they'll help you, maybe they won't. Comments, suggestions, and tips are always welcome. You cam post them to the blog, or e-mail them to me directly at survivalinthesuburbs@gmail.com

     As always, thanks for reading.

Using The Kindle In Suburban Prepping

noreply@blogger.com (Survival In The Suburbs) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 22:02:00 +0000

     Almost everyone either has heard of the or has an eReader. Be it a Kindle, a Nook, or an app running on a tablet like an iPad. I originally received my Kindle as a gift on Valentines Day a couple of years ago. I remember thinking "I like paperback books.....this is a fad." I charged it up, loaded a book or three and read it daily.

     About 5 weeks later the battery was low and needed it's FIRST recharging. I remember thinking "5 weeks! That's incredible......I wonder if I can work this into my preparedness plans." What's not to like about the Kindle as an option? I can load my ENTIRE preparedness library onto the device versus trying to print/bind/catalog/store/transport it on paper? Seriously.....paper?  It's SEARCHABLE, talk about a huge time and effort savings. It's portable, I carry it in my EDC (Every Day Carry) bag most days.

     So I started looking into making it a real part of my preparations. There were some immediate challenges that had to be overcome. There were also some challenges that presented themselves later on, mostly as a result of solutions to the immediate problems.

     Powering the device was my first challenge. I know five weeks of battery life with intermittent use is great....but it's still a hard stop on the device when the battery finally dies. When the battery is dead.....the device is useless. My solution to that problem is the Solio Classic solar charger. It's light, small, cheap, and does a good job. There are better options now, but at the time I went with the Solio. I can charge it with the Solio, or run it from the internal battery built into the Solio if my Kindle battery gets damaged or fails. I can also use the same Solio unit to charge my iPod and cell phone.

     Finding a durable way to carry it was an issue as well. I mean, we're not prepping for a sunny afternoon on the beach. We're preparing for bad times.....including natural disasters. I found a durable, pretty rugged, soft case which secures the device well. It's made by M-Edge. The case also has several pockets on the outside which I use to carry things I use with my Kindle....like a clip-on light, spare battery for the light, and a zip-lock bag. When I pack it in my EDC bag, I pack it near the middle, and surround it with other items that would help protect it from damage if the bag was damaged.

     Protecting it from the elements was also a concern. Like I said, we're preparingg for bad things like natural disasters. The simplest way I could think of to protect my Kindle from the elements and still be able to USE it in the elements was with a zip lock bag. I keep a 1 gallon size Zip-Lock bag in the outside pocket of my Kindle case, and several in my GHB (Get Home Bag). I put my kindle inside the zip-lock and can read it just fine. It'll float in water, and will keep rain, dirt, and grit out of the keys. It's not perfect but it's functional, cheap, has multiple uses, and is easily replaceable.

     Reading it in low light is a problem. The screen is not back lit, which is why it has a 5 week battery life. It requires a light source to read in the dark. I use a flexible light that stores and secures itself in the case I keep my Kindle in. The light is named the eLuminator.....clever huh? Works really well and runs on a single AAA battery.

     The Kindle is electronic, so it has the same issues you would have with ANY electronic device. However, it fits my needs very well. I have the 3G version, but keep the air-card turned off to prolong the battery life. However it's there if I need it to surf the web, check e-mail, etc. It's painful on a gray scale screen....but it can be done. I can also play MP3's on my Kindle. It's not the perfect solution for those types of things, but it does provide redundancy. One is none and two is one.

     I'm not an expert, and I don't play one on the Internet. This is just one tool I found useful. The portability combined with battery life, and searchable functionality made it a no brainer for me. If you have any suggestions about how else the eReader can be used, or any questions please e-mail me at survivalinthesuburbs@gmail.com

As always, thanks for reading.

Dehydrating Food in The Suburbs

noreply@blogger.com (Survival In The Suburbs) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 13:28:00 +0000

    I bought a food dehydrator several years ago to make jerky and trail mix with. For about a month I was a jerky making fool (I made all kinds and flavors), then I put the dehydrator up.....and forgot about it. Recently I found it again and wondered if I could find other uses for it besides making jerky and trail mix. Some of you are probably thinking out loud "Of course you can, there's LOTS of ways to use it". I didn't know of any. I'm embarking on a journey of dehydrator self discovery. I know there are probably a million websites with dehydrator recipes on them. I'm sure I'll check them out when I run out of ideas, but I like to experiment on my own. Here are some of the things I learned.

     I usually buy tomatoes from Sam's club in the big plastic box. There's probably 15-20 Roma tomatoes in there. We make salads with them, and within two weeks, I end up throwing 1/2 of the box out because they've spoiled. So I started dehydrating half of the box. After the first week I inspect the tomatoes and cut out any bruises or damage. Then I slice them about 1/4 inch thin and dehydrate them. They create "tomato chips". Which my youngest child loves. She eats them almost as fast as I can make them. I tired them, and it was like a bullet of tomato flavor hitting you in the mouth. I tried rehydrating them, and had mixed success. I could use them for cooking (in chili for example) but not over a salad. I store them in a zip lock back because they get eaten so fast. For long term storage you could put them in a mason jar with an O2 absorber and they would store for a long time I'm sure.

     Dehydrating pineapple chucks that have been rolled in sugar make a great candy. My wife likes these, and I make them about twice a year. I buy the canned chucks of pineapple when they're on sale. Open and drain them, them roll them in regular sugar. They'll pick up more sugar than you want if you don't let them dry a little after draining. I drain mine in a spaghetti colander, and let them sit for about 20 mins before sugaring them up. Dehydrate them until they're hard, then store in either a zip lock or a jar. These make a great addition to trail mix.

     Thinly sliced Kiwi fruit dehydrate down to a chip like consistency. I peel mine first though. The "hairy" peel doesn't dehydrate well, and looks pretty nasty to be honest. This created the taste sensation much like the tomato bullet, but fruity....a Kiwi bullet if you will. I haven't found too many uses for these, aside from the occasional snack. Very occasional, kiwi are expensive and the taste just isn't an everyday thing for me.

     I experimented with making fruit roll up type snacks. I tried jellies, jams, and apple sauce as the base before dehydrating. Some of them came out pretty good, some of them came out pretty bad, most of them came out very messy. I couldn't get decent consistency. Either the base was too thick or thin in the dehydrator. Dehydrating the thicker spots dried out the thinner spots too much making them brittle, while the thicker spots were leathery. Different temperature settings helped a little, but created other challenges. If I used a jam, strawberry for example, the fruit would not completely dry out, while the jam part would dry too much. Any suggestions on this one?

      I'm not an expert and I don't play one on the Internet. Please submit suggestions and recipes, for my kids sake. You can comment them in at the blog site, anonymously if you want. Or you can e-mail me directly: survivalinthesuburbs@gmail.com As always, thank you for reading.

Review of the Mossberg 590A1

noreply@blogger.com (Survival In The Suburbs) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 21:48:00 +0000

     I recently purchased th3 Mossberg 590A1 pump shotgun as a home defense weapon. It came with all of the accessories I wanted already installed. The only way to get the gun set up the way I wanted to, was to get the "Blackwater Edition". I could care less about the logo on the side, I wanted the features I wanted. The model I bought, so you can see the specifications, is this one 590A1 Blackwater

I took the 590A1 to the indoor range and ran 150 rounds through it. All rounds were 2 3/4 inch shells. The shot size was mainly 7 1/2 but I did feed 15 rounds of both 00 Buck and slug through it. Loading the weapon was easy, and could be done fairly fast. I bought the 20 inch barrel model, which holds 8+1 rounds. I like the safety controls on the Mossberg better than the Remington 870, probably because I'm left handed. The all metal safety slide on the receiver is easy to find, and grabs your thumb well, with and without gloves.

The trigger group is metal on the 590A1. That might not be a big deal to some, but it's extra insurance for me against a part breaking. The trigger guard allows enough room to operate the gun with gloves on. I ran it with Camelback summer weight gloves on. I don't know what you'd do with ski gloves. The stock is the traditionally shaped synthetic stock, I did not get the pistol grip stock. The stock is stippled for better grip and control over the weapon in adverse conditions.The weapon shouldered well, and pointed extremely well. On occasion the recoil absorber on the stock would grab my t-shirt on the way up slowing me down some. I'll have to find a way around that.

      The stock is a Speed Stock version which has storage for 4 extra rounds inside the stock (2 on each side). It was fairly easy to load the speed stock with a little practice. Removing the shells from the stock took longer than I thought it would. I'm sure I can speed it up with some practice. I tried a slug change over from the Speed Stock and it was a nightmare for me. With additional training and repetition I'll do better with it I'm sure. I simply wasn't familiar enough with the weapon or the process.

     I really like the ghost ring sites on this shotgun. They are XS Ghost Ring Sights. This was my first exposure to ghost ring sights, but they were AMAZING. So much better than the basic bead sight on my Remington 870. I was able to pick the target up quickly in a variety of light conditions. My slug shots were much closer to where I intended to place them with the ghost rings versus the bead sight, especially at 25 yards. The receiver has a rail mounted forward of the rear sight to allow attachment of optics if you want them.

     The action cycled very well. I didn't have any failures with the first 150 rounds through the weapon. I'm going this afternoon to feed another 100 rounds through it. The slide itself has an integrated rail on the bottom, and two "detachable" rails (one on each side). The integrated rail I liked. The slide is long enough to allow a full hand grip behind the rails, which would allow you to operate any railed attachments on the slide without having to grip over them.

     I strongly disagree with the term "detachable". That was a nightmare. I was able to remove the rail from the slide with the hex bit on my Leatherman MUT tool. That's where the fun ended. The nuts that the hex bolts threaded into fell into the slide handle. Now, let me be clear, that the loose nuts in no way interfered with the mechanical functioning of the shotgun. I shot the last 60 rounds with the little bastards rattling around inside the grip. HOWEVER, removing them from the grip required complete field stripping of the gun (which I intended to do anyways). Then you have to remove the retaining collar from the slide, and shake the nuts out. Not too bad right.....right. But wait, there's more.

     Detachable implies "attachable" in some sense. The rails are re-attachable if you have the patience of a Trappist monk, and improvise a tool or two from a paperclip. Lets assume you've retrieved your rattling parts from the grip, and then decide you want to re-attach them. Now the fun begins. I wanted to re-attach my rail because it gave me a thumb stop, and a point of grip reference on the slide. So, after about 45 minutes of trying to balance the slide, and feed the attaching hex bolts from the bottom, I managed to get one hex bolt attached. YAY! But then I lost the second one into the slide. So the entire disassembly / re-attachment process started all over again. I got both attachment hex bolts in place and re-attached the rail, but it sucked.

     Field stripping the 590A1 for cleaning is pretty easy, and drama free. As long as you line up the bolt in the correct position inside the receiver all of the parts drop in. Remember to push the slide rails down as they enter the receiver, and it's all good. There are lots of videos on YouTube and other sites on field stripping the 500 Series Mossberg. Watch one a couple of times, or follow along as you field strip your shotgun and you won't have any problems.

     I highly recommend this shotgun to anyone looking for a home defense weapon. It is as dependable as the sunrise, and as simple as an anvil. Aside from the "detachable" rail issue (which was a one time thing and didn't interfere with the operation of the weapon), I love this shotgun. I plan on adding a side saddle shell holder to this weapon, probably a 6 round model. I haven't decided between TacStar and Mesa Tactical for the side saddle. This will give me 19 rounds on the weapon when I pick it up. No looking for ammo, just grab and go.

     Again, I'm not an expert and I don't play one on the Internet. Comments, questions, and suggestions are always welcome. You can submit them through the blog, anonymously if you like, or e-mail them to me directly: survivalinthesuburbs@gmail.com As always, thank you for taking the time to read my blog.

Surviving The Death of a Family Member

noreply@blogger.com (Survival In The Suburbs) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 14:22:00 +0000

     The death of an immediate family member is a intense moment in life. All of us will experience it in our lives. Most often it is the deaths of our parents, possibly a sibling or spouse, and unfortunately on occasion the death of a child.

     I know this is a deeply personal topic for many people, myself included. I get "advice" all the time about not getting too personal on the Internet. "don't tell people too much about yourself" they say or "you never know who will read it" they say. I understand that, I do. This is a personal topic, and I can't write about it in a clinical sense. Quite honestly, it's probably therapeutic for me to write it as well.

     I lost my mother to Leukemia 10 years ago. She fought a courageous and unwinnable fight against her own body for 2 years before succumbing to the disease at 70 years old. I was with her when she died, holding her hand as I had done for most of my life. I was able to tell her I loved her. I was able to tell her I would be OK, and she had done a fine job raising me. It was a blessing to be able to say those things to her before she died.

     I am my mothers only child. My parents divorced before I turned 3. So it was only her and I for my whole life. Aside from two uncomfortable weeks in the summer with my dad, I was with my mom when I was growing up. She raised me. She did it all; fed me, clothed me, disciplined me, housed me, worked full time and cared for her ailing mother as well. Meanwhile my father jaunted off on yet another, seemingly endless, quest for another woman.....which has resulted in 4 failed marriages and 5 half siblings scattered over most of the US. My mom never criticized my father in front of me, she only said "you'll figure him out when you're old enough".

      I remember the day my mother died as clearly as if it were yesterday. It was a Tuesday. She was at my home, and her breathing sounded really bad, so I drove her to the ER. She never left. Four hours later she was dead. Just like that.

     I was numb. I had absolutely no idea what to do next. The next three days were like a blur. Arrangements were made, condolences were offered, services were held, etc. But then every ones lives went back to normal, except mine. This huge piece of my life was gone. Simply no longer there. Her house was still there, her car as well, all of her physical possessions......just no mom.

     I went through her things and donated her clothes to the needy. Cleaning out her house was very hard. Everything inside was a memory. A memory I wanted to hold on to. A memory of a person who I wanted to hold on to. I quickly realized that the home I had spent my entire childhood in, was no longer home....it was just a house. The person who had made it home was gone. For me that was an important distinction in my grieving process.

     I put all of our (hers and mine) collective stuff into piles. One to be thrown out right away, one to be evaluated in a week, and another to be evaluated later. Each week I went back through the stuff. Over time most of the stuff found it's way into the Throw Away Right Now pile. That was my wife's plan and it worked out really good. She was my support network and helped me through some rough times. She knew I would get frustrated and throw everything away. I'm glad we did it her way because I held on to some really important things that probably would have gotten thrown out.

     In the last week my mom was alive, I promised her I would get a bachelors degree. The strength of that promise, and the strength of the person I gave it to helped motivate me to finish. It was important to her that I get my degree. Two weeks after she died I enrolled at The University of South Carolina. Five years later I graduated from the College of Engineering and Information Technology. No easy feat with a wife, two kids, and a full time job. I remember thinking when I got my degree, that my mama would have been proud.

    While I was in school, I wrote my mom a letter. It was during the second semester of my freshman year. I was sitting in Amoco Hall in the Swearengen Engineering building, and I just started writing. I must have written every day for a week. I don't understand why I wrote it there or why I wrote it then...but I wrote, a lot. I wrote to her all of the things I wished I had said, and apologized for all of the things I wished I hadn't said. That letter was easily the worst formatted, most heartfelt thing I have ever written. It was by far the longest thing I have ever handwritten. When I finished it, I put all 20 something pages into an envelope, and drove 3 hours to put it on my mothers grave. For some reason I felt lots better after I did that. Strange, but helpful.

     I'm not a therapist and I'm not giving advice on how anyone should deal with this kind of thing. But, I learned a few things from it. Maybe they'll help someone else in their time of need.

Let those who love you, help you. Lean on your close friends and family.
Be sad, cry, grieve. Miss your loved one. They earned it.
Live your life the way they would have wanted you to have live.
Recognize the positive impact they had on your life and share it with others who are important to you.
Don't have 20 pages of things you wished you'd said. Say them today to the ones you love.

Anyways, you know the drill by now. I'm not an expert and I don't play one on the Internet. I have other topic for the blog, but this one was important to me. I don't know if it was because it has been 10 years since my mother died or because her birthday was Christmas Eve. It was on my mind and weighed heavy on my heart. Thanks for reading.... I owe you one :)

A Shotgun For My Home Defense In The Suburbs

noreply@blogger.com (Survival In The Suburbs) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 15:09:00 +0000

     I realize this is a well discussed, often tedious, topic around the Internet. However, I'd like to put my personal spin on it. Maybe, just maybe, I might brush on something not discussed before, or come up with a pretty good idea. It rarely happens, but has been known to occur almost as frequently as Bigfoot sightings.

     I like the shotgun as an option for home defense. I have a couple of pump shotguns, and am now getting comfortable with the reliability of an auto loader as a home defense weapon. The shotgun I chose originally is a Remington 870 Magnum, which I've used for 20 years. The replacement I recently bought, and have yet to run through it's paces is the Mossberg 590A1. The actual version of the 590A1 I bought is this one 590A1 Blackwater. I could care less about the logo on the side. This was the only way to get that shotgun, configured that way, from the manufacturer. I'm not recommending the above retailer as a place to buy it, but the Mossberg website didn't detail the Blackwater and the site above did a good job I thought.

     The Remington 870 has served me well, and also helped me create a wish list of option for it's replacement. I'm a big proponent of OEM (the manufacturer) equipping a special purpose weapon versus buying the components myself and putting them on. The warranty is big reason, so is relying on their R&D versus my own research which would be heavily Internet based vs real life practical field testing. That's not a knock on the "home armorer". I like doing that stuff myself some also, just not on my home defense shotgun. That weapon, second only to my carry gun, has to be 100% reliable. I've got to have 110% confidence in THAT weapon because of the roll it plays in defending my family.

     Over penetration, while a concern in a home defense situation isn't something I want to go into a great deal of depth about on this post. Generally speaking, if something shoots with enough force to kill a person, it will pass through two 1/2 inch pieces of sheet rock. I also don't want to get into the shot size debate either. I use 00 Buck and could care less about the arguments for or against. If you want to use #7 shot, go for it.

     Upgrades on the new shotgun:

590A1 - Military spec with heavy walled barrel. Makes the weapon more durable, but also makes it heavier. If you've ever stood in line in a grocery store holding a gallon of milk for 10 minutes, you know how heavy almost 8 lbs can be. I'm OK with heavier, I'm not standing a post with it. It's for grab and go defense.
XS Ghost Ring Sights - hi-visibility white front post. I'm familiar and comfortable with this type of site.
20" barrel - full mag tube and 1 in the chamber, the weapon holds 9 rounds. A little extra length adds a little more weight.
Speed Feed Stock - stores an extra 4 rounds. Two on each side of the stock. Brings the capacity of the weapon up to 13 rounds. If I added a side saddle it would hold 19 rounds of 00 Buck on or in the weapon. Nothing extra to grab. Stock is stippled for better grip in adverse conditions.
Rail on the receiver - option to mount a red dot should I decide to.
3 Rails on the fore grip - One integrated, two bolted on. I'll probably remove the bolt-ons, and add a light to the integrated rail.
Metal trigger, trigger guard, and safety button.
Anti-jam elevator, dual extractors, positive shot shell extraction and ejection all increase the reliability when it's needed most.

     A shotgun is longer and more difficult to corner with, but it's the most versatile and powerful weapon a civilian can use for home defense. My 590 has a longer barrel than my 870, but I get 3 extra rounds in the magazine. To me that is worth the extra inch and a half in barrel length.

     With the right rounds you can breach a door, clear a room, and make a 100 yd accurate shot. Granted that will take some training, skill, and practice to effectively make a slug change over for example. So...get some training. That's the long and short of it. Get trained. If you can't effectively operate a shotgun under stress, you shouldn't use one for home defense.

     I'm going to add a light to my 590. Target identification as well as target environment as equally critical in a home defense situation.  For example, knowing the person you're about to shoot with buckshot is actually the bad guy, and also knowing your 4 year old isn't standing behind him are equally important. You should understand that if you miss with a weapon as powerful as a 12 gauge shotgun loaded with buckshot, it will go through interior walls. If you don't live in a brick structure, it can go through exterior walls as well.

     I'm going to take my new 590A1 out and shoot a hundred rounds or so through it this week. I'll be curious to see if I actually get the benefits I think I'll get by upgrading from my older Remington 870 to a new Mossberg 590A1. I'll be sure and provide a full range report, and possibly do a side by side comparison vs my Remington 870. Although I think the Mossberg 591A1 would compare more equally to the Remington 887, the 870 is what I have.

     The next shotgun I plan to purchase is the Mossberg 930SPX. It'll be really interesting to compare that to the 590A1. As I said above, I'm getting much more comfortable with the reliability of the auto shotgun. It'll require additional training to learn how to run it effectively, but you know me...I love to train.

     I'm not an expert, and I don't play one on the Internet. The point is to survive to fight another day.

     As always, suggestions and comments are always welcome. If you have any shotgun drills you'd like me to run in my comparisons, please e-mail them to me survivalinthesuburbs@gmail.com

Thanks for reading.

First Aid Kit For The Car

noreply@blogger.com (Survival In The Suburbs) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 16:33:00 +0000

     I think everyone is familiar with the concepts of a first aid kit. Band Aids and Bactine type kits, designed to treat scrapes and minor cuts. Usually costing $9.99 at Walmart, etc. Those are fine for what they are, they provide minor first aid and patient comfort. Nothing makes a small child feel better than a Mickey Mouse bandaid and a kissed boo-boo. While providing comfort to someone who is hurt is a large part of First Aid, and not to be over looked, that's not the point of this post.

     I'd like to discuss several important components that should be in every first aid kit, ESPECIALLY first aid kits in vehicles. This is not an all encompassing list. I'm not a Doctor, Nurse, EMT, or First Responder. I'm not giving you medical advice anymore than the guy at Home Depot who recommends a hammer to drive a nail is giving you construction advice. I'm simply telling you what *I* have done.

     If you've read some of my other posts, or threads, you'll recognize a common theme when it comes to "high impact" skill sets. Skill sets like firearms, first aid treatment, emergency driving, etc. TRAINING...get some. Do not rely on You Tube, forums, Google, etc to provide you with training. Those are all great sources of training supplements, but they are not substitutes for training itself. Related to this subject, take a Basic First Aid class through the Red Cross. Then maybe an Basic Life Saving (BLS) class, then possibly Advanced Life Saving (ALS). you could join a volunteer fire department, they'll train you for free. You'll get the skills you want AND be able to give back to the community. Win-Win.

     You should receive training to recognize the signs of, and be able to provide First Aid for the following:

Choking.- Very common in vehicles where small children are eating while you drive.
Heart Attack.
Shock - Very common after a severe vehicle accident.
Stroke.
Extremity Bleeding - Also very common after a severe vehicle accident.

As always, in any of these events call 9-1-1.
Since this is going into your vehicle, you'll need one kit for each vehicle. Trust me this won't be very expensive. Pick up a basic first aid kit to keep in your car. The $9.99 one is fine. I recommend adding a couple of things to it because it's going in the car:

Israeli Battle Dressing (IBD). Look it up here Battle Dressing I can't stress the importance of this one enough. It's VERY easy to apply, in fact, you can apply it to yourself if you have to. this dressing help keep you and/or your family alive until Paramedics can arrive. Get one for each passenger in your car.
Primatine Mist - Contains the exact same medicine as an Epi-Pen. Over the counter. Cheap. Really important if you transport kids or attend outdoor sporting events. Lots of people don't know they're allergic to bee stings or peanuts until they have a reaction.
Celox or Quick Clot. Something to stop bleeding from wounds where you can't apply an IBD like neck, face, fingers, etc.

     See, that wasn't too many things or very expensive. I'm not telling you what to do or giving advice, I'm simply stating what *I* have done. It's up to you to learn how and when to apply first aid. I usually travel with my wife and kids. Often times we're on the interstates or major highways where speeds are higher than in town. Most accidents on these types of roads aren't "fender benders", they're serious. Help can be up to 45 minutes away, even longer if barricades in the medians are present.

     Please learn CPR, and learn to use an automated external defibrillator (AED). Check it out here AED . They're everywhere from office building to the food court in your local mall. You may not choose to help a random stranger, but you should definitely be able to help an immediate family member or close friend. Do your research, look these things up, get some training. improve yours and your families chances of surviving a medical emergency.

   I'm not an expert, and I don't play one on the Internet. I'm just a regular guy, with a family, working the day to day grind and trying to keep my head above water. The point is, survive to fight another day.

    As always comments and suggestions are always welcome. Check us out on Facebook SurvivalInTheSuburbs. Thanks for reading.

EDC (Every Day Carry) In The Suburbs

noreply@blogger.com (Survival In The Suburbs) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 14:11:00 +0000

     Every Day Carry (EDC) is an important part of your survival plan. EDC gear is what you carry on your person day in and day out. It's the gear that will get you from wherever you are when something bad happens, to the next stage of your survival plan. That next stage may be getting to your vehicle so you can leave, or gear up from your Get Home Bag (GHB) and move out on foot. The next stage could also be getting you home where you decide if your next step is to Bug In...or to Bug Out. In any circumstance, your EDC will be what you go to FIRST. Lets look at EDC in the workplace.

      If you're fortunate enough to work for yourself or work in an environment that doesn't require "business casual" attire, then EDC is a good bit easier. If you work in a corporate environment, like I do, you have to be respectful of your workplace environment and it's policies. It's not socially acceptable in most corporate environments to walk around with a Batman Belt on loaded down with a Leatherman multitool, folding knife, cell phone, flashlight, first aid kit, mini survival Altoid Tin, pepper spray, 50 feet of paracord , extra batteries, GPS, carabiners, keys, etc all dangling and jingling as you walk down the rows of Cube City. Face it.....you look like an idiot.

     Before we go any further lets go on record as saying, I'm not telling you how to live or what to carry....I'm telling you what *I* would do in these circumstances. Rest assured there will be comments either on this blog or on other boards to the affect of "I work for myself so i can carry a ninja sword, 2 sticks of dynamite, and a rocket launcher at work." Well...that's wonderful...most of us can't, or have enough common sense not to even if we could. There will also be the "must be right at all costs" guy who will say something along the lines of " I carry anyway, even if it's not allowed, becaue I have the right to." Yeah...ok. Good luck explaining to the little lady why she and the kids have to move back in with your parents while you find another job in this economy. Me and the Common Sense Crowd will be considering whether to buy your forclosed house as an investment.

       I'm off the soapbox. It's apparent that common sense ain't so common. Anyways, enough about all of that. On to the good stuff.

     Some of those things you might need, some of those things you might feel better having, some of those things are just silly. It's an exagerration, sort of, but the point is to learn some "business camouflage". Simple techniques that will allow you some latitude on what you can carry in public or at work.

     Look around you, observe the people in your environment. Are backpacks commonplace? If so, great, most of your problems are solved. You can carry your work stuff AND some extras in your backpack. Make sure you seperate the two. Have your EDC stuff an a seperate compartment, or better yet, in a smaller bag inside your packpack. That way if you need your EDC stuff...and only your EDC stuff, you can grab it easily. Please don't consider a fanny pack....please. You laugh, but I still see them in use. I still see the "European Carry All" AKA the Man Purse as well. Talk about drawing attention to yourself...a man purse will do it.

     The winter time is awesome for EDC. Coats mean lots of pockets to hold stuff. Shoes are an important part of your EDC. Choose wisely. Several brands of "outdoor" or "rugged" shoe companies make office appropriate shoes that are still VERY competant in the out doors. Look into some Keens or Merrils for exmple, they look good and perform well. These will save you from having to walk home in a pair of wingtips. There are many brands, but those two come to mind. Do some research.

     Lots of people EDC a folding knife. Some carry it completely in their pocket. Some use the attached clip to clip it to their pocket opening levaing thr clip and some of the knife exposed, it's easier to access that way. If I carry one, I carry it clipped to my pocket opening. Some places of employment allow knives, some don't. One thing I have done in the past is to spray paint the clip on the knife tan. This way it doesn't stick out so much against my khaki colored work pants. Sure...you can see it if you stare, but it passes casual observers without notice.

     Have a good belt. I wear a slightly thicker than normal leather belt to work. I'd like to wear a nylon trainers belt or riggers belt, but it's not business casual appropriate. Have you seen the buckles on those things? So why a thicker leather belt you ask? Because it will support my body weight without breaking. Not that I would ever NEED that, but it made sense at the time I was belt shopping. It looks like a normal belt, it's just thicker...and a little bit wider. Belts are an important part of your EDC, choose wisely.

     My work EDC, in addition to seasonally appropriate clothing, basically consists of my phone, wallet, keys, iPod, laptop backpack, light snack, water bottle, and a small flashlight. I have a GHB in my truck and I park less than 30 yards from my office building. So I can get to that if I need to. I posted previously about a GHB, please read it if you haven't.

     As always, comments and topic suggestions always welcome. Check us out on Facebook:Survival In The Suburbs

    I'm not an expert, and I don't play one on the internet. Survive to fight another day.

Concealed Carry In The Suburbs

noreply@blogger.com (Survival In The Suburbs) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 03:17:00 +0000

I'm licensed to carry concealed in my home state of North Carolina. I was licensed to carry concealed in South Carolina for 15 years before moving to North Carolina with my job. I would say I carried on average of once or twice week for all of those years. I didn't carry everyday because the places I worked did not allow firearms on their premises. I usually carried on the weekends, or if I went out after I got home from work, or if I had a day off.

A Non-Permissive Environment (NPE) is a fairly common obstacle that concealed weapons holders encounter in the suburbs. There are three types of Non-Permissive Environments (NPE's) that I have encountered:

Carry prohibited by statute - places where the concealed law specifically prohibits concealed carry. Banks, Schools, Bars, etc. Violation results in arrest and prosecution.
Carry prohibited by premise - places that post signs specifically prohibiting concealed carry inside their premise. Violation results in arrest and prosecution.
Carry prohibited by policy - Companies make it a violation of their policy for employees to posses firearms on their premise. Violation often results in termination. Often combined with prohibition by premise.

     This can be a real issue for concealed firearms carriers (CC'ers). For example some stores in a mall might prohibit firearms, while others will allow it. What if you stop to get a hamburger in one of the mall restaurants and that restaurant also serves alcohol? A CC'er could end up in a NPE entirely by accident and end up in jail. Anti-gunners get extremely nervous around people who have a gun on them, especially if their children are present. It's an irrational fear, I get that....I really do. But understand that if they call the cops, and you're in the wrong....even accidentally, you will most likely go to jail.

     We can spend hours constructing scenarios. You can't plan for everything, you simply can't. If you know ahead of time you're going to end up in an NPE, don't carry. It's as simple as that. But how many times have your plans changed mid-stream? Lots if you have a wife/husband and kids. Things NEVER go as planned. So, lets look at some best practices that can help resolve these issues, or possibly even prevent them from occurring in the first place.

      You may remember my "rules" for a gunfight. Here they are again, for a quick review:
              1- Don't be there when it happens.
              2- If you break rule #1, have a gun.
              3- Be the one who fires the first accurate shot.

     Lets focus on the "have a gun" part. Since we're not expecting a gunfight, and we're just hanging out with our family. Conceal your gun well. Dress in layers, it's easier in the winter for obvious reasons. In the summer carry a smaller weapon inside the pants or in the small of your back. Don't be one of those tacti-cool, mall-ninja idiot types who thinks it's "cool" to print so others can know you're carrying without actually seeing your weapon. Don't invite trouble. The view is NOT worth the climb on that issue.

     Use a good carry holster. Nothing amuses me more than a guy who spends $1,000 on a custom .45 ACP. Then carries it in a $20 nylon "one size fits most" holster. If the weapon isn't secure, or the holster is uncomfortable to wear, you won't carry very often....or at all. Don't break rule #2. A holster is one of the two critical pieces of your carry gear that makes the whole thing work. What is the second piece you ask? A belt. Like the holster...get a good one. My preference for holsters is AHolster. You can check one out here: AHolster     My preference for a belt is the 5.11 Trainers belt. Check one out here: Trainer Belt.

     If you encounter an NPE, return your weapon to your vehicle, enter the NPE, conduct your business there and leave. Return to your vehicle and re-arm. I have had to do this many times. I wasn't comfortable leaving my weapon in the glove box of my car. What if my car got broken into, or one of my kids got a hold of my weapon, or anything like that? I ended up buying a Nano Vault 200. It's a small lock box that fits under my truck seat. It's secured to the metal seat frame, and has a key lock. It's large enough to hold my G23 and an extra magazine. You can check one out here: NanoVault 200.

     Get some training, and practice as often as you can. I can't tell you how important it is for you to get some quality firearms training. It is your Constitutional Right to have a firearm, it is also your responsibility to own it responsibly. Take a high quality class in your carry gear with your main carry gun. Learn how to clear stoppages, and perform emergency reloads. Learn how to shoot with a flashlight in your weak hand, and how to shoot your weapon with your weak hand. These are the things that will save your life.

One last thing. Know the laws in your area. It's up to you to know WHEN to pull the trigger as well as HOW to pull the trigger. You can be assured that every bullet fired in a public place will have a lawyer attached to it. I'm not talking about defense of yourself and your family inside your home. I'm talking about defense of yourself and your family in public. There is a huge difference. In your home, an intruder has no legal right to be there. In public both parties had a legal right to be there. The laws are probably different in your area, it's up to you to know them.

     Again, I'm not an expert and I don't play one on the Internet. Survive to fight another day.

     Comments and suggestions for topics are always welcome. You can leave them anonymously if you wish. Thanks again for checking in and reading my blog.

Surviving The Holidays In The Suburbs

noreply@blogger.com (Survival In The Suburbs) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 13:59:00 +0000

     The holiday season is approaching. Black Friday is right around the corner. The Christmas rush is in full effect. People will be travelling to unfamiliar destinations to visit friend and family. People will be crushing into retail spaces for shopping, bargain hunting, last minute items, etc. Bad guys will be out in full effect. The economy sucks and scum bags will be working overtime. Be prepared, be alert, be safe.

     You're not going to be able to avoid traffic unless you stay home for the next 5 weeks. Be extra vigilant when driving. There will be people visiting the area will not know where they are going, people who will make last second lane changes to get into parking lots, many more people texting and talking on cells while driving, etc. EXPECT this, and drive accordingly. Use your keyless entry to un lock your car, which will turn on the interior light. Look inside before you enter the car. Look around you before you exit your car. Please review the post on Vehicle Safety In The Suburbs.

     If you're shopping, you'll be in crowds. You will not be able to maintain your "bubble" of personal space. Be aware of your surrounding and the people in them. Remember that bad guys rarely work alone. If you're buying gifts, your hands will most likely be full. Try to have your car keys ready when you enter the parking lot from the store. Don't stand alone in the parking lot digging in your pockets or purse. Please review the post on Situational Awareness On Foot.

     I hope everyone has a safe and happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy this time with your family and friends. Survive the fight another day.

Mountain House vs Wise Foods....A Comparison

noreply@blogger.com (Survival In The Suburbs) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 02:21:00 +0000

The battle for freeze dried food supremacy in the post zombie apocalypse world has taken on a new chapter. I decided to taste test Mountain House and Wise Foods freeze dried backpackers meals. I initially chose Chili Mac as the flavor to be tested. However I soon realized that Mountain House Chili Mac is the creme de la creme of freeze dried meals. This was an unfair advantage for Mountain House in that Chili Mac is THE meal of choice on my back packing excursions.

    I soon added the Lasagna and Beef Stroganoff. I wanted to test a different tomato based product and also a cream based product as well. These are all entrees, I didn't test deserts, breakfasts, or side dishes. Both Mountain House and Wise share some characteristics: They're both packaged in zip lock style thick foil bags, they cook in the bag using only water, they have a 7 year storage life, they're high in sodium, and they both cost less about the same.

     If you're a vegetarian, the comparison stops here for you. The Wise Foods products I tested were 100% vegetarian, and say so right on the bag. Mountain House has real meat in their products that I tested.

Preparation:
     All tests were done by preparing the food using the same amount of water (16 oz.), from the same source, and at the same temperature (190 degrees F). Mountain House took 10 minutes to rehydrate, Wise Foods took 15. The water was not boiling as recommended on the packages of both products.

The Sights:
     When I opened the two packages it appeared that the Mountain House package contained more food that the Wise Foods package. Both packages contain 4.6 ounces of freeze dried food, so maybe it's the texture of the MH foods that made it appear to have more food in it. Once the food was prepared and poured into bowls the Mountain House food looked more appealing to me. The tomato sauce in the Chili Mac and Lasagna was reddish-orange in color vs brownish in the Wise Foods. The MH noodles looked fuller and still appeared to have more volume than the Wise Foods product. The Wise Foods sauces were runny, more like soup than sauce.

The Smells:
    The Mountain House food smelled like you'd expect chili, lasagna, and stroganoff to smell. The Wise Foods didn't smell bad, it just didn't smell like I expected it to smell. The smell of camping food might not be a big deal to you and it's not a huge deal to me, unless it smells bad. It's kind of like sprinkles on the cup cake. An added bonus at the end of the day.

The Tastes:
     This is where Mountain House really distinguished itself from Wise Foods in my opinion. The Mountain House food was good, I mean really good. I'll eat it for lunch because I like it, not because I don't have anything else. The Wise Foods products didn't taste very good to me. I didn't even finish the lasagna, I threw 1/2 a bag away. The sauce in the Wise chili mac and lasagna had "textured vegetable protein" instead of meat.If you're a vegetarian and you want Chili Mac, Lasagna or Stroganoff, Wise Foods is your only option between the two. The taste of the Wise Foods tomato based products made me glad I eat meat. I liked both companies Stroganoff. Like the tomato based products the stroganoff from Wise Foods was more soupy.

The Conclusion:
    If I could have only one, I'd have to pick Mountain House. It smelled better, tasted better, and prepared faster. The Wise Foods products weren't bad, don't get me wrong. Well...the lasagna was pretty bad, to me anyways. Both are viable long term storage options. Wise Foods actually pack a little flatter ans takes up a little less room than Mountain House does. Maybe it's because it's a 1/2 cup smaller in size when re- hydrated, even though they both weighed in at 4.8 oz packaged. Wise Foods was about 50 cents cheaper where I purchased it than was Mountain House. The noodles in all three products were more hearty, more filling, with Mountain House than with Wise Foods.

     I didn't dive into all of the nutritional values, fat contents, etc. This comparison was about USING the product, not chemically analyzing it. How it tasted, smelled, and how it cooked. If you want all of the nutritional information, please look it up. Google is your friend. I did notice the protein count was a little lower with Wise Foods, maybe because it was 100% vegetarian....who knows.

     I'm not an expert, and I don't play one on the Internet. I do know that if you don't like certain foods during calm times, trying to make kids eat food they don't like will only add tons of stress to you during times of disaster. Fortunately my kids like Mountain House, they eat it when camping....and I know they'll eat it if times are bad.

     Topics, suggestions, criticisms (well not really). Always welcome survivalinthesuburbs@gmail.com or leave them in the comments for the blog, you can do so anonymously.

    Above all else, survive to fight another day.

The Suburban Get Home Bag (GHB)

noreply@blogger.com (Survival In The Suburbs) — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 02:33:00 +0000

     It seems everyone has a post/blog/thread,/YouTube video about Bug Out Bags (BOB), or Get Home Bags (GHB) or some witty acronym that means the same thing. Everyone, including me, so here's mine. This isn't a product endorsement or gear review. It's simply the bag *I* have and it's contents. This bag is set up for a range of up to 60 miles (2-3 days by foot). Hopefully you might get some ideas for your bag, or even better....leave me some suggestions for MY bag. Please. :)

    With that being said, this bag is to get me home from anywhere in the metro area I live in. It's not a bug out bag, it's a get me home to my family bag. From there we'll evaluate our circumstances and decide, bug in or bug out. I have to tell you though, short of a fire, flood, or chemical spill....I'm bugging in.

The Bag: Maxpedition Kodiak Gearslinger
     Seemed like a nifty choice at the time. I can wear it like a backpack, and "sling" it around in front of my body like a 80's hairband guitar player should I need any of it's contents in a hurry. It works pretty good in that capacity. It's easy to get off and on, which is a plus in a suburban environment.....because I take it off and put it on a lot. It holds a ton of stuff (1100 cu. in. for you gear nerds), and has a lot of internal pockets which keep things organized (it'll even hold a laptop). IF you can remember what is in which pockets AND you don't get reorganize-itis and change everythings' location every two months. If you want to know more about the bag please go HERE.

The Outside Pockets:
     I keep various things I would need more frequently or more urgently in the outside pockets. Here is what I have on the outside of the bag, in no particular order:

Compass (Engineering) and GPS(eTrex Vista w/ spare batteries)
Sunscreen, chap stick, Quick Clot
Carabiners (NiteIze S-biners and Figure 9's) - I really can't say enough about the innovative products made by NiteIze. Check them out at http://www.niteize.com/
Emergency Water Filter (Drinking straw style by Aquamira)
Flashlight - Surefire G3 w/ spare batteries
1 Liter stainless steel water bottle. Don't try to boil water in a Nalgene bottle :)
1 bar of Trioxane stove fuel
1 plastic magnifying glass - credit card sized.
Leatherman Wave, Spyderco Endura folder
Shemagh
1 pair of 'operators' gloves - Camelback Vent
1 IBD (Israeli Battle Dressing, or Emergency Dressing, depending on where you find it) I buy them from Botach Tactical HERE
Small first aid kit
Bic lighter
150 feet of para cord
Large contractor grade trash bag
Wire Saw - would suck to use, but beats dulling my knife. It's easier to use if you cut two handles and put them through the key rings on each end.

The Inside Pockets:
Things I'll need to set up for the night, to gather food, build shelter, or will be deployed on my body as I start to move towards home.

Fixed blade camp knife.
Katydyn hiking water filter
Binoculars
Write in the Rain pad and pen. Check them out HERE
Altoid Tin containing 2 steel broad head arrow heads
Socks and foot powder
4 Mountain house freeze dried meals
4 Clif Bars
Local map (marked with alternate routes home from work, bivouac locations, and water sources)
Firesteel and tinders
Wool stocking cap
G23 and holster, w/one extra mag and holder
5.11 Trainers belt Check it out HERE
1 Liter aluminum water bottle

That's about it for the contents of my bag. It changes seasonally and some contents vary if I know I'm travelling beyond a 60 mile range. Now that I've paid homage to the survival writers before me with a GHB/BOB post, I can promise you I'll NEVER do a AR-15 vs AK-47 post.

I'm not an expert, and I don't play one on the Internet. Survive to fight another day.

Tips, comments, and suggestions please e-mail to survivalinthesuburbs@gmail.com

Join the site by using the gadget on the right :)

Vehicle Safety And Security In The Suburbs

noreply@blogger.com (Survival In The Suburbs) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 20:40:00 +0000

     People spend a lot more time in their vehicles than they realize. The chances of something bad happening while you're in your car are pretty high actually. You need to be prepared while in your car, and your car needs to be prepared as well. There are several things you need to do every time you get into your car, and several things that need to be in every car when you enter it.

     When you approach your vehicle, whether at home or out in public, look at it. Really look at it, observe it, don't look through it. Is anything unusual? Broken glass, low tire pressure, leaking fluids, etc. When you start the car LISTEN to it. Does it make a weird noise. Do you smell anything funny? Something burning perhaps. Identify and correct noticeable problems right away before they can leave you stranded somewhere. Stranded equals vulnerable.....reduce your vulnerability.

     Every time you get into your car, you and all occupants should be secured. Seat belts everyone. I know this is obvious. I also know how many times I "forget" to put on my seat belt and am already in traffic before I realize it. I wonder how many people have run off the road while putting on a seat belt? What good is a well prepared and secured home if you get T-Boned by a soccer mom trying to answer a phone while putting on makeup? Newer cars are built to protect the occupants, if you stay relatively stationary inside the cockpit. Seat belts ensure that.

    Remove all distractions from the drivers area. No gadgets, no phones, no FOOD (eating and driving injures as many people as drinking and driving), no water bottles to roll under the brake pedal, etc.  Distractions are the root of all evil, nothing good will ever come from a distracted driver. I know how difficult it is with kids to not be distracted in a car. It only takes a second for everything to change. Your entire life can change in the blink of an eye. Being "right" or it being "the other drivers fault" won't matter to the injured or dead. Be the aware driver who avoids the accident with a distracted driver. Be the good Shepard whose flock gets home safely.

     Every car should have a fire extinguisher and a first aid kit. Don't have one kit you plan on moving between vehicles. I guarantee you it will be in the other car when you need it. I don't care if you buy a first aid kit, make one, or some combination of both. Have one. Have one that has some means to control bleeding. A pressure bandage will help in most of the scene treatable injuries you can receive in a car accident. You're buying yourself and your loved ones time by being able to control heavy bleeding. I'll do a post on my first aid kits and their contents soon. But for now....have one of some type.

     Awareness is your primary safety skill. As the holidays approach most of us will be driving even more. Travelling to visit family and friends, maybe in areas we don't travel to frequently. Lots of people around us will be doing the same thing. Lots of them won't know where they're going. Being able to anticipate and avoid problems will keep you and yours safe.

     Most vehicle accidents happen when a slower moving car tries to merge with faster moving traffic. They pull out into oncoming traffic, or merge from an on ramp driving 35 when traffic is moving at 75, etc. A driver swerves to avoid them, or brakes to avoid them, and a collision happens. Avoid this by driving 5-10 seconds ahead of where you actually are. See this and begin to avoid it before it happens. Again, don't be "right" be safe.

     Allow yourself 5-6 car lengths following distance in city traffic. I know how aggravating this is, believe me I do. As soon as you get 6 lengths behind the car in front of you, some ass hat changes lanes into the space you just created. You repeat, ass hats repeat. You feel as if you're not getting anywhere, then you get caught at a light, get frustrated, and go back to 2 lengths. Please stay at 5-6 lengths. When stopped allow for 2-3 lengths, this gives you reaction and maneuver room should you need it. You don't want to be boxed in with trouble erupting around you.

     Tips and tricks:

Avoid road rage incidents at all costs. Don't get into a bird-flipping contest with the idiot who just merged into your safety space in traffic. Again, don't be "right"....be safe.
Keep your vehicle doors locked at all times.
If your windows are rolled down, constantly look around (keep your head on a swivel) when stopped in traffic.
Do not allow yourself to get distracted at stoplights. Pay attention to your surroundings. No one ever got car jacked while driving at 35 miles an hour. It always happens when the car is stopped.
Keep your car in decent mechanical shape. Don't get stranded by a blown hose.
Keep your gas tank at LEAST 1/2 full. This allows you to stop for gas when it's convenient, not when you're running on empty.
Trust your instincts. If your "gut" tells you to get out of where you are....get out fast.
Avoid problem areas if at all possible. If you can't avoid them, avoid stopping in them.
Press your key less entry button once to unlock your door, but not all the doors. (Reader suggested: thanks medictg)
Keep the dome light inside of the vehicle's cabin set to "off." You should know your vehicle and its contents well enough to operate everything in the dark. Having the light go on each time you open up the door compromises your night vision, and gives the bad guys a free peek inside of your vehicle. (Reader suggested: thanks Antithesis)

Tips and suggestions can be e-mailed to me at: survivalinthesuburbs@gmail.com

Please join the blog using the gadget on the left.

I'm not an expert, and I don't play one on the Internet. Always, survive to fight another day.

Situational Awareness On Foot in the Suburbs

noreply@blogger.com (Survival In The Suburbs) — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 22:21:00 +0000

     Situational awareness is a critical component of security and defense. Whether you're securing and/or defending your home, your family in your car, yourself in a mall, or whatever the situation may be; you have to be aware of your surroundings. Always thinking two to three moves ahead. Like defensive driving to avoid accidents, you have to practice defensive living to avoid dangerous situations.

     An important part of situational awareness is recognizing when a situation could become dangerous, not waiting until it is already dangerous and then trying to figure a way out. Your mindset is your greatest asset in these situations. Many of the followers of this blog will recognize the next statement, as I use it often: Trust in your instincts. Instincts have kept the human species alive for millions of years. If your "gut" tells you something is wrong....something is very wrong.

     I will write a post before the Holiday Season is in full swing about security and another post about defense in public areas. But for now Lets focus on situational awareness. Situational awareness is a critical component in both personal security and in self defense. Situational awareness is a skill, and you can learn it if you haven't already. You can improve it if you already have some fundamentals. I use the crawl-walk-run methodology when addressing these issues. You have to learn to crawl first, then walk, then run. By the time you have reached the run phase, you'll be able to read post incident reports and pick up things that you can add to your skill set.

     I apologize if I'm writing under the level of some of my readers understanding, my intent is not to bore you. People with varying levels of security skill set read this blog, and I'd like to reach them all. For those of you who are more highly trained than most, please feel free to comment or e-mail me with suggestions. This is a learning process for us ALL, and the more we pass ideas back and forth the stronger we all become.

     For those of you who are familiar with Coopers Colors Code, please be patient. For the rest, please familiarize yourself with this color scheme. This is a fundamental of personal security and defense. It will be reference many times in coming posts, and is the first step (excuse the pun) in your learning to crawl. If you'd like to learn more about The Cooper Color Code or about Jeff Cooper himself (considered by many to be the father of the combat mindset), please go to the Wiki Page about him, you can find that HERE.

    In summary of that page, the colors are:

White - Unaware and unprepared.
Yellow - Relaxed alert.
Orange - Specific alert.
Red - Condition Red is fight.

    It is very difficult to keep a medium to high level of situational awareness in a suburban or urban environment. People are densely packed into relatively small areas. Just look at the parking lot in a large shopping mall. For every car there, there is at least one person inside the mall. You can't maintain a reactive buffer around yourself in a crowd. It's just not possible. Avoiding crowds just isn't possible. As we approach the Holiday Season the crowds will only get worse. As the economy worsens, the number of people lurking in those crowds who intend to do bad things will only get larger.

     Most often you're going to be shoulder to shoulder with people you don't know, in a relatively unfamiliar environment. Most people will have two things on their minds: Shop and Leave. There are a few with other motives, find and avoid them. They're looking for easy prey, don't be easy prey. Be aware of them, act aware of them. They'll look for another target. They want easy targets, they don't want to work for it....or they wouldn't be doing what they're out there doing. The sad fact is they're going to get someone. Your job is to make sure it's NOT YOU.

     Travel in Condition Yellow. Look around you, look at people around you. Don't look through them, look AT them. One analogy I see used a lot is a shepherd over the flock. Be a shepherd, don't be the flock. If you look at twenty people, and one person catches your attention. Analyze why that person caught your attention. Remember that childhood game "one of these is not like the others"? Where several things looked similar, but one of them was different? One thing is different enough to catch your attention....what is it? Look at that person, really look them over. If they notice you looking at them and get nervous....that's a HUGE red flag. Move away from them. If you see them again near you, another huge read flag. Condition Orange time. Begin moving out of the area and mobilizing your family with some urgency. Act quickly and decisively.

     By being aware of your surroundings, you're buying yourself reaction time. You have to react to what the bad guys do. They ALREADY know what's about to happen. You have to figure it out and react. Bad guys rarely act alone. There's several reasons why: Courage in numbers, more guys can carry more loot, and advantage through numerical superiority are just a few. My point is continue your scan. Don't get so caught up in the one person 40 feet away that you don't notice the other person 10 feet away with a knife.

     Be especially alert when entering and exiting your vehicle. Be aware of the vehicles next to you, and if they're occupied. If you're inside the vehicle, make these observations before you turn the car off and get out. If your gut tells you something is wrong, find another parking space. If approaching your vehicle on foot, make the necessary observations before you get to the car and open the doors. If your gut tells you something is wrong, turn around and walk back in the direction you came. Scan your surroundings for additional bad guys, and check behind you frequently. Keep your family into a small cluster and move quickly.

      Be extra vigilant in "safe areas" like schools, churches, banks, etc. This may be a little known observation, but most bank robberies occur in banks. Bad guys know these are "safe areas" and also know that rules about safe areas only apply to law abiding citizens. If you're obeying the rules about safe zones, the only option you have is avoidance. Get out of the situation as fast as you can. If you're wrong about how things appear, you can always come back later. You're better off trusting your instincts even on the off chance they are wrong, than teaching yourself to ignore them altogether.

     Having a spouse actively engaged in situational awareness is a big plus. My wife notices unusual things that could be potential problems. Sometimes we'll play a game to keep our observation skills honed when we're out. I'll ask about 10 minutes after we arrived at our destination "what color was the car parked on your side". She usually remembers. Or she'll ask me "what color hair did the man who just walked past us have".

     Here are some tips to help you improve or maintain your awareness level:

Keep your heed on a swivel. Look around constantly.
Keep a mental tally of where all members in your party are at all times.
Make a mental note of exits as you pass them.
Make a mental note of people who arouse your suspicion.
Communicate your plans before you enact them.
Don't follow the crowd if something doesn't seem right.
At night, park under street lights/parking lot lights if possible.

I'm not an expert and I don't play one on the Internet. Always, survive to fight another day.