Marthony
06-27-2012, 03:17 AM
Hello there!
Well, I've read through most topics of the 11 pages of the 'general' discussion threads and have learned enough to guess at each of your favorite colors. Or how not to instantly put my foot in my mouth, whichever. =)
I can't say I've ever been in a shtf scenario, but I've had enough minor events to make me want to be better prepared for emergencies. For the most part this has meant vehicle breakdowns in the middle of nowhere in bad weather (-30C), but has also included power outages, minor household floods, near-misses or concern about larger floods, forest fires & bears.
My vehicle's emergency kit has evolved to be a large tupperware kit++, missing only a fire extinguisher at this point. (suggestions on a good compact one would be welcome!) While some think my vehicle kit is excessive, I don't think they've been 'there' yet. The high school grads I helped the other month were a mix of surprised & grateful when I used my air compressor to inflate their truck's emergency donut from 35 to the needed 60psi. =) I must say I'm a bit disturbed by how totally unprepared many drivers are, especially in winter.
Other than developing my vehicle kit well, I can't say that I'm otherwise that 'prepared'. I've been doing a fair bit of reading in the last year however, to get a better understanding of what 'prepared' means:
-Les Stroud's 'Survive!' and 'Will to Live'
-The SAS Survival Handbook
-Cody Lundin's 'When All Hell Breaks Loose'
-Your forum and bits of others
(not really related, but the '48 Laws of Power' is worth reading as well)
Other than that I enjoy camping, hiking, snowshoeing, canoeing, etc., and have made 3 igloos last season with the Icebox igloo making tool.
At this stage I'm educating myself towards proper creation of 3-day BOB's for my wife & I. I've started by making scans of all our essential documents to a USB drive, and next will sign up for a safety deposit box to have the originals placed in. As time goes I'll read through the rest of the forum groups on this website before asking questions about preferred BOB packs, crank/solar powered radios/charging units, password protections for USB data, etc. I will also start practicing things, the first to be a solar oven, followed by the magnesium firestarter (owned one for years, never actually tried it).
The main hazards in my mountainous area are:
- Flooding
- Forest Fire
- Train derailment of hazardous goods
- Temporary grid failure
- Becoming stranded due to vehicle breakdown
- Security of important documents/records from any # of angles
- Severe weather (minus tornadoes & hurricanes as n/a for area)
- General outdoorsmen preparedness
As to my present question:
By chance the other day a couple co-workers and I came onto the topic of preparedness. I wasn't aware that either had been thinking on the subject before. Long conversation, with a general tone regarding vulnerabilities of infrasctructure and average preparedness for emergencies. We ended the chat with the suggestion that we create a local 'club' to meet once a month to discuss the topic. I have to wonder how many others I know are interested in the general topic.
I am looking for general advice on this.
While I'd like to think only good could come out of this, I can't help but wonder; I don't want to bring doomsday paranoia folks out, or take on
responsibility for the momentum such discussions may generate. Similar to this forum's rules, I also seek to avoid discussions involving politics, religion and conspiracy theories. At the same time, it can be important to know people in town that are prepared and/or have other skills I lack.
I am thinking instead to direct them to the books I've read and to this forum, and not to start an in-person discussion group at this time. It can be said that I'm too new to this anyway; it could be an arrangement made later after all interested read up on the topic to have a more meaningful discussion.
What do you folks think?
Thanks for putting together this site by the way, it looks very informative and level-headed!
Well, I've read through most topics of the 11 pages of the 'general' discussion threads and have learned enough to guess at each of your favorite colors. Or how not to instantly put my foot in my mouth, whichever. =)
I can't say I've ever been in a shtf scenario, but I've had enough minor events to make me want to be better prepared for emergencies. For the most part this has meant vehicle breakdowns in the middle of nowhere in bad weather (-30C), but has also included power outages, minor household floods, near-misses or concern about larger floods, forest fires & bears.
My vehicle's emergency kit has evolved to be a large tupperware kit++, missing only a fire extinguisher at this point. (suggestions on a good compact one would be welcome!) While some think my vehicle kit is excessive, I don't think they've been 'there' yet. The high school grads I helped the other month were a mix of surprised & grateful when I used my air compressor to inflate their truck's emergency donut from 35 to the needed 60psi. =) I must say I'm a bit disturbed by how totally unprepared many drivers are, especially in winter.
Other than developing my vehicle kit well, I can't say that I'm otherwise that 'prepared'. I've been doing a fair bit of reading in the last year however, to get a better understanding of what 'prepared' means:
-Les Stroud's 'Survive!' and 'Will to Live'
-The SAS Survival Handbook
-Cody Lundin's 'When All Hell Breaks Loose'
-Your forum and bits of others
(not really related, but the '48 Laws of Power' is worth reading as well)
Other than that I enjoy camping, hiking, snowshoeing, canoeing, etc., and have made 3 igloos last season with the Icebox igloo making tool.
At this stage I'm educating myself towards proper creation of 3-day BOB's for my wife & I. I've started by making scans of all our essential documents to a USB drive, and next will sign up for a safety deposit box to have the originals placed in. As time goes I'll read through the rest of the forum groups on this website before asking questions about preferred BOB packs, crank/solar powered radios/charging units, password protections for USB data, etc. I will also start practicing things, the first to be a solar oven, followed by the magnesium firestarter (owned one for years, never actually tried it).
The main hazards in my mountainous area are:
- Flooding
- Forest Fire
- Train derailment of hazardous goods
- Temporary grid failure
- Becoming stranded due to vehicle breakdown
- Security of important documents/records from any # of angles
- Severe weather (minus tornadoes & hurricanes as n/a for area)
- General outdoorsmen preparedness
As to my present question:
By chance the other day a couple co-workers and I came onto the topic of preparedness. I wasn't aware that either had been thinking on the subject before. Long conversation, with a general tone regarding vulnerabilities of infrasctructure and average preparedness for emergencies. We ended the chat with the suggestion that we create a local 'club' to meet once a month to discuss the topic. I have to wonder how many others I know are interested in the general topic.
I am looking for general advice on this.
While I'd like to think only good could come out of this, I can't help but wonder; I don't want to bring doomsday paranoia folks out, or take on
responsibility for the momentum such discussions may generate. Similar to this forum's rules, I also seek to avoid discussions involving politics, religion and conspiracy theories. At the same time, it can be important to know people in town that are prepared and/or have other skills I lack.
I am thinking instead to direct them to the books I've read and to this forum, and not to start an in-person discussion group at this time. It can be said that I'm too new to this anyway; it could be an arrangement made later after all interested read up on the topic to have a more meaningful discussion.
What do you folks think?
Thanks for putting together this site by the way, it looks very informative and level-headed!