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Economic Crisis: How You Can Prepare Over The Next Six Months

Tyler Durden's picture




 

Submitted by Brandon Smith via Alt-Market.com,

I wouldn’t say that it is “never too late” to prepare for potential disaster because, obviously, the numerous economic and social catastrophes of the past have proven otherwise. There simply comes a point in time in which the ignorant and presumptive are indeed officially screwed. I will say that we have not quite come to that point yet here in the U.S., but the window of opportunity for preparation is growing very narrow.

As expected, U.S. stocks are now revealing the underlying instability of our economy, which has been festering for several years.  Extreme volatility not seen since 2008/2009 has returned, sometimes with 1000 point fluctuations positive and negative in the span of only a couple days.  Current market tremors are beginning to resemble the EKG of a patient suffering a heart attack.

Stocks are a trailing indicator, meaning that when an equities crash finally becomes visible to the mainstream public, it indicates that the economic fundamentals have been broken beyond repair for quite a while. What does this mean for those people who prefer to protect themselves and their families rather than wait to be drowned like lemmings in a deluge? It means they are lucky if they have more than a few months to put their house in order.

The process of crisis preparedness is not as simple as going on a gear-buying bonanza or making a few extra trips to Costco. That is better than nothing; but really, it’s a form of half-assed prepping that creates more of an illusion of survivabilty rather than providing ample security in the event that financial systems malfunction.

Much of what’s listed in this article will include training and infrastructure goals far beyond the usual standards of beans, bullets and Band-Aids.

Market turmoil has only just begun to take shape around the globe; and as I explained in my last article, the situation is only going to become exponentially worse as 2015 bleeds into 2016. I certainly cannot say for certain how long our system will remain “stable,” primarily because our current collapse could easily move faster or slower through the influence of outside or engineered events (a slower progression without any black swan-style triggers would likely end in total breakdown within the span of a couple years, rather than a fast progression ending in the span of a few months). What I can do is give you a conservative timeline for preparedness and offer examples of actions anyone can accomplish within that period. For now, my timeline is limited to six months or less, meaning these preparations should be undertaken with the intent to complete them in half a year. If you get more time than that, thank your lucky stars for the extension.

Find Two Family Members, Two Friends and One Neighbor Of Like Mind

Here is the bottom line: If you are going the route of the lone wolf or secret squirrel isolated from any community, then you are already dead. You might as well hand your food and supplies over to someone else with a better fighting chance. The lone wolf methodology is the worst possible strategy for survival. And if you look at almost every collapse scenario in history from Argentina to Bosnia to the Great Depression, it is always the people with strong community who end up surviving.

Going lone wolf is partially useful only if you have zero moral fortitude and you plan to rob or murder every other person you come across and then run. This is not the smartest idea either because it requires a person to constantly seek out violent contact in order to live day to day. Eventually, the lone wolf’s luck will run out no matter how vicious he is.

I’ve noticed that those people who promote lone wolf survivalism tend to lean toward moral relativism, though they rarely come right out and admit what their real plans are. I’ve also noticed that it is the lone wolves who also often attempt to shame average preppers into isolationism with claims of “OPSEC” (operations security) and warnings of neighbors ready to loot their homes at the first sign of unrest. “Don’t talk to anyone,” they say. “Your only chance is to hide.” One should consider the possibility that the lone wolves prefer that preppers never form groups or communities because that would make their predatory strategy more successful.

Without community, you have no security beyond the hope that people will not find you by chance. You also have limited skill sets to draw from (no one has the knowledge and ability to provide all services and necessities for themselves). And you will have no ability to rebuild or extend your lines of safety, food production, health services, etc. once the opportunity arises. If you cannot find two family members, two friends and one neighbor to work with you in the next six months, then you aren’t trying hard enough; and thus, frankly, you don’t deserve to survive. I’ve heard all the excuses before: “Everyone around me is blissfully ignorant,” “My family is addicted to their cellphones,” “All my friends are Keynesians” and so on. It doesn’t matter. No more excuses. Get it done. If I can do it, you can.

Approach Your Church, Veterans’ Hall Or Other Organization

What do you have to lose? Find an existing organization you belong to and see if you can convince them to pre-stage supplies or hold classes on vital skills. Keep your approach nonpolitical. Make it strictly about preparedness and training. If you can motivate a church or a veterans’ hall or a homeschoolers’ club to actually go beyond their normal parameters and think critically about crisis preparedness, then you may have just saved the lives of dozens if not hundreds or people who would have been oblivious otherwise. Making the effort to approach such groups could be accomplished in weeks, let alone six months.

Learn A Trade Skill

Take the next six months and learn one valuable trade skill, meaning any skill that would allow you to produce a necessity, repair a necessity or teach a necessary knowledge set. If you cannot do this, then you will have no capability to barter in a sustainable way. Remember this: The future belongs to the producers, and only producers will thrive post-collapse.

Commit To Rifle Training At Least Once A Week

Set aside the money and the ammo to practice with your primary rifle every week for the next six months. Yes, training uses up your ammo supply; but you are far better off sending a couple thousand rounds down range to perfect your shooting ability rather than letting that ammo sit in a box doing nothing while your speed and accuracy go nowhere.

Also, think in terms of real training methods, including speed drills, movement drills, reloading and malfunction clearing, and, most importantly, team movement and communications drills. Shooting a thousand rounds from a bench at the range is truly a waste of time and money. Train in an environment that matches your expected operational conditions. Make sure you are learning something new all the time and make sure you are actually challenged by the level of difficulty. If you are not getting frustrated, then you are not training correctly.

Create A Local Ham Network - Expand To Long Distance

A 5-watt ham radio can be had for about $40. With the flood of low-cost, Chinese-made radios on the market today, there is simply no excuse not to have one. If you want to get your ham license, then by all means do so and expand the number of available frequencies you can legally use. If you don’t have a license, practice on non-licensed channels such as MURS channels (yes, MURS is only supposed to be operated at 1 watt or less; I won’t tattle on you to the Federal Communications Commission if you use 5 watts).

A 5-watt handheld ham radio can easily achieve 30 miles or more depending on the type of antenna used. With repeaters, hundreds of miles can be covered. With a high frequency (HF) rig, hundreds or sometimes thousands of miles can be covered without the use of repeaters (though HF radios are far more expensive).

During a national disaster, there is no guarantee that normal communications will continue. Phone and Internet connections can be lost through neglect, or they can be deliberately eliminated by government entities. A nation or community without communications is lost. Find friends and family and set up your communications network now. Over time, your network may grow to cover a vast area; but it has to start with a core, and that core is you.

Learn Basic Emergency And Combat Medical Response

We are lucky in my area to have a few people with extensive medical knowledge in our Community Preparedness Team. I have received training in multiple areas of emergency and combat medical response, and I am grateful for access to such people because there is always more to learn in this field. If you do not have people on your team with medical experience, then you will have to seek out such classes where you can.

Local EMT classes are a good start, but these courses are very limited in scope and do not cover treatment as much as they cover the identification of particular problems. Almost no community courses I can think of delve into combat medical response. If you can’t find a private trainer in your area, then you will have to settle for Web videos. Purchase extra supplies such as Israeli or OLAES bandages and practice using them. Learn your CAT tourniquet until you can use it in the dark. My team even shot a Christmas ham and then pumped fake blood through it to simulate a wound for our blood-stopping class.

If you already have solid people with medical training, try focusing in a niche area like dental work. At the very least, learn your trauma-response basics and store your own medical supplies. Do not assume that you will have access to a hospital when you need it.

Store At Least One Year Of Food – Then Store Extra

With your current food stores can you make it at least one year without a grocery supply source? Can you make it through at least one planting and harvest season with 2000 – 3000 available calories per person? Do you have extra food for people you might wish to help?

Imagine you or your community come across an ER surgeon during a crisis situation, but he did not prepare. Are you going to “stick it to him” and let him starve because he didn't see the danger coming, or are you going to want to keep that guy and his skill sets around? Food preparedness is not as straightforward as it seems. You have to think in terms of your own survival, yes, but also in terms of individual aid. During a full spectrum collapse food is the key to everything. This is why governments like ours set up provisions for food confiscation. They know well that food is power. Without extra supply, communities struggle to form because people become hyper-focused on themselves and lose track of the bigger survival picture. Governments understand that if they can offer limited food to the desperate, they can control the desperate. Do what you can to make sure there are no desperate people within your sphere of influence and you remove the establishment's best mode of control.

Plan Your Food Independence In Advance

To survive you must become your own farmer. Period. Do you know how to do this in your particular climate? Have you accounted for pest control and bad weather conditions? Have you extended your growing season with the use of greenhouses? Are you planning your crops realistically? What provides more sustenance, a field of tomatoes or a field of potatoes? A planting box full of lettuce or of carrots? What crops can be stored the longest and are the hardiest against poor conditions? What gives you the best bang for your buck and for your labor?

I realize that the current growing season is almost at an end, but that does not mean you can't spend the next six months planning for the next season. Condition your soil for planting now. Store extra fertilizer and compost. Be ready for pests. Learn the square foot method as well as barrel planting. Take note of the space you have and how you can best use it. Stockpile seeds for several years of planting.

Train Your Mind To Handle Crisis

Panic betrays and fear kills. The preparedness culture is built upon the ideal that one must defeat fear in order to live. How a person goes about removing uncertainty from the mind is really up to the individual. For me, combat training and mixed martial arts is a great tool. If you get used to people trying to hurt you in a ring, it's not quite as surprising or terrifying when it happens in the real world. If you can handle physical and mental trauma in a slightly more controlled environment, then fear is less likely to take hold of you during a surprise disaster.

Six months may be enough time to enter a state of mental preparedness, it may not be, but more than anything else, this is what you should be focusing on. All other survival actions depend on it. Your ability to function personally, your ability to work with others, your ability to act when necessary, all rely on your removal of fear. Take the precious time you have now and ensure you are ready to handle whatever the future throws at you.

 

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Thu, 09/10/2015 - 00:36 | 6530078 MrSteve
MrSteve's picture

wot is H twenty?

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 01:05 | 6530125 falconflight
falconflight's picture

H2O; to wit, water heater

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 02:06 | 6530222 El Vaquero
El Vaquero's picture

Reading?  Hell, you can probably find a youtube of somebody installing whatever model of water heater you buy.  You can find videos for all kinds of shit like that.  I even found one where a guy showed how to break down the same transmission I have in my vehicle.  That one I would be leery of, but a lot of the stuff that people hire others for really isn't that hard, or if it is hard, it is because it is physically demanding.  I tell people that I drove my own irrigation well and they look at me like I'm some super craftsman.  No, it's some digging, basic plumbing, putting a drive cap on, then finding a way to put a shitload of force onto that drive cap.  I did that with a tripod that I whipped up out of some 2x4s, a double pulley system and a 60lb driver that a friend loaned me.  It didn't take a PhD, yet most people  would freak out at the thought of having to figure out how to do it themselves. 

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 07:45 | 6530490 Calmyourself
Calmyourself's picture

Vaq, I would love to do that seen the videos using pain hose pressure to force out tailings, but in my area there is rock and more rock packed into clay, you must be south somewhere loam and sand??

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 10:05 | 6530865 ljag
ljag's picture

@calm

I've sweated in more water heaters than you have probably seen in your lifetime. 3hrs, eh? Maybe electric but not gas ones. God forbid if you gotta mess with the flu too.

P.S. Some communities require expansion tanks to conform to code. They can add $3-400.00 to the price

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 11:11 | 6531187 Calmyourself
Calmyourself's picture

Your what I like to call a PISS POOR plumber, buy the same height heater cut the copper add an extension and fire up the MAPP gas.  If you cannot screw together black iron gas pipe faster than that you are overcharging for your mediocre service.  Send me one link to a community that requires expansion tanks on a hot water heater not a boiler didn't say boiler.. Your the reason I learned to do it myself..

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 10:22 | 6530952 Dave Thomas
Dave Thomas's picture

How do you sweat in galvanized? I can't ever get the solder to stick.

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 11:13 | 6531206 Calmyourself
Calmyourself's picture

Ha, Dave use more ketchup as flux.. Dielectric unions are your friend.. Use them love them..

 

http://www.grainger.com/category/dielectric-unions/pipe-fittings/pipe-tu...

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 22:10 | 6529644 44MagnumPrepper
44MagnumPrepper's picture

Great article.

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 22:11 | 6529651 Chuck Knoblauch
Chuck Knoblauch's picture

You don't have 6 months.

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 22:13 | 6529656 Tsar Pointless
Tsar Pointless's picture

Probably not even 6 days, which sucks because my birthday is on the 21st.

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 23:45 | 6529944 Miffed Microbio...
Miffed Microbiologist's picture

Probably not a problem for you. Being a Virgo you are typically fastidious and a meticulous planner. Cooly analytical. Tough for a Pisces.

Miffed;-)

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 03:19 | 6530293 wizteknet
wizteknet's picture

We shall see wont we.

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 22:42 | 6529755 Alpacanio
Alpacanio's picture

Not even close. We are walking a tightrope of Dental floss. We will be pushing it if we get 6 weeks.

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 23:11 | 6529864 Billy the Poet
Billy the Poet's picture

Is it waxed? I hate waxed.

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 02:39 | 6530249 freedogger
freedogger's picture

Waxed dental floss and a good needle are very useful items.

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 23:05 | 6529846 falconflight
falconflight's picture

You really think we're that close to TEOTHWAWKI?

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 22:13 | 6529653 J Pancreas
J Pancreas's picture

No wonder ZH lacks credibility among many in the financial community. Articles like this get posted and the survivalists cream their pants. ZH is in a kind of Neverland between comedy articles like this and true brilliance such as the Comex article earlier today.

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 22:15 | 6529665 44MagnumPrepper
44MagnumPrepper's picture

I just creamed on your mom's face.  Does that still count?

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 22:39 | 6529741 Tom Servo
Tom Servo's picture

^ LOL

 

Actually this clickbait article is exactly how they generate money.... you think they do this for free?

 

Oh and i bet you never hear another word about the resolution of the "situation" at COMEX, unless the exchange fails (which I doubt)...

 

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 00:48 | 6530099 Sweet Cheeks
Sweet Cheeks's picture

Tom
Cash in the paper certificates for physical ASAP.

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 01:39 | 6530181 o r c k
o r c k's picture

Never heard of "covering all your bases?"  The human brain really is capable of entertaining more than one scenario at a time, right?

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 22:21 | 6529674 Soul Glow
Soul Glow's picture

You're a moron.  Not only are all markets set up for a crash, but this crash has been leveraged ad infinum on worthless fiat/debt credit.  

If you aren't concerned you aren't paying attention.

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 22:33 | 6529717 ToSoft4Truth
ToSoft4Truth's picture

It's gonna crash, man.  It's gonna crash – the Shemitah is next Sunday!  The entire thing is already unglued.  We’re just waiting for the others to take notice.  Then it’s Helter Skelter, baby.

Our subdivisions become Thunderdome!  Unless you can’t hold on to the square. 

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 23:02 | 6529835 Pool Shark
Pool Shark's picture

 

 

Better have something to trade when TSHTF.

"WHO RUN BARTERTOWN?"

 

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 00:45 | 6530097 Sweet Cheeks
Sweet Cheeks's picture

Tosoft,
If we have lived right, we will be raptured out of here this Shemitah or the next.

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 22:23 | 6529687 Taint Boil
Taint Boil's picture

 

 

I just come here for the constant pop-up ads and the constant requests for my email address …. I mean seriously …. more shit popping up than a porn site (from what I hear).

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 22:35 | 6529719 ToSoft4Truth
ToSoft4Truth's picture

I'd recommend ‘Ghostery’ but you might install a virus.

Good luck. 

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 00:39 | 6530085 Sweet Cheeks
Sweet Cheeks's picture

Taint,
Just get ad blocker.

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 07:40 | 6530483 duo
duo's picture

Why I only use a PC to view ZH

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 07:57 | 6530510 Calmyourself
Calmyourself's picture

Lets al have a private little pact, no more helping people with adblocking..  It will act as a a technological capture and make tylers a buck or two on the rubes..

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 22:31 | 6529712 bbq on whitehou...
bbq on whitehouse lawn's picture

Under a central planned economy what else are they going to talk about. Its all good untill its not, then the singlarity happens, the point we cant see beyond. Just like the USSR couldnt see the day a member of their commity would say "We are opening up to the west imediately". That night 3 million people packed their bags and left for the border.
You see, its was just a miscomunication yet end the USSR did.
Its not the trigger thats important its any trigger can and will set off what cant be stopped.

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 22:34 | 6529718 Rearden-Steel
Rearden-Steel's picture

I am guessing whatever you consider is the "financial community" is a community I don't want to associate with anyhow.

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 00:42 | 6530091 Sweet Cheeks
Sweet Cheeks's picture

Rearden,
You are already participating in a financial community right here in the comment section of ZH.

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 23:38 | 6529931 Ms No
Ms No's picture

"ZH is in a kind of Neverland between comedy articles like this and true brilliance such as the Comex article earlier today."

I know, isnt it great? As far as this credibility issue.... You mean credibility like CNBC?  Credible like man mande global warming?  Credible like people who are unaware of the geopolitical shitstorm that is already under way?  Who the hell cares about being credible to a bunch of idiots?  A contrarian will never be overconcerned about credibility, that's for people who are trying to kiss ass to the mainstream for some scraps off of their table.  

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 12:00 | 6531471 PTR
PTR's picture

Plus, ZH shouldn't be one's sole source of info.  [never put all your eggs in one basket]

There's lots of good stuff out there if you look.

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 23:56 | 6529971 Calmyourself
Calmyourself's picture

Iamjoespacreas is probably right but that does not mean you shouldn't be able to do normal light to heavy home maintenance..

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 00:36 | 6530063 Sweet Cheeks
Sweet Cheeks's picture

Pancreas,
You might need to do a little more study before you tackle subjects you know nothing about.

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 10:09 | 6530903 e_goldstein
e_goldstein's picture

 No wonder ZH lacks credibility among many in the financial community.

 Yeah, too bad the financial community lacks credibility with anyone who still has a pulse and a couple of functioning neurons. Fuck off shyster.

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 22:15 | 6529655 Latitude25
Latitude25's picture

Long ocean sailing and fishing skills.  A big plus for uninhabited islands with pleantiful fish. This reduces the need to ever have to fire a defensive shot.

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 23:44 | 6529941 Billy the Poet
Billy the Poet's picture

Remember Diego Garcia.

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 23:44 | 6529943 falconflight
falconflight's picture

Related to Carmen San Diego?

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 23:50 | 6529959 Billy the Poet
Billy the Poet's picture

Distant cousins like Donald and Hillary.

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 00:57 | 6530115 falconflight
falconflight's picture

Met on the Love Boat, and the rest is history.

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 22:15 | 6529664 Soul Glow
Soul Glow's picture

Buy silver first so you have post collapse money.  Then buy an axe and start chopping wood everynight.  You'll be fine.

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 22:22 | 6529684 Dragon HAwk
Dragon HAwk's picture

skip the axe, and buy a Bow saw instead, and extra blades, hatchet for kindling if you ain't got one

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 22:42 | 6529758 ToSoft4Truth
ToSoft4Truth's picture

Canned goods and a taser.  The unprepared shall chop for thee. 

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 23:48 | 6529951 Billy the Poet
Billy the Poet's picture

Why adopt the attitude of those who created the corrupt system after that system has failed? That's no way to make the best use of your freedom.

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 23:55 | 6529969 THX 1178
THX 1178's picture

powdered milk and ninja stars

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 02:58 | 6530268 August
August's picture

You can never have too many ninja stars.

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 00:28 | 6530053 Sweet Cheeks
Sweet Cheeks's picture

To soft,
Chopping wood.
Love the idea of teaching a trade to the ne'er-do-wells. They might even turn out to be keepers when they acquire a skill other than banditry.

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 00:56 | 6530113 falconflight
falconflight's picture

....and pussy will even be cheaper!  Good times

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 00:28 | 6530051 general ambivalent
general ambivalent's picture

I think he was suggesting the axe now for the exercise. And there's not much better exercise than chopping wood (lifting heavy weights as in powerlifting and olympic lifting, and mixed martial arts are the other top exercise programs, I think).

As for after the collapse, both saw and axe have advantages. The saw can save you energy, requires less skill, and can be used after dark, but it is fragile, quite difficult to sharpen, and is not as versatile. The axe, if you can get good with it, will cut just as well as a saw while having versatility, strength, and potential as a weapon. And it's pretty tough to split wood with just a hatchet.

You will also learn more about wood by practising with an axe. And probably the greatest advantage of the axe is that it alone can be used to make long-term shelters and wooden implements (fence posts, tool handles, etc.; the saw can't. Of course, choose what you think is best for your situation, but if you want to get an axe here is an interesting discussion on what to look for:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/844996-If-only-one-axe-(or-only-two-or-only-three-axes)

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 00:55 | 6530108 falconflight
falconflight's picture

I'm really learning hands on about this.  I can better understand why life expectancies were far shorter than today just based on the energy expended day in and day out just to meet basic survival needs.  I can honestly say I've split several cords of wood in the past couple of years, but even with a chain saw, it is a lot of work and the older you get, the less likely most can do it even if you know how.  Humbling and enlightening for me personally.  I  like to view this part of our journey as rediscovering being an American (More self sufficiency and less dependency), versus a cow tagged Merikan.

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 01:18 | 6530144 general ambivalent
general ambivalent's picture

Yes, I'm clearing some new trails right now and even that is hard work. But splitting, felling, and bucking are simply tasks that most people would not have the energy for these days. It is an incredible amount of work, but also much more rewarding than the repetitive labour most are forced to do now. You are correct that it is an important part of American history and culture, Americans (and Canadians) perfected the axe, and the lumbermen had some great stories.

It really does take a community to survive, very few could make it on their own as the workload can become too much and access to food left to fate. Interesting and humbling times.

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 01:30 | 6530165 falconflight
falconflight's picture

I get more a feeling of accomplishment splitting wood than I almost ever felt working in an office for so many years.  The change in perspective is reward in itself.

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 11:18 | 6531247 Calmyourself
Calmyourself's picture

If I could post pictures I have almost ten cord split and stacked, its beautiful...

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 13:05 | 6531732 falconflight
falconflight's picture

Holy Shit! 10 Cords!  I'm way behind this summer, I've been nursing an injured leg, in earlier times, that would mean possible death for the family.  

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 00:31 | 6530062 general ambivalent
general ambivalent's picture

Also, Dudley Cook's "The Ax Book" has some of the best information available on use and care for axes and saws. Get Mors Kochanski's "Bushcraft" is you want the introductory version.

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 22:18 | 6529671 Fukushima Fricassee
Fukushima Fricassee's picture

Damn

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 22:21 | 6529677 Dragon HAwk
Dragon HAwk's picture

a Good start for a Prepper plan, is the Ability to survive 30 days isolated with no electric, region wide for 30 days in any  season.. master that and extending it another 30 or 60 days is a piece of cake.. my favorite is the coffee can emergency stove. one gallon ziplock load of twigs and you can cook supper or make coffee. and yes get to know your neighbors.

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 23:10 | 6529861 coast
coast's picture

I got to know my neighbors.....thus I bought more ammo.  lol

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 23:29 | 6529917 duo
duo's picture

Most of my neighbors are over 65, but there is an ex-Army 30-something across the street from me that is so lazy he won't mow his lawn or paint his house.  Being ex-military doesn't mean resourceful.

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 23:32 | 6529922 falconflight
falconflight's picture

Doesn't mean shit actually. the overwhelming majority of the uniformed forces aren't/weren't within the combat arms.  They'd might as well be working in the post/base EEO office.

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 22:22 | 6529679 Ms No
Ms No's picture

Six months?  Is that a the glass is half full kind of thing?   I completely agree with the HAM radio suggestion, even if the shit doesn't hit the fan that's a great hobby.  I would get the real deal though, what's the point of having a Ham if you can't mess with people in Japan?  That is something you may want a backup for, remember there may not be internet.  I would go with a 100 W and 5 W back up maybe.

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 22:22 | 6529685 ToSoft4Truth
ToSoft4Truth's picture

Here’s the bottom line.

The people will gravitate to the food.

If you don’t feed them, government will….

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 23:03 | 6529840 falconflight
falconflight's picture

Not for very long at all, and not for many actually.  The "government" doesn't and never will have the capacity to feed the nation.  That's insane.  Anyway, the "government" will feed the government first and last should the worst occur.  

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 23:12 | 6529865 ToSoft4Truth
ToSoft4Truth's picture

It's called an army and it's your food they’ll take.  Maybe you specifically will escape, but in general the others will work with government and turn the preppers in for hoarding or some other frivolous law.  A few badges will flash and the supplies are gone. 

Look to Syria.  That’s what happens when bombs start falling on our heads. 

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 23:30 | 6529920 falconflight
falconflight's picture

Yup.  If they Have a uniform...  Pop!

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 22:25 | 6529690 Seasmoke
Seasmoke's picture

Wake me when collapse has happened. I couldn't be any more ready if I said "Pull It" myself.

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 22:49 | 6529700 cowdiddly
cowdiddly's picture

Everyone is different but prepping depends on your ability , expected comfort level and what you expect to happen as you cannot possibly cover every possible scenario. My actual prep really only consist of 4 item that may sound strange to some, but I have lived wiithout or know how to make or acquire anything else I need. I like to travel light.

1. a good fighting knife and striker flint.

2. 1 22 mag rifle with 2 brick of shells w my homemade lawn mower muffler on the end.

2. garden seed

3.  1  roll of lead roof flashing. ( for inserting into key points in buckskin clothes ie crotch, neck and armpit areas)

Ill let the rest of you go to Ok Corral and live by the sword, Im going to my mountain where I have always felt perfectly at home. yOu will not see me unless i want you too and i leave no sign.

see you on the other side ;7)

 

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 22:56 | 6529814 techpreist
techpreist's picture

Re: garden seed, if you haven't planted before, now's a great time to start with some indoor plants. This was my first year with outdoor (started back in April) and learned a lot about what's needed to keep plants healthy and actually get some food out of them. Currently we're saving up to get out of the apartment because even a 2,000 sf back yard would be a huge improvement over the tiny 10 sf balcony garden we have now.

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 23:01 | 6529834 falconflight
falconflight's picture

Got to recogize the fragility of the just in time logistics system within the US.  It means certain death within a few weeks for tens of millions, with almost no notice.

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 23:31 | 6529844 cowdiddly
cowdiddly's picture

Heck I was raised out of garden, and still farm a little. Here are some survival suggestions. Squash- grows fast something to eat in short time 40-45 days. An Indian parching type corn, smaller and grows without heavy fertilization and a hand full of parched corn can keep you feeling full  and going a while. Old 1800s type whipporwill peas- the dang things will grow in a drought and a legume that make their own nitrogen. Your favorite bean, also legume, in about 60 days. Okra, likes hot and dry- some pods every day!Just for thoughts and adjust for climate of course.

Oh =and wood ashes is your source for potash (ashes also good with water to soak hides to remove the hair or if you have fat, usually hard to come by in nature, you can make lye soap!) rotting logs for the Phos. You can sometimes see tiny specks glowing at night in them. Nitro= manure,fish, composted or decayed matter ect. Those 3, all you usually need.

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 02:36 | 6530246 El Vaquero
El Vaquero's picture

OMG, okra!  I have 6 plants and holy hell are they yielding.  I should have picked today, there is probably another 3 or 4 lbs on them. 

 

And the wood ash is a valuable substance in the absence of industrial society.  Another use for it is making hominy.  Even if you don't like hominy, the process of making unlocks the niacin in the corn so that your body can absorb it.  If you wind up where corn is one of your staples, this is very important.  People who have a simple diet where corn is one of the staples who don't nixtamalize it (make it into hominy,) wind up getting pellagra, which can be deadly.  Here is a video on making hominy with wood ash:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2NUqlsdZCE

 

And no, that's not me, but I do grow my own corn and use that method.  It works quite well, and people that have tried my posole would rather have my hominy than anything from the store.  The many colors of corn makes it different too.

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 23:08 | 6529850 spanish inquisition
spanish inquisition's picture

Most preppers will bite it pretty quickly. Yoiu need to work at being "self sufficient" as you can now. Agreed, having a shit load of seeds and ammo in a bunker and never starting a garden or shooting a gun regularly hinders your ability to survive. The above lists are pretty good but you need to add tools. Don't forget to addstuff to fix things that you can't get like tap kits.

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 23:11 | 6529851 spanish inquisition
spanish inquisition's picture

Dupe post. Just being prepared and self sufficient. **edit: and beer brewing supplies which would explain context and spelling errors***

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 23:17 | 6529880 duo
duo's picture

You'd be surprised how few people even know what food looks like while it's growing. Another skill is to know edible weeds.  I've cultivated a dandilion variety that handles hot weather.  Bitter, I know, but more vitamins than just about any other leafy plant.

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 23:50 | 6529928 cowdiddly
cowdiddly's picture

yes burdock, ramps, watercress, cattaill shoots, clover, sheepsorrel bunches of stuff if you can id. Acorns if soaked for a month in a stream till black to remove the tannins.and bitterness and ground for flour. Vitamin c is hard to come by in wild sometime. Very tips of pine needles are hard  to want to eat and bitter but loaded in vitamin c in a pinch. and rose hips/wild cranberry in north if you find em.

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 23:51 | 6529961 falconflight
falconflight's picture

Western societies are delusionally detached from understanding the food chain.  We're personally getting a lesson in humbleness by attempting to grow some of our own, chicken husbandry, and conscious efforts to acquire food w/o a super market.  It ain't easy.

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 23:59 | 6529982 techpreist
techpreist's picture

Reminds me of grad school; in the summertime you could wander into the deep woods of the local park, where no one is looking (except for international grad students, who were more likely to be like-minded), and haul out 5 lbs. of mulberries. Among many other edibles.

Years ago I thought it was kind of odd when one of the other grad students struck a deal with his landlord to grow a 500 sf garden behind the parking lot. After we had a dinner of some of the harvest, it made plenty of sense. Why not grow dozens of pounds of high-quality food at low cost, and have something better to do than watch TV?

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 23:39 | 6529934 silver_stacker
silver_stacker's picture

Survival Seed Vault - Heirloom Emergency Survival Seeds - Plant a Full Acre Crisis Victory Garden - 20 Easy-to-grow Varieties

 

  • 20 Varieties Of Hardy Heirloom Survival Seeds Passed Down From Our Forefathers.
  • Survival Seeds Rated For 5+ Years Of Storage At 75 Degrees F, Even Longer At Lower Temperatures.
  • No Hybrids, GMOs, or Outdated Survival Seeds. All Harvested Seeds Are Reusable.
  • Each Seed Vault Is Hand-inspected And Packed By Our American Staff To Ensure Quality.
  • Includes Detailed Survival Seed Saving Instructions

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FEL0JOW/ref=pe_225750_140814190_em_1...

 

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 02:43 | 6530254 El Vaquero
El Vaquero's picture

A much better option: 

 

Go to all of the local nurseries and pick up open pollinated seeds for multiple things.  If they have 3 or 4 cultivars for one kind of plant, get all 3 or 4.  If you can find a place that sells local cultivars, especially if it is a landrace, get some.  Order seeds. Don't just get a large variety of vegitables, i.e. carrots, cabbage, etc... Get a lot of varieties of each crop.  If you haven't grown a big garden before, you probably don't know what will work well in your area.  Variety is a hedge against that.  Next, go start reading up on amending your soil.  Figure that if you're going to need those seeds, you aren't going to be getting much in the way of commercial fertilizer.  Look for stuff in your area that you could get ahold of without industrial equipment.  After that, next spring, plant a lot of the seed, and start reading up on seed saving.  Let cultivars cross.  Nobody will give a shit about cultivar purity if you get to keep your own seed bank that has enough genetic variability to roll with new and unexpected things, yet the stuff that does terrible in your area has already been killed off. 

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 04:09 | 6530336 Dragon HAwk
Dragon HAwk's picture

get the reference book seed to seed.. tells you how to take the plant all the way to it's seeding stage. priceless if there is a real pinch

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 00:21 | 6530039 Sweet Cheeks
Sweet Cheeks's picture

Cowdiddly,
That 22 Mag wouldn't be an Anschulz would it?
SC

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 00:52 | 6530096 cowdiddly
cowdiddly's picture

no I have a discontinued  BRNO ZKM- 611 auto from east Europe, Checz I think, takedown and sweet, and a Winchester 94/22M lever, from Conneticut also no longer made.

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 00:38 | 6530080 general ambivalent
general ambivalent's picture

A good point in knowing how to do without. And also, how to deal with family members who may not be at that point. What will you do when your daughter mentally crashes from lack of iPhoning?

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 02:11 | 6530228 TeaClipper
TeaClipper's picture

Lets hope you never need your maths skills, counting to 4 seems a bit of an issue for you. And watch that lead, it will shrivvel your nutz like there is no tomorrow (pardon the pun)

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 22:29 | 6529704 coast
coast's picture

 I think its good to be prepared and live self sufficient as possible even if nothing happens. But we all know something is going to happen, we just dont know exactly when and to what extent. 

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 22:30 | 6529705 venturen
venturen's picture

should we get a leather body suit like that girl in Resident Evil?

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 22:37 | 6529734 Al Huxley
Al Huxley's picture

Only if you're a physically fit and reasonably attractive woman.

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 22:43 | 6529760 greenskeeper carl
greenskeeper carl's picture

Hahaha I don't think there are a whole lot of those lurking around the comment section of ZH....

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 00:18 | 6530027 Sweet Cheeks
Sweet Cheeks's picture

Greenskeeper,
You might just be surprised who hangs around the ZH comment section.
SC

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 22:33 | 6529715 Goldilocks
Goldilocks's picture

Hysterical scene from History Of The World Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Db3e8Qw9hhs (9:47)

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 22:36 | 6529726 pacu44
pacu44's picture

Six months? thought this shit was ending Monday, Sept 23, wait Oct 1, Oct 7, wait, no, 11/3, no 11/5... Make up your damn minds...

 

Starting to believe the fear porn is propoganda for the PM dealers.... alway pushing this out as we can count the minutes....

 

Done....

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 23:19 | 6529888 ToSoft4Truth
ToSoft4Truth's picture

Type 09-23-2015 into Google Maps.  It's over. 

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 01:24 | 6530157 general ambivalent
Thu, 09/10/2015 - 02:46 | 6530258 El Vaquero
El Vaquero's picture

LOL

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 22:36 | 6529727 MATA HAIRY
MATA HAIRY's picture

I sure hope there is an economic crisis...then I can buy stocks at a low low price...but as for all the other stuff in your article...umm...nope...not gonna happen.

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 00:32 | 6530065 Sweet Cheeks
Sweet Cheeks's picture

Mata, never say never.mm

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 22:37 | 6529733 adr
adr's picture

Are you within one day's drive of a ghetto area?

If so load up on ammo. Watch I am Legend for tips how to survive the first 48 hours of the attack. If you make it past 48 hours 90% of the ghetto types will be dead and you are probably home free.

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 22:58 | 6529826 falconflight
falconflight's picture

See all dark clouds have a silver lining.  :)

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 01:37 | 6530175 Manthong
Manthong's picture

Since Clinton's 1994 Section 8, MOST of us live within just a few miles of a ghetto area.

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 01:46 | 6530195 falconflight
falconflight's picture

Section 8 was suppose to dilute concentrations of da oppressed, but often they still seek out areas where their type already live.  

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 02:47 | 6530261 El Vaquero
El Vaquero's picture

Some of the ghettos in my neck of the woods are... different.  Some of the ghetto rats have relatives who still grow some of their own food and the land to do it. 

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 22:38 | 6529737 opt out
opt out's picture

"To survive you must become your own farmer."

bah humbug. cannabalism ftw. the free shit army will taste like veal so:

Salt & Pepper. Dip in flour, beaten egg, then seasoned breadcrumbs (I usually use basil and oregano). Pan fry until just browned on each side. Layer with sauce in ovenproof shallow baking dish. Sprinkle with a mixture of mozz. and parm. cheese and broil until cheese is melted and browned. Maybe with a nice glass of Cabernet or Merlot.

If ya can't beat, eat 'em


Wed, 09/09/2015 - 23:48 | 6529955 ShakaZulu
ShakaZulu's picture

"the free shit army will taste like veal"  

I'm thinking more chicken-like

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 05:22 | 6530369 pocomotion
pocomotion's picture

to help with the tenderizing -- one could use the bottom of a toothbrush handle.  Note: it will wear out your arms...

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 22:38 | 6529738 10mm
10mm's picture

6 months, 6 seconds, 6 years,  6 days. If treason is not addressed  by now, it won't matter.

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 10:43 | 6529807 22winmag
22winmag's picture

Where is the fictional Gabriel from Swordfish when we need him?

 

I'm referring to the part wherein he shoots the treasonous Senator Reisnman through the heart.

 

How about some real Gabriels?

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 22:41 | 6529753 FreeNewEnergy
FreeNewEnergy's picture

Buy extra stuff every time you go to shopping. An extra can of beans, tuna, or canned meat. Not all that expensive right now, but could become worth a pre-64 silver quarter in six months, so 60 cents to a few bucks of fiat is a good buy right now.

I also buy lots of stuff at Dollar Tree, the only one of the dollar stores in which evrything is a dollar. 6 oz. bags of coffee (even hazelnut), bags of trail mix, nut mixes, canned fruits and vegetables, all each a buck.

I think the gun stuff is really on the fringe of lunacy. If it gets to the point where we need to defend ourselves, I believe my neighbors would hand me a gun and just tell me where to aim. We're out in the country, lots of farmers, hunters, etc. The wrong people come around, I'm counting on my neighbors to shoot them. Otherwise, I am willing to take people out with a knife, rock, whatever, in close combat.

But, seriously, in the cities, yeah, things will get wild (already are in most). Out in the countryside, not so much.

Just read Adam Fergusson's "When Money Dies," about the Weimar experience. He said, in no uncertain terms, that people in the rural areas didn't suffer nearly as much, until mobs from the cities began to come out and slaughter livestock and steal grain stores and such. Get out of cities, and don't wait six freaking months, FFS.

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 22:56 | 6529820 falconflight
falconflight's picture

A lot of Left wing faggots, a/k/a PutinHasbraTrinas and other scum, Goebbels-Mohammedans, junking an obviously prudent minimum plan of action, that in fact used to be a cultural norm within the American society.  Russian pussies, can't even squirt a viable spermatozoa anymore.

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 00:35 | 6530071 falconflight
falconflight's picture

I was just venting, but I have to admit that in near collapse, the average Russian, especially outside of the largest cities would be best prepared to survive, as the hinterlands were always on the short end of material conveniences, including a variety of food at the local food store.

A considerable number of Russians even in the cities, still maintain those "victory gardens" to supplement their diets, again due to a lack of variety and price constraints.  They, the Russians, have recent experience w/ calamity after the USSR collapse.  I've read where affordable food, basic consumer goods, and even reliable electricity/heat became a common challenge in those few years after the collapse.  Americans have no similar intact cultural memory of such times...anything pre WWII when a majority of the population was poor, and outside of cities, not unlikely to have no electricity or in door plumbing or much in the way of food beyond that available locally.

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 03:54 | 6530324 dreadnaught
dreadnaught's picture

sounds like your DNA source...lol

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 02:53 | 6530264 El Vaquero
El Vaquero's picture

I've come close to having to shoot people on two different occasions, and that was before the economy went full zombie.  Even during normal times, the gun stuff has saved my ass.  When shit goes south, it goes south fast and you don't want to have to rely on a neighbor. 

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 09:33 | 6530777 buffed
buffed's picture

Wow!  My survival plan just got a lot easier, I'll let "Free New Energy" go through all the expense and hassle of getting prepared.  Then when the SHTF I'll run to his house and take everything.  That is unless his "neighbors" haven't already beat me to it and grabbed it all.

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 01:47 | 6529766 buffed
buffed's picture

The suggestion that one should get friends/family involved depends on their viewpoints.  My family already looks at me a little skeptically for my non-pc gun collection, my bearish view of the economy, and my nudging them to make even rudimentary preparations in the event of hard times.  Persuading them to make proper preparations isn't going to happen.  In fact, if things go bad I'm not only going to have to take care of myself but all of them.  I suspect most people reading this are in the same boat.

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 22:51 | 6529793 22winmag
22winmag's picture

Prepare?

 

The time to bury your guns is the time you should be digging them up.

 

You know where I stand on 100-can cases of sardines.

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 01:21 | 6530150 DirkDiggler11
DirkDiggler11's picture

You just don't fuck with a man and his sardines....

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 22:53 | 6529804 q99x2
q99x2's picture

Find Two Family Members, Two Friends and One Neighbor Of Like Mind

I have lots of family members, don't know who the neighbors are except the one drives a police vehicle and have the two friends covered. Only thing is I haven't told anyone about Q99X2 yet.



Wed, 09/09/2015 - 22:59 | 6529828 Rabbit rancher
Rabbit rancher's picture

Love country life ,you cant even see the world from here!

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 22:59 | 6529830 erg
erg's picture

I haven't got a prayer. Few like minded people to possibly organize with, stuck in a city. My so called prepping is beyond half-assed. A can of beans here or there, some saltines perhaps. I've tried to run the gammit in my mind - prepping in, prepping-out and as many grey scales I can imagine. I don't see many positive vectors really but I guess the onus is on me to change that as stated above.

There is a certain sense of liberation when you realize that you really may die. I find the realization calming somehow, like I can make some of the fear go away.

In every work of art I create I must perforce place one flaw, else there is no work at all. - Kaseryn of the Gyre

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 23:46 | 6529948 astitchintime
astitchintime's picture

+1 I like your attitude.

Maybe I'll see ya later on up the road ;)

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 00:02 | 6529993 erg
erg's picture

I look forward to meeting you there. Perhaps we are quantumly entangled. Stranger things have come to pass.

If you want to see what is coming to some extent, try and find the irony of it all.

The Universe is chalked full of the deepest, cringe-worthy irony.

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 23:02 | 6529838 ToSoft4Truth
ToSoft4Truth's picture

After the EMP and lights out, the genetically modified animals will be let loose.   It’s going to be scary as hell.  Dolly was cloned 25 years ago, we hear nothing of cloning now a days.   Just vanished. 

Owls with human faces screeching all the time.  Flying monkeys.

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 23:27 | 6529910 falconflight
falconflight's picture

Why didn't you mention the five assed monkeys?  How come?  

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 02:11 | 6530227 Hapte
Hapte's picture

ToSoft, you are a fear pornographer auteur!

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 23:03 | 6529841 OhNo
OhNo's picture

Way to late for say 90 percent. Youtuber Planet 7x Gill Broussard this guy might rock your world.

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 23:08 | 6529857 cornflakesdisease
cornflakesdisease's picture

There will be no collapse.  There is no profit in collapse and no one gets paid in a collapse.

Ah yes, collapse-a-tarians.

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 23:18 | 6529887 erg
erg's picture
“The illusion of freedom will continue as long as it's profitable to continue the illusion. At the point where the illusion becomes too expensive to maintain, they will just take down the scenery, they will pull back the curtains, they will move the tables and chairs out of the way and you will see the brick wall at the back of the theater.”


Frank Zappa

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 11:15 | 6531235 Rusty Shorts
Rusty Shorts's picture

Ah yes, Zappa had it right back in 1984, very interesting interview with Zappa.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0F174HJpRI

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 00:10 | 6530015 Sweet Cheeks
Sweet Cheeks's picture

Cornflakes,
Collapse-ain't gonna happen.
Is that the same advice you gave to the refugees feeing Syria or North Africa?

Fri, 09/11/2015 - 17:14 | 6537700 cornflakesdisease
cornflakesdisease's picture

Had Assad gone along with Dollar, Inc. plans for his country, there would have been no collapse.  However, his own folks would have shot him.  Life can be cruel that way.

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 23:19 | 6529889 l8apex
l8apex's picture

As some have pointed out above - if the SHTF, anybody in a big city is going to be fucked.  You won't be getting out.  Full stop.  The lower the population density, the more likely the individuals are to survive.  Think folks out in the middle of nowhere like Elko, NV are going to be in trouble?  They'll be inconvenienced, sure, but they're not going to start shooting each other.

Are you a minority in your own neighborhood?  Not a good situation.  Live in a place like San Francisco, Denver, Miami - if things go bad maybe 5% will survive and they're going to do that by being a disciplined team and killing others.  If you don't have that kind of (military) training and already know who your brothers are, you won't be in that 5%.  

 

 

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 23:26 | 6529905 falconflight
falconflight's picture

Agree w/ much of your post.  Even if you are a majority (white) with a minority population of more than 15%, your going to have to put down a shit load of people, then worry about your fellow whites. 

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 23:21 | 6529895 MASTER OF UNIVERSE
MASTER OF UNIVERSE's picture

This survivalist silliness is futile in light of the fact that populations of people can't go camping for one to three years at a time. Most people in the population will perish. Only the lucky will eek out some semblance of survival away from civilization. Moreover, most will be unprepared, and most will be in a hyper state of panic and hysteria. Contagion will spread like crazy and that in and of itself is unpredictable in the extreme. The CB Ham radio idea is good IMHO. I'm going to buy a Ham radio because of this article.

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 23:24 | 6529898 falconflight
falconflight's picture

In any metro area consisting of more than 50k people yes.  

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 23:47 | 6529950 MASTER OF UNIVERSE
MASTER OF UNIVERSE's picture

Ottawa CANADA has a population of 900k. I have to go to northern Ontario, or Quebec, to find lakes to fish that are not going to be inundated with people from Toronto, or Ottawa. My chance of survival in the necropolis of Ottawa is nil. Ergo, I have to drive north and go camping until the cities are under some sort of control post collapse of all the infrastructure we presently have. The idea of camping for years is not appealing, frankly. I like old Classic movies too.

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 00:03 | 6529998 falconflight
falconflight's picture

In any season except the Summer, isn't it just academic how long anyone could survive in that climate without many of the survival necessities (nevermind food/water) that city dwellers wouldn't even began to understand until it was way too late?  

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 00:16 | 6530023 MASTER OF UNIVERSE
MASTER OF UNIVERSE's picture

I'm a Mechanical Engineering Technician/Tool & Die maker so I can pretty well make anything out of timber except cigarettes and beer. I have to get a hunting licence in order to purchase a shotgun before the collapse. In CANADA's northern climate one needs to hunt BIG game to survive the blistering winter cold temperature calorie wise. In the midst of all the initial struggle to survive on my own I will be battling hundreds of thousands of other CANUCKS for speckle trout and bass, as well as wild turkey. I don't think it will be a fun time up here in cold as a bastard CANADA.

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 00:23 | 6530041 falconflight
falconflight's picture

Your skills would make you very high value in a post shtf world.

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 00:40 | 6530087 MASTER OF UNIVERSE
MASTER OF UNIVERSE's picture

Until 18th century farming is reinstituted after the collapse I will have to be a hunter gatherer upper paleolithic type survivalist that roams by myself or with a very small group of hunter gatherers that are likeminded. If the collapse happens within a few months I won't have time to plan and will end up winging everything along the way. If I make it to the new world of 18th century argicultural farming and find likeminded Luddites my skills will be useful at that juncture but not much at the hunter gatherer stage. I just hope that people realize that 18th century farming is the only solution before people waste too much time on restarting modern civilization again because that ain't going to happen IMHO.

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 00:43 | 6530095 falconflight
falconflight's picture

Can we maybe negoitate for a 19th Century existence?  Just askin ;)

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 02:32 | 6530241 MASTER OF UNIVERSE
MASTER OF UNIVERSE's picture

After the nukes hit we will be faced with nuclear winter. THe only possibility from that stage is back to 18th century farming in enclaves around the world. Western civilization will not survive as we see it now, methinks. If you want 19th century you will be living in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, and you will have to go to Barter Town to get beer & smokes, falconflight.

 

:)

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 13:00 | 6531705 falconflight
falconflight's picture

Population then must revert to maybe 1/10 of the current population, right?

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 04:40 | 6530349 Sir SpeaksALot
Sir SpeaksALot's picture

we dont have the XIXth Century technology for that. we only know more or less what it was, but no working exapmles apart form Amish people.

so any technological hit back will make us go back to more of a XVII Century reality unfortunately...

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 12:58 | 6531698 falconflight
falconflight's picture

Good point, that 19th Century technology simply doesn't exist and continuity of knowledge is gone as well. 

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 00:07 | 6530006 Sweet Cheeks
Sweet Cheeks's picture

Master,
Face it. Unless you are a Husky, you are not going to make it. Go South, young man.

Do NOT follow this link or you will be banned from the site!