Found this post on another blog.
Yep, the guy seems to really know what he is talking about..................NOT!!!!!!!
Anyway, you can make your own mind up.
http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2008/4/22/17266/0477
Monday, July 28, 2008
Monday, July 21, 2008
Videos
I couldn't think of anything to post today so I grabbed some vids off youtube for you guys.
BTW, I didn't make these vids.
BTW, I didn't make these vids.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Post Apocalytic Moonshine
I found this link and it got me thinking about how once TSHTF and gas isn't readily available home-made moonshine would come in handy for both barter and bio fuel.
I know there are laws in certain states/areas(not here in NZ though)restricting the brewing of booze but I'm talking post TSHTF.
It has been recorded that back in the day moonshiners used to run there vehicles on booze!! Makes sense as corn moonshine is basically pure ethanol.
Maybe once things get bad we can still maintain certain machines by running them on home brew.
I personally am against large scale bio fuel production as it is the cause of food shortages, etc but on a small scale it could really be beneficial for the homesteading survivalist.I don't mean for running a fleet of cars or anything.
I mean for things like running rototillers, pumps, chainsaws, etc and it could also be burnt in oil lamps.
Anyway here's the link to the website.
http://www.geocities.com/hankmcintyre/Moonshine.html
I know there are laws in certain states/areas(not here in NZ though)restricting the brewing of booze but I'm talking post TSHTF.
It has been recorded that back in the day moonshiners used to run there vehicles on booze!! Makes sense as corn moonshine is basically pure ethanol.
Maybe once things get bad we can still maintain certain machines by running them on home brew.
I personally am against large scale bio fuel production as it is the cause of food shortages, etc but on a small scale it could really be beneficial for the homesteading survivalist.I don't mean for running a fleet of cars or anything.
I mean for things like running rototillers, pumps, chainsaws, etc and it could also be burnt in oil lamps.
Anyway here's the link to the website.
http://www.geocities.com/hankmcintyre/Moonshine.html
Friday, July 18, 2008
Just a note to all my readers out there.
Today I ordered a copy of "Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse" by James Wesley Rawles.
I have been meaning to order it for a while but I finally got around to it today as I was in town.
It should arrive in 2-3wks and I plan on writing a review for it once I read it.
Cheers
survivalistsam
Today I ordered a copy of "Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse" by James Wesley Rawles.
I have been meaning to order it for a while but I finally got around to it today as I was in town.
It should arrive in 2-3wks and I plan on writing a review for it once I read it.
Cheers
survivalistsam
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
How Much To Store
http://www.endtimesreport.com/how_much_to_store.html
HOW MUCH TO STORE?
The experts at the FDA have said that the average adult will consume the following amounts of fresh food per year.
Meat - 150 to 200 pounds per year
Flour - 200 to 300 pounds
Sugar or honey - 60 pounds
Fats or Oils - 60 pounds
Salt - 5 pounds
Powdered Milk - 75 pounds
Vegetables and Fruits - 600 to 700 pounds
Water - 375 gallons
The figures above are nice guidelines, but they need to be considered from the technical angle of preserved foods rather than fresh foods.
Meat: Under adverse conditions, people can easily get by with less protein than 150 pounds of fresh meat per year, as that averages to almost a half pound per day! A canned, cooked one pound ham, for example, would be a real treat once a week, and easily feed a family of four. For weekday meals for a family of four, a 5 ounce can of tuna, canned chicken, 12 ounce can of luncheon meat, or 12 ounce can of corned beef can be used in a casserole (or whatever) and provide the required protein.
Flour: The listed amount of 200 to 300 pounds of flour per year is fairly realistic, as in catastrophic conditions people would be making their own bread and pasta, for example. Using a hand cranked mill to produce flour from whole wheat is a sure way to limit the amount of flour required, as it is hard work!
Sugar or honey: The recommended 60 pounds is the absolute minimum needed, in reality far below the actual amount desired, as sweeteners are the carbohydrates needed for energy, and survival is hard work. The 60 pounds listed by the FDA does not take into account home canning, for example, and people will need to make jellies and jams and can fruits, all of which require a considerable amount of sugar or honey.
Fats or oils: Again, this is an absolute minimum amount needed, as 60 pounds of fats or oils does not go far when used in baking, frying, and other uses. In hard times, people actually require fat in their diet in order to do hard work. In every country in which food is rationed, cooking oils are one of the first items of scarcity. Indeed, in Russia last fall cooking oils were almost impossible to find, even though not specifically rationed. Corn oil stores for years, and so does plain, inexpensive hydrogenated lard.
Salt: Whoever at the FDA dreamed this up must have been a nutrition Nazi. Five pounds of iodized table salt would be the recommended minimum per person per year, but what about making kraut, salt preserving meat, or preserving fish in a barrel of salt? For those needs, a family should have at least 50 pounds of fine grade, non iodized salt, available for less then $5.00 from a feed and seed store. Salt is essential to life! Remember the salt caravans from the old days in Africa and the middle East? Salt was worth more than gold!
Powdered milk: The 75 pounds recommended per person is fine, but for cooking needs a couple of cases (48 cans) of canned, condensed milk is an absolute necessity.
Vegetables and fruits: In hard times, greens and fruits can indeed be a vital food item, as they provide the vitamins and minerals our bodies require to remain healthy. Storing vegetables and fruits is where a food dehydrator really shines. Combine the dried veggies with fresh greens from a garden and canned fruit juices and sauces, and the 600 pound per year amount becomes far more attainable. Fruit juices may also be canned, and they contain essential vitamins and minerals to keep us healthy.
HOW MUCH TO STORE?
The experts at the FDA have said that the average adult will consume the following amounts of fresh food per year.
Meat - 150 to 200 pounds per year
Flour - 200 to 300 pounds
Sugar or honey - 60 pounds
Fats or Oils - 60 pounds
Salt - 5 pounds
Powdered Milk - 75 pounds
Vegetables and Fruits - 600 to 700 pounds
Water - 375 gallons
The figures above are nice guidelines, but they need to be considered from the technical angle of preserved foods rather than fresh foods.
Meat: Under adverse conditions, people can easily get by with less protein than 150 pounds of fresh meat per year, as that averages to almost a half pound per day! A canned, cooked one pound ham, for example, would be a real treat once a week, and easily feed a family of four. For weekday meals for a family of four, a 5 ounce can of tuna, canned chicken, 12 ounce can of luncheon meat, or 12 ounce can of corned beef can be used in a casserole (or whatever) and provide the required protein.
Flour: The listed amount of 200 to 300 pounds of flour per year is fairly realistic, as in catastrophic conditions people would be making their own bread and pasta, for example. Using a hand cranked mill to produce flour from whole wheat is a sure way to limit the amount of flour required, as it is hard work!
Sugar or honey: The recommended 60 pounds is the absolute minimum needed, in reality far below the actual amount desired, as sweeteners are the carbohydrates needed for energy, and survival is hard work. The 60 pounds listed by the FDA does not take into account home canning, for example, and people will need to make jellies and jams and can fruits, all of which require a considerable amount of sugar or honey.
Fats or oils: Again, this is an absolute minimum amount needed, as 60 pounds of fats or oils does not go far when used in baking, frying, and other uses. In hard times, people actually require fat in their diet in order to do hard work. In every country in which food is rationed, cooking oils are one of the first items of scarcity. Indeed, in Russia last fall cooking oils were almost impossible to find, even though not specifically rationed. Corn oil stores for years, and so does plain, inexpensive hydrogenated lard.
Salt: Whoever at the FDA dreamed this up must have been a nutrition Nazi. Five pounds of iodized table salt would be the recommended minimum per person per year, but what about making kraut, salt preserving meat, or preserving fish in a barrel of salt? For those needs, a family should have at least 50 pounds of fine grade, non iodized salt, available for less then $5.00 from a feed and seed store. Salt is essential to life! Remember the salt caravans from the old days in Africa and the middle East? Salt was worth more than gold!
Powdered milk: The 75 pounds recommended per person is fine, but for cooking needs a couple of cases (48 cans) of canned, condensed milk is an absolute necessity.
Vegetables and fruits: In hard times, greens and fruits can indeed be a vital food item, as they provide the vitamins and minerals our bodies require to remain healthy. Storing vegetables and fruits is where a food dehydrator really shines. Combine the dried veggies with fresh greens from a garden and canned fruit juices and sauces, and the 600 pound per year amount becomes far more attainable. Fruit juices may also be canned, and they contain essential vitamins and minerals to keep us healthy.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Preparations for a Pandemic
This article link was emailed to me by it's author.
Thought it would be good to share it here:
http://hotmedicalnews.com/flu_survivalist.php
Thought it would be good to share it here:
http://hotmedicalnews.com/flu_survivalist.php
Sunday, April 6, 2008
We Need Your Info!!
That's right! We need to hear from you!
Have you read something in the paper or on the internet that concerns survivalism, preparedness, etc? Have you watched a good doco or news piece on anything prep related????
Have you read a good survival genre book and want to right a review for it????
Well if you do then write about it and email me at
survivalistsam@gmail.com
If it is somehow related to survivalism then I'll post it on the blog.
Don't worry you don't have to provide your real name or anything like that.
Just a nickname for me to post is fine.
For example: "Alas Babylon Review by JoeBlogger".
So if you are interested in this then please email me with your ideas!!
Also if you have any ideas/comments about the blog then send them to me!!
I'd love to hear from ya!!!
Cheers for now and keep prepping!
Survivalistsam
Have you read something in the paper or on the internet that concerns survivalism, preparedness, etc? Have you watched a good doco or news piece on anything prep related????
Have you read a good survival genre book and want to right a review for it????
Well if you do then write about it and email me at
survivalistsam@gmail.com
If it is somehow related to survivalism then I'll post it on the blog.
Don't worry you don't have to provide your real name or anything like that.
Just a nickname for me to post is fine.
For example: "Alas Babylon Review by JoeBlogger".
So if you are interested in this then please email me with your ideas!!
Also if you have any ideas/comments about the blog then send them to me!!
I'd love to hear from ya!!!
Cheers for now and keep prepping!
Survivalistsam
Fallout Fundamentals
Fallout Fundamentals
Fallout consists of dust particles that have been coated with radioactive
by-products from atomic explosions. This occurs when the nuclear or atomic
blast is a ground rather than air-burst (air-burst meaning that the fireball
is far enough from the earth's surface that there is no ground material
uptake into the high temperature portion of the mushroom cloud). In an air-
burst the bomb products condensate into such very small particles that they are
aloft for such a long time that they are mostly non-radioactive by the time
they come down, typically months or years. The fission process gives off
hundreds of different radioactive elements and isotopes. Also, a certian
portion of the fission mass does not fission. The fussion portion of nuclear
bombs is clean and gives off only helium, the atomic bomb trigger (fission)
which starts the nuclear bomb (fussion) is the portion of the bomb that leaves
radioactive by-products.
These by-products can be classified by their characteristics. One
characteristic is half-life. The half-life is the length of time it takes for
an element to give off one-half of its total radioactivity. This would also be
the length of time required for a given amount to change to one-half the
radioactive level, in other words if something was giving off radiation that
would yield 3 Rads/hours, after one half-life it would give off 1.5 Rads/hour.
An unstable isotope only emits radioactivity when one atom decays to
another isotope or element (which may or not be stable, stable being non-
radioactive). Therefore the portions of the element that are not in the
process of decaying are not giving off any radioactivity. If you have
"X" number of atoms of a radioactive element, "X/2" of those atoms will give
off their radioactivity in the half-life period and become a different element
or isotope. If an element has a half-life of 1 day, a given amount of it will
give off 1/2 of its total radiation during the 1st day, 1/4 during the second
day, 1/8 the 3rd day, 1/16th the 4th, 1/32 the 5th, 1/64 the 6th, 1/128th the
7th, et cetra. If you have a short half-life like Iodine 131 of 8, days most
of the radioactivity (99+%) will be emitted in two months. In a long half-
life element like plutonium 239 with a 24,400 year half-life, 1,000,000 atoms
would in 24,400 years give of 1/2 of their radioactivity leaving 500,000 atoms
of plutonium 239 at the end of those 24,400 years. 500,000 decays over 24,400
years equals approx. 21 decays per one year.
Another characteristic is the type of radiation given off, Alpha, Beta, or
Gamma radiation. Neutron radiation is only given off by the actual blast
itself and is not given off by the fallout itself. Only neutron radiation
can MAKE something that is not radioactive become radioactive. This is why
fallout can not cause something (like food inside a can) to become radioactive.
Alpha, beta, and gamma radiation can NOT make anything become radioactive.
Alpha radiation (helium nucleus, 2 protrons and 2 neutrons), like from
plutonium, can be shielded with one layer of Cellophane or newspaper or several
inches of air. Beta radiation (an electron) can be shielded by a layer of
drywall, or several feet of air. Gamma radiation is electromagnetic radiation.
Neutron radiation is a neutron and is about twice as hard to stop as Gamma.
Gamma and neutron are harder to stop, you need several feet of dirt or
concrete to absorb them. See below for specifics for stopping Gamma radiation.
One factor that most people don't realize about fallout is how fast it
decays. Fallout follows the t-1.2 law which states that for every sevenfold
increase in time after detonation there is a tenfold drop in radiation output.
Example, a reading of X level of radioactivity at Y hours after detonation
would indicate a level of radioactivity of .1X at 7Y hours after detonation.
This is accurate for 2,500 hours (14 weeks) following the explosion,
thereafter the doserate is lower than t-1.2 would predict. Example, if a
dose rate of 100 REM/hr was found at 1 hour after detonation(this assumes all
significant fallout from the bomb has fallen, therefore starting with the
seven hour point is probably more realistic) would be 10 REM/hr at 7 hours,
1 REM/hr at 49 hours(2 days), .1 REM/hr at 343 hours(2 weeks), .01 REM/hr at
2401 hours (14 weeks). A "survival safe" dose of radiation (this being defined
as no short term effects or disability) is 3 to 12 Rads/day. This dose rate of
3-12 Rads/day can only be taken to an accumulated dose of 150-200 rads if done
day after day. This would occur (assume 6 Rads/day) in this example at 150
hours for 24 hour exposure, or at 49 hours for a 6 hours per day outside of
shelter. Note though that since the level of activity is decreasing the time
spent outside every day would increase. If you increase the radiation by a
factor of 10 for another example would be where you would have 1,000 Rem/hr at
1 hr, 100 Rem/hr at 7 hrs., 1 Rem/hr at 343 hrs., .1 Rem/hr at 2401 hrs. The 24
hour exposure would be at 1,000 hours(41 days) and 6 hour work day outside of
shelter at 300 hours(12 days).
For various levels of contamination a "no short term effects" dose of 6 Rads
per day would be something like this: (for 80 col. printout)(measurements at
boundries of the oval shaped pattern)
Hours from Dose rate Hours of "safe" work outside per day, medical effect
explosion
EXAMPLE A An area 10 miles wide by 30 miles downwind directly downwind
from of a missle field that gets dozens of hits
1 hr. 10,000 R/hr None, 100% dead at 6 minutes of exposure
7 hrs. 1,000 R/hr None, 100% dead at 1 hour of exposure
2 days 100 R/hr None, 50% dead within 3-4 hour continuous exposure
2 weeks 10 R/hr 36 minutes. 50% dead for 2 day continuous exposure.
14 wks(3 mo) 1 R/hr 6 hours/day. 50% dead for 1 month continuous exposure
5% dead for 15 day continuous exposure, no medical care
and no deaths for 1 week continuous exposure.
EXAMPLE B An area 10 miles wide by 30 miles downwind of a single 1 MT
ground burst
1 hr 1,000 R/hr None, 100% dead at 1 hour of exposure
7 hrs. 100 R/hr None, 50% dead within 7-8 hour of continuous exposure
2 days 10 R/hr 36 minutes. 50% dead for 5 days of continuous exposure.
2 week 1 R/hr 6 hours/day. 50% dead for 1 month continuous exposure.
14 weeks 0.1 R/hr All day. 0% deaths from radiation hereafter.
EXAMPLE C An area 12 miles wide by 95 miles downwind for a single 1 MT
ground burst
1 hr radiation has not arrived yet.
7 hrs. 50 R/hr 12 minutes, 50% dead for 18 hour continuous exposure
2 days 5 R/hr. 1 hour, 5% dead for 2 week continuous exposure
2 weeks 0.5 R/hr 12 hours/day.
14 weeks 0.05 R/hr Unlimited.
The above three examples indicate conditions and exposures that would only
be acceptable in wartime. In these examples the wind is continuous in
direction and velocity. A real wind would not make such nice neat ovals. It
should be noted that even in real wind conditions, marching perpendicular to
the depositing wind will remove you from a individual fallout zone.
Here is an example of the levels of contamination from a single 1 MT ground
burst with a 15 MPH wind
Area downwind Arrival Accumulated total radiation dose Dose Rate in Rads/hr
(boundries) time for at
in miles fallout 1 week 4 weeks 15 weeks 100 yrs 7 hrs. 2 days(14 hrs)
33 x 7 1.5 hrs 3000 R 3300 R 3600 R 4600 R 100 R/hr 10 R/hr
95 x 12 5 hrs. 900 R 1200 R 1400 R 1700 R ~50 R/hr 5 R/hr
160 x 18 10 hrs. 300 R 400 R 460 R 650 R not there yet 2 R/hr
245 x 20 16 hrs 90 R 120 R 150 R 240 R not there yet 0.7 R/hr
For shelter from Gamma radiation the standard rule of thumb is 150 pounds of
mass per square foot of cross section of shelter wall yields a PF, protection
factor, of 40. This means if you had two shelters on a flat contaminated field
with one having walls of one layer of cellophane and the other of walls and
ceiling of something that had for its thickness 150 lbs/sq. ft.( note this
would be a thickness of 2.5" of lead, 4" of steel, 12" of concrete, 18" of
soil, 30" of water, 200' of air) you would recieve 1/40th the dose in the 150
lb/sq.ft. walled shelter. This effect can be multiplied. If the sq. ft. cross
section was 300 lbs. that would be 1/40th of 1/40th or 1/1,600th of the
unprotected dose. Take for example a dose rate starting at 100 Rem/hr at 1
hr.,10Rem/hr at 7 hrs.,1 Rem/hr at 49 hours, etc. If exposure started at 1
hour the total dose would be 240 R in 1 day, 310 R in 1 week, 350 R in 4 weeks,
390 R in 15 weeks. The same in a PF 40 shelter would be 6 R in 1 day, 7.7 R
in 1 week, 8.7 R in 4 weeks. The difference would be 5% fatalities-most
others suffering from nausea and taking about 1 month to recover without the
protection versus 0% fatalities-0% sickness with protection of PF40 in this
case.
Another example with a dose rate starting at 1,000 Rem/hr at 1 hr., 100
Rem/hr at 7 hrs., 10 Rem/hr at 49 hours, etc. If exposure started at 1 hour the
total dose would be 2,400 R in 1 day, 3,100 R in 1 week, 3,500 R in 4 weeks,
3,900 R in 15 weeks. This in a 40 PF shelter would be 60 R in 1 day, 77 R in a
week, 87 R in 4 weeks. In a 1,600 PF shelter this would be 1.5 R in 1 day,
about 2 R in 2 weeks, about 2.5 R in 15 weeks. The differences here would be -
no protection = 100% fatalities in several hours - PF 40 = 0% fatalities, 25%
suffer nausea(at the most) with total recovery in 7 days, - PF 1600 no effects.
Please note that protection factor increases as a multiple. If 150 lbs/ft.
sq. = a PF of 40(1/40th or 2.5%), 300 lbs/ft sq. = a PF of 1,600(1/1,600th or
0.0625%), and 450 lbs/ft. sq. = a PF of 64,000(1/64,000th or 0.0015625%)
Typical Swiss domestic shelters have a PF of 16,000 to over 2,500,000.
Fallout consists of dust particles that have been coated with radioactive
by-products from atomic explosions. This occurs when the nuclear or atomic
blast is a ground rather than air-burst (air-burst meaning that the fireball
is far enough from the earth's surface that there is no ground material
uptake into the high temperature portion of the mushroom cloud). In an air-
burst the bomb products condensate into such very small particles that they are
aloft for such a long time that they are mostly non-radioactive by the time
they come down, typically months or years. The fission process gives off
hundreds of different radioactive elements and isotopes. Also, a certian
portion of the fission mass does not fission. The fussion portion of nuclear
bombs is clean and gives off only helium, the atomic bomb trigger (fission)
which starts the nuclear bomb (fussion) is the portion of the bomb that leaves
radioactive by-products.
These by-products can be classified by their characteristics. One
characteristic is half-life. The half-life is the length of time it takes for
an element to give off one-half of its total radioactivity. This would also be
the length of time required for a given amount to change to one-half the
radioactive level, in other words if something was giving off radiation that
would yield 3 Rads/hours, after one half-life it would give off 1.5 Rads/hour.
An unstable isotope only emits radioactivity when one atom decays to
another isotope or element (which may or not be stable, stable being non-
radioactive). Therefore the portions of the element that are not in the
process of decaying are not giving off any radioactivity. If you have
"X" number of atoms of a radioactive element, "X/2" of those atoms will give
off their radioactivity in the half-life period and become a different element
or isotope. If an element has a half-life of 1 day, a given amount of it will
give off 1/2 of its total radiation during the 1st day, 1/4 during the second
day, 1/8 the 3rd day, 1/16th the 4th, 1/32 the 5th, 1/64 the 6th, 1/128th the
7th, et cetra. If you have a short half-life like Iodine 131 of 8, days most
of the radioactivity (99+%) will be emitted in two months. In a long half-
life element like plutonium 239 with a 24,400 year half-life, 1,000,000 atoms
would in 24,400 years give of 1/2 of their radioactivity leaving 500,000 atoms
of plutonium 239 at the end of those 24,400 years. 500,000 decays over 24,400
years equals approx. 21 decays per one year.
Another characteristic is the type of radiation given off, Alpha, Beta, or
Gamma radiation. Neutron radiation is only given off by the actual blast
itself and is not given off by the fallout itself. Only neutron radiation
can MAKE something that is not radioactive become radioactive. This is why
fallout can not cause something (like food inside a can) to become radioactive.
Alpha, beta, and gamma radiation can NOT make anything become radioactive.
Alpha radiation (helium nucleus, 2 protrons and 2 neutrons), like from
plutonium, can be shielded with one layer of Cellophane or newspaper or several
inches of air. Beta radiation (an electron) can be shielded by a layer of
drywall, or several feet of air. Gamma radiation is electromagnetic radiation.
Neutron radiation is a neutron and is about twice as hard to stop as Gamma.
Gamma and neutron are harder to stop, you need several feet of dirt or
concrete to absorb them. See below for specifics for stopping Gamma radiation.
One factor that most people don't realize about fallout is how fast it
decays. Fallout follows the t-1.2 law which states that for every sevenfold
increase in time after detonation there is a tenfold drop in radiation output.
Example, a reading of X level of radioactivity at Y hours after detonation
would indicate a level of radioactivity of .1X at 7Y hours after detonation.
This is accurate for 2,500 hours (14 weeks) following the explosion,
thereafter the doserate is lower than t-1.2 would predict. Example, if a
dose rate of 100 REM/hr was found at 1 hour after detonation(this assumes all
significant fallout from the bomb has fallen, therefore starting with the
seven hour point is probably more realistic) would be 10 REM/hr at 7 hours,
1 REM/hr at 49 hours(2 days), .1 REM/hr at 343 hours(2 weeks), .01 REM/hr at
2401 hours (14 weeks). A "survival safe" dose of radiation (this being defined
as no short term effects or disability) is 3 to 12 Rads/day. This dose rate of
3-12 Rads/day can only be taken to an accumulated dose of 150-200 rads if done
day after day. This would occur (assume 6 Rads/day) in this example at 150
hours for 24 hour exposure, or at 49 hours for a 6 hours per day outside of
shelter. Note though that since the level of activity is decreasing the time
spent outside every day would increase. If you increase the radiation by a
factor of 10 for another example would be where you would have 1,000 Rem/hr at
1 hr, 100 Rem/hr at 7 hrs., 1 Rem/hr at 343 hrs., .1 Rem/hr at 2401 hrs. The 24
hour exposure would be at 1,000 hours(41 days) and 6 hour work day outside of
shelter at 300 hours(12 days).
For various levels of contamination a "no short term effects" dose of 6 Rads
per day would be something like this: (for 80 col. printout)(measurements at
boundries of the oval shaped pattern)
Hours from Dose rate Hours of "safe" work outside per day, medical effect
explosion
EXAMPLE A An area 10 miles wide by 30 miles downwind directly downwind
from of a missle field that gets dozens of hits
1 hr. 10,000 R/hr None, 100% dead at 6 minutes of exposure
7 hrs. 1,000 R/hr None, 100% dead at 1 hour of exposure
2 days 100 R/hr None, 50% dead within 3-4 hour continuous exposure
2 weeks 10 R/hr 36 minutes. 50% dead for 2 day continuous exposure.
14 wks(3 mo) 1 R/hr 6 hours/day. 50% dead for 1 month continuous exposure
5% dead for 15 day continuous exposure, no medical care
and no deaths for 1 week continuous exposure.
EXAMPLE B An area 10 miles wide by 30 miles downwind of a single 1 MT
ground burst
1 hr 1,000 R/hr None, 100% dead at 1 hour of exposure
7 hrs. 100 R/hr None, 50% dead within 7-8 hour of continuous exposure
2 days 10 R/hr 36 minutes. 50% dead for 5 days of continuous exposure.
2 week 1 R/hr 6 hours/day. 50% dead for 1 month continuous exposure.
14 weeks 0.1 R/hr All day. 0% deaths from radiation hereafter.
EXAMPLE C An area 12 miles wide by 95 miles downwind for a single 1 MT
ground burst
1 hr radiation has not arrived yet.
7 hrs. 50 R/hr 12 minutes, 50% dead for 18 hour continuous exposure
2 days 5 R/hr. 1 hour, 5% dead for 2 week continuous exposure
2 weeks 0.5 R/hr 12 hours/day.
14 weeks 0.05 R/hr Unlimited.
The above three examples indicate conditions and exposures that would only
be acceptable in wartime. In these examples the wind is continuous in
direction and velocity. A real wind would not make such nice neat ovals. It
should be noted that even in real wind conditions, marching perpendicular to
the depositing wind will remove you from a individual fallout zone.
Here is an example of the levels of contamination from a single 1 MT ground
burst with a 15 MPH wind
Area downwind Arrival Accumulated total radiation dose Dose Rate in Rads/hr
(boundries) time for at
in miles fallout 1 week 4 weeks 15 weeks 100 yrs 7 hrs. 2 days(14 hrs)
33 x 7 1.5 hrs 3000 R 3300 R 3600 R 4600 R 100 R/hr 10 R/hr
95 x 12 5 hrs. 900 R 1200 R 1400 R 1700 R ~50 R/hr 5 R/hr
160 x 18 10 hrs. 300 R 400 R 460 R 650 R not there yet 2 R/hr
245 x 20 16 hrs 90 R 120 R 150 R 240 R not there yet 0.7 R/hr
For shelter from Gamma radiation the standard rule of thumb is 150 pounds of
mass per square foot of cross section of shelter wall yields a PF, protection
factor, of 40. This means if you had two shelters on a flat contaminated field
with one having walls of one layer of cellophane and the other of walls and
ceiling of something that had for its thickness 150 lbs/sq. ft.( note this
would be a thickness of 2.5" of lead, 4" of steel, 12" of concrete, 18" of
soil, 30" of water, 200' of air) you would recieve 1/40th the dose in the 150
lb/sq.ft. walled shelter. This effect can be multiplied. If the sq. ft. cross
section was 300 lbs. that would be 1/40th of 1/40th or 1/1,600th of the
unprotected dose. Take for example a dose rate starting at 100 Rem/hr at 1
hr.,10Rem/hr at 7 hrs.,1 Rem/hr at 49 hours, etc. If exposure started at 1
hour the total dose would be 240 R in 1 day, 310 R in 1 week, 350 R in 4 weeks,
390 R in 15 weeks. The same in a PF 40 shelter would be 6 R in 1 day, 7.7 R
in 1 week, 8.7 R in 4 weeks. The difference would be 5% fatalities-most
others suffering from nausea and taking about 1 month to recover without the
protection versus 0% fatalities-0% sickness with protection of PF40 in this
case.
Another example with a dose rate starting at 1,000 Rem/hr at 1 hr., 100
Rem/hr at 7 hrs., 10 Rem/hr at 49 hours, etc. If exposure started at 1 hour the
total dose would be 2,400 R in 1 day, 3,100 R in 1 week, 3,500 R in 4 weeks,
3,900 R in 15 weeks. This in a 40 PF shelter would be 60 R in 1 day, 77 R in a
week, 87 R in 4 weeks. In a 1,600 PF shelter this would be 1.5 R in 1 day,
about 2 R in 2 weeks, about 2.5 R in 15 weeks. The differences here would be -
no protection = 100% fatalities in several hours - PF 40 = 0% fatalities, 25%
suffer nausea(at the most) with total recovery in 7 days, - PF 1600 no effects.
Please note that protection factor increases as a multiple. If 150 lbs/ft.
sq. = a PF of 40(1/40th or 2.5%), 300 lbs/ft sq. = a PF of 1,600(1/1,600th or
0.0625%), and 450 lbs/ft. sq. = a PF of 64,000(1/64,000th or 0.0015625%)
Typical Swiss domestic shelters have a PF of 16,000 to over 2,500,000.
Treating for Cold Exposure and Frostbite
Treating for Cold Exposure and Frostbite
The following material may assist you in treating a victim for
exposure to the cold and also how to deal with frostbite. This
information is derived from "Advanced First Aid & Emergency Care,"
2nd edition, by the American Red Cross. To obtain a copy of this
book and to take instruction in first aid, please contact the local
office of the American Red Cross. They are listed in the white
pages of your telephone book.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
The extent of injury caused by exposure to abnormally low
temperature generally depends on such factors as wind velocity,
type and duration of exposure, temperature and humidity.
Freezing is accelerated by wind, humidity or a combination of
the two. Injury caused by cold, dry air will be less than that
caused by cold, moist air or exposure to cold air while wearing wet
clothing. Fatigue, smoking, drinking of alcoholic beverages,
emotional stress and the presence of wounds or fractures intensity
the harmful effects of cold.
SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS
The general manifestations of prolonged exposure to extreme
cold include shivering, numbness, low body temperature, drowsiness
and marked muscular weakness. As time passes there is mental
confusion and impairment of judgment. The victim staggers, his
eyesight fails, he falls and he may become unconscious. Shock is
evident and the victim's heart may develop fibrillation. Death, if
it occurs, is usually due to heart failure.
Frostbite results when crystals form, either superficially or
deeply in the fluids and the underlying soft tissues of the skin.
The effects are more severe if the injured area is thawed and then
refrozen. Frostbite is the most common injury caused by exposure to
the cold elements. Usually, the frozen area is small. the nose,
cheeks, ears, fingers and toes are the most commonly affected.
Just before frostbite occurs, the affected skin may be slight-
ly flushed. The skin changes to white or grayish yellow as the
frostbite develops. Pain is sometimes felt early but subsides
later. Often there is NO pain; the part being frostbitten simply
feels intensely cold and numb. The victim commonly is not aware of
frostbite until someone tells him or until he observes his pale,
glossy skin. The extent of local injury cannot be determined
accurately on initial examination, even after rewarming. The extent
of tissue damage usually corresponds to that in burns. In superfi-
cial frostbite, there will be an area that looks white or grayish
and the surface skin will feel hard but the underlying tissue will
be soft. With deeper involvement, large blisters appear on the
surface, as well as in underlying tissue, and the affected area is
hard, cold and insensitive. Destruction of the entire thickness of
the skin will necessitate skin grafting and will constitute a
medical emergency, because gangrene may result from loss of blood
supply to the injured part.
FIRST AID
The objectives of first aid are to protect the frozen area
from further injury, to warm the affected part rapidly and to
maintain respiration. Formerly, it was recommended that victims of
frostbite be treated by slow warming -- rubbing with snow and
gradually increasing the temperature. But recent studies have shown
conclusively that much better results are obtained if the affected
part is WARMED RAPIDLY in running or circulating water, unless the
part has been thawed and refrozen, in which case it should be
warmed at room temperature (from 70 to 74 degrees Fahrenheit). Do
NOT use excessive heat, as from a stove, hot water bottles, elec-
tric blankets or other devices.
FROSTBITE
1. Cover the frozen part.
2. Provide extra clothing and blankets.
3. Bring the victim indoors as soon as possible.
4. Give him a warm drink (not alcoholic!).
5. Rewarm the frozen part QUICKLY by immersing it in water that
is warm but not hot. Test the water by pouring some over the
inner surface of your forearm or place a thermometer in the
water and carefully add warm water to keep the temperature
between 102 degrees and 105 degrees Fahrenheit. If warm water
is not available or practical to use, wrap the affected part
in a sheet and warm blankets.
6. Handle the area of the frostbite GENTLY and DO NOT MASSAGE IT.
Severe swelling will develop rapidly after thawing. Discon-
tinue warming as soon as the part becomes flushed (turning
red). Once the part is rewarmed, have the victim exercise it.
7. Cleanse the affected area with water and either soap or a mild
detergent (NOT laundry or dishwasher detergent, though; they
can be caustic and cause a chemical burn). Rinse it thorough-
ly. Carefully blot dry with sterile or clean towels. Do NOT
break the blisters.
8. If the victim's fingers or toes are involved, place dry,
sterile gauze between them to keep them separated.
9. Do NOT apply other dressings unless the victim is to be
transported to medical aid.
10. Elevate frostbitten parts and protect them from contact with
bedclothes.
11. Do NOT allow the victim to walk after the affected part thaws,
if his feet are involved.
12. Do not apply additional heat and do not allow the victim to
sit near a radiator, stove or fire. The numbed part may be
severely burned and the victim might never realize it is
happening to him.
13. If a person with frozen feet is alone and MUST walk to get
medical assistance, he should NOT attempt thawing in advance.
14. If travel after receiving first aid is necessary, cover the
affected parts with a sterile or clean cloth.
15. Obtain medical assistance as soon as possible. If the distance
to be covered is great, apply temporary dressings to the hands
if they have been affected by frostbite.
16. Keep injured parts elevated during transportation.
17. If medical help or trained ambulance personnel will not reach
the scene for an hour or more AND if the victim is CONSCIOUS
and NOT VOMITING, give him a weak solution of salt and baking
soda at home or while enroute (1 level teaspoon of salt and
1/2 level teaspoon of baking soda in each quart of water,
neither hot nor cold). Do not give alcoholic beverages. Allow
the victim to sip S-L-O-W-L-Y. Give an adult about 4 ounces (a
half glass) over a period of 15 minutes; give a child from 1
to 12 years old about 2 ounces; give an infant (under 1 year
old) about 1 ounce every 15 minutes. Discontinue giving fluids
if vomiting occurs. Fluid may be given by mouth ONLY if
medical help will not be available for an hour or more and is
not otherwise contraindicated.
PROLONGED EXPOSURE
1. Give the victim artificial respiration, if necessary.
2. Bring the victim into a warm room as quickly as possible.
3. Remove wet or frozen clothing and anything that constricts the
victim's arms, legs or fingers and might interfere with
circulation as the frozen part is thawed and swelling begins.
4. Rewarm the victim rapidly by wrapping him in a warm blanket or
by placing him in a tub of water that is warmed to 102 to 105
degrees Fahrenheit. If a thermometer is not available, make
sure the water is not hot to YOUR hand and forearm.
5. If the victim is conscious, give him hot liquids (but not
alcohol) by mouth.
6. Dry the victim thoroughly if water was used to rewarm him.
7. Carry out the appropriate procedures as described under frost-
bite.
The following material may assist you in treating a victim for
exposure to the cold and also how to deal with frostbite. This
information is derived from "Advanced First Aid & Emergency Care,"
2nd edition, by the American Red Cross. To obtain a copy of this
book and to take instruction in first aid, please contact the local
office of the American Red Cross. They are listed in the white
pages of your telephone book.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
The extent of injury caused by exposure to abnormally low
temperature generally depends on such factors as wind velocity,
type and duration of exposure, temperature and humidity.
Freezing is accelerated by wind, humidity or a combination of
the two. Injury caused by cold, dry air will be less than that
caused by cold, moist air or exposure to cold air while wearing wet
clothing. Fatigue, smoking, drinking of alcoholic beverages,
emotional stress and the presence of wounds or fractures intensity
the harmful effects of cold.
SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS
The general manifestations of prolonged exposure to extreme
cold include shivering, numbness, low body temperature, drowsiness
and marked muscular weakness. As time passes there is mental
confusion and impairment of judgment. The victim staggers, his
eyesight fails, he falls and he may become unconscious. Shock is
evident and the victim's heart may develop fibrillation. Death, if
it occurs, is usually due to heart failure.
Frostbite results when crystals form, either superficially or
deeply in the fluids and the underlying soft tissues of the skin.
The effects are more severe if the injured area is thawed and then
refrozen. Frostbite is the most common injury caused by exposure to
the cold elements. Usually, the frozen area is small. the nose,
cheeks, ears, fingers and toes are the most commonly affected.
Just before frostbite occurs, the affected skin may be slight-
ly flushed. The skin changes to white or grayish yellow as the
frostbite develops. Pain is sometimes felt early but subsides
later. Often there is NO pain; the part being frostbitten simply
feels intensely cold and numb. The victim commonly is not aware of
frostbite until someone tells him or until he observes his pale,
glossy skin. The extent of local injury cannot be determined
accurately on initial examination, even after rewarming. The extent
of tissue damage usually corresponds to that in burns. In superfi-
cial frostbite, there will be an area that looks white or grayish
and the surface skin will feel hard but the underlying tissue will
be soft. With deeper involvement, large blisters appear on the
surface, as well as in underlying tissue, and the affected area is
hard, cold and insensitive. Destruction of the entire thickness of
the skin will necessitate skin grafting and will constitute a
medical emergency, because gangrene may result from loss of blood
supply to the injured part.
FIRST AID
The objectives of first aid are to protect the frozen area
from further injury, to warm the affected part rapidly and to
maintain respiration. Formerly, it was recommended that victims of
frostbite be treated by slow warming -- rubbing with snow and
gradually increasing the temperature. But recent studies have shown
conclusively that much better results are obtained if the affected
part is WARMED RAPIDLY in running or circulating water, unless the
part has been thawed and refrozen, in which case it should be
warmed at room temperature (from 70 to 74 degrees Fahrenheit). Do
NOT use excessive heat, as from a stove, hot water bottles, elec-
tric blankets or other devices.
FROSTBITE
1. Cover the frozen part.
2. Provide extra clothing and blankets.
3. Bring the victim indoors as soon as possible.
4. Give him a warm drink (not alcoholic!).
5. Rewarm the frozen part QUICKLY by immersing it in water that
is warm but not hot. Test the water by pouring some over the
inner surface of your forearm or place a thermometer in the
water and carefully add warm water to keep the temperature
between 102 degrees and 105 degrees Fahrenheit. If warm water
is not available or practical to use, wrap the affected part
in a sheet and warm blankets.
6. Handle the area of the frostbite GENTLY and DO NOT MASSAGE IT.
Severe swelling will develop rapidly after thawing. Discon-
tinue warming as soon as the part becomes flushed (turning
red). Once the part is rewarmed, have the victim exercise it.
7. Cleanse the affected area with water and either soap or a mild
detergent (NOT laundry or dishwasher detergent, though; they
can be caustic and cause a chemical burn). Rinse it thorough-
ly. Carefully blot dry with sterile or clean towels. Do NOT
break the blisters.
8. If the victim's fingers or toes are involved, place dry,
sterile gauze between them to keep them separated.
9. Do NOT apply other dressings unless the victim is to be
transported to medical aid.
10. Elevate frostbitten parts and protect them from contact with
bedclothes.
11. Do NOT allow the victim to walk after the affected part thaws,
if his feet are involved.
12. Do not apply additional heat and do not allow the victim to
sit near a radiator, stove or fire. The numbed part may be
severely burned and the victim might never realize it is
happening to him.
13. If a person with frozen feet is alone and MUST walk to get
medical assistance, he should NOT attempt thawing in advance.
14. If travel after receiving first aid is necessary, cover the
affected parts with a sterile or clean cloth.
15. Obtain medical assistance as soon as possible. If the distance
to be covered is great, apply temporary dressings to the hands
if they have been affected by frostbite.
16. Keep injured parts elevated during transportation.
17. If medical help or trained ambulance personnel will not reach
the scene for an hour or more AND if the victim is CONSCIOUS
and NOT VOMITING, give him a weak solution of salt and baking
soda at home or while enroute (1 level teaspoon of salt and
1/2 level teaspoon of baking soda in each quart of water,
neither hot nor cold). Do not give alcoholic beverages. Allow
the victim to sip S-L-O-W-L-Y. Give an adult about 4 ounces (a
half glass) over a period of 15 minutes; give a child from 1
to 12 years old about 2 ounces; give an infant (under 1 year
old) about 1 ounce every 15 minutes. Discontinue giving fluids
if vomiting occurs. Fluid may be given by mouth ONLY if
medical help will not be available for an hour or more and is
not otherwise contraindicated.
PROLONGED EXPOSURE
1. Give the victim artificial respiration, if necessary.
2. Bring the victim into a warm room as quickly as possible.
3. Remove wet or frozen clothing and anything that constricts the
victim's arms, legs or fingers and might interfere with
circulation as the frozen part is thawed and swelling begins.
4. Rewarm the victim rapidly by wrapping him in a warm blanket or
by placing him in a tub of water that is warmed to 102 to 105
degrees Fahrenheit. If a thermometer is not available, make
sure the water is not hot to YOUR hand and forearm.
5. If the victim is conscious, give him hot liquids (but not
alcohol) by mouth.
6. Dry the victim thoroughly if water was used to rewarm him.
7. Carry out the appropriate procedures as described under frost-
bite.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Hello all.
Found a great link to an article on how to live off the land and hide out in the woods once TSHTF.
http://www.secretsofsurvival.com/survival/live_off_the_land.html
Found a great link to an article on how to live off the land and hide out in the woods once TSHTF.
http://www.secretsofsurvival.com/survival/live_off_the_land.html
Friday, March 28, 2008
Nuclear War Survival Skills
If you can't(or don't want to) buy the book you can read it for FREE here.!!Note: It would be a great idea to buy the book or print it of incase the internet goes down when the crash begins.http://www.ki4u.com/free_book/s73p904.htm
Night Vision Without Batteries
NIGHT VISION
© 2006 RogueTurtle.com
Without Batteries
At night, vision is limited to the existing light from the stars, moon and other man-made sources. In a disaster, the man-made sources may not be available. If you have a fire, you also have light. What if you don't have a fire?At night, without fire or electricity, when the clouds roll in it is VERY DARK in the woods. The only light would be from an occasional hole in the clouds that may (or may not) allow starlight to peek through. If you are used to sleeping with a night-light you may be in trouble.Fear of the DarkFear of the dark is a close cousin to fear of the unknown. If you can't see, you can't travel. On the plus side, if you are evading a group of desperados they can't see either. If you can't see, you can't shoot - at least not accurately. A gunshot in the dark is like a lighthouse on the ocean - "Here I am, shoot me!" To overcome the fear of the dark - and the fear of the unknown, you need to know how to use all your senses, especially your eyes. I know. You've all been seeing things all your life. But how many times did you really have to use them in almost total darkness? Even on the outskirts of any town, the ambient (reflected) light from the town's lights will make enough light to see objects. But, way out in the woods, at night with an overcast sky, the woods seem a lot larger and scarier than they really are. Small noises seem to be amplified, because there is no city noise to dampen out their movements. You can't hear a raccoon going through your garbage if you have the TV on. In the woods, you'll hear the raccoon walking up on you. The best way to take the "unfamiliarity" of the woods out of the picture, is to walk all around your camp before it gets completely dark. Become familiar with the terrain. Now, you know what's there - what the dangers are - and best of all, what's NOT out there. Most noises in the woods come from three sources:1. The weather. Wind blows things around and into each other. I remember my first visit to Florida after being raised in Indiana. My first night there I was absolutely sure there was a major storm outside my room. In the morning, I got up early to check out the storm damage. All it turned out to be was the wind blowing palm branches together in the dark. It sounds just like rain. The more wind, the more noise in the woods. Snow cover acts like a muffler – it can get eerily quiet in the snow. Ice makes dead branches "snap" off of trees and stepping on frozen grass makes a "crunchy" noise. Rain can block out all the noise in the woods. Including the noise you make. 2. Small animals and bugs. The noise at night in some areas is deafening. Crickets can drive you nuts. Frogs and birds call out to each other all night long. Bugs click and night feeding animals step on leaves and branches. Even deer, as agile and nimble as they are, make noise moving through the woods. Raccoons, the thieves of the forest, will find you and check you out. So what?3. Large animals and humans. On the average, there are very few "large" animals per acre in any woods. Most large animals will avoid you anyway. The real danger is from the human animal - the poorest equipped animal in the forest. If you think large animals are noisy, watch humans walking through the woods. Unless they are trained military troops or long-time hunters, it is almost comical.Walking in the woods at night, without making any noise, is almost impossible. Even the ninjas make noise, if you know what to listen for. The key to being silent in the woods at night is S L O W movement. By placing your every step in a spot you KNOW does not contain twigs or leaves, you can move almost silently. It's not a skill practiced by today's youth who hang out at the mall. Rural kids who hunt may have an idea how to do it – and all ex-Special Forces-types will know. Most haven't practiced the skill since their service days. However, unlike animals, most humans who slip and fall make noise. It could be just a "ummph" when hitting the ground, or escalate to a loud string of curses at everything in general. People are used to talking and communicating, even in pain. In the woods, the "ummph" is a dead giveaway not only that you are there, but where you are. But, in the dark, you cannot "SEE" them...or can you?TOTAL DARKNESSUnless you are underground or in a cave, total darkness is rare. Your eyes, while not as well equipped as an owl, can still see something. It's the interpretation of what you see — and how you use your eyes, that can make all the difference in the world.Adaptation (eye)In ocular (eye) physiology, adaptation is the ability of the eye to adjust to various levels of darkness and light.The human eye can function from very dark to very bright levels of light - its sensing capabilities reach across nine orders of magnitude. However, in any given moment of time, the eye can only sense a contrast ratio of one thousand. What enables the wider reach is the eye adapts its definition of what is black. The light level that is interpreted as "black" can be shifted across six orders of magnitude - a factor of one million.The eye takes approximately 30 minutes to fully adapt from bright sunlight to complete darkness and become one million times more sensitive than at full daylight. In this process, the eye's perception of color changes as well. However, it takes approximately five minutes for the eye to adapt to bright sunlight from darkness.THE HUMAN EYEIt is essential in this discussion that you become familiar with the internal structure of the human eye.Of these structures, I will talk mostly about the Retina, where the rods and cones are locatedCornea - the clear, dome-shaped tissue covering the front of the eye. Iris - the colored part of the eye - it controls the amount of light that enters the eye by changing the size of the pupil. Lens - a crystalline structure located just behind the iris - it focuses light onto the retina. Optic nerve - the nerve that transmits electrical impulses from the retina to the brain. Pupil - the opening in the center of the iris- it changes size as the amount of light changes (the more light, the smaller the hole). Retina - sensory tissue lining the back of the eye. It contains millions of photoreceptors (rods and cones) that convert light rays into electrical impulses that are relayed to the brain via the optic nerve. MORE ON THE RETINAThe retina contains two types of photoreceptors, rods and cones. The rods are more numerous, some 120 million, and are more sensitive than the cones. However, they are not sensitive to color. The 6 to 7 million cones provide the eye's color sensitivity and they are much more concentrated in the central yellow spot known as the macula. In the center of that region is the " fovea centralis ", a 0.3 mm diameter rod-free area with very thin, densely packed cones. The cones are what gives us highly detailed vision – but the rods are what enables us to see in the dark. THE BLIND SPOTThe human eye has a blind spot in its field of vision. This lies on the point of the retina where the optic nerve leads back into the brain. The retina has no light-sensitive rods or cones at this point, and so a small object in the field of vision's blind spot becomes invisible. The diagram shows how the optic nerves for left and right eyes are arranged symmetrically, so the blind spot of the right eye lies somewhere right of the center of vision and the blind spot of the left eye lies somewhere off to the left of center. Since the right eye can see whatever lies in the left eye's blind spot, and vice versa, the two eyes together provide complete vision. The brain fills in the "missing" data. Source: OurWorld.Compuserve.comThe bottom figure shows the distribution of rods and cones in the retina. This data was prepared from histological sections made on human eyes. In the top figure, you can relate visual angle to the position on the retina in the eye.Notice the fovea is rod-free and has a very high density of cones. The density of cones falls off rapidly to a constant level at about 10-15 degrees from the fovea. Notice the blind spot which has no receptors.At about 15°-20° from the fovea, the density of the rods reaches a maximum. Remember this if you want to present peripheral stimuli and you want to avoid the blind spot.Scotopic visionScotopic vision is the monochromatic (one color) vision of the eye in dim light. Since cone cells are nonfunctional in low light, scotopic vision is produced exclusively through rod cells, therefore there is no color perception. What this means to us, the "blind as a bat" survivalist, is only parts of our eyes are functioning in the dark. What we do see, will not be in color, but in black and white (shades of gray). Biological night visionIn biological night vision, molecules of rhodopsin in the rods of the eye undergo a change in shape as light is absorbed by them. The peak rhodopsin build-up time for optimal night vision in humans is 30 minutes. Rhodopsin in the human rods is insensitive to the longer red wavelengths of light, so many people use red light to preserve night vision as it will not deplete the eye's rhodopsin stored in the rods. Aviators and submariners have used red lights to maintain night vision for many years. Many flashlights have red plastic inserts for the lens. This lens should be used at night if you want to maintain your night vision. Red light at night does not travel as far as white light. You must use the eye's cones to see color...and at night, the cones don't work. You can see the red light up close, but it fades out the farther away you move the light. Some animals, such as cats, dogs, and deer, have a structure called the tapetum in the back of the eye that reflects light for even better night vision than humans, in which only 10% of the light entering the eye falls on photosensitive parts of the retina. This is the reason animal's eyes reflect brilliant colors when jack-lighted by a bright light. Source: WikipediaProtecting Night VisionWhile working and performing tasks in daylight, the exposure to light directly affects night vision. Repeated exposure to bright sunlight has an increasingly adverse effect on dark adaptation. Exposure to intense sunlight for two to five hours causes a definite decrease in visual sensitivity, which can persist for as long as five hours. This effect can be intensified by reflective surfaces such as sand and snow. At the same time, the rate of dark adaptation and the degree of night vision capability will be decreased. Since these effects are cumulative and may persist for several days, military neutral density (N-15) sunglasses or equivalent filter lenses should be used in bright sunlight when night operations are anticipated. NIGHT GLASSES (Binoculars) Night glasses are telescopes or binoculars with a large diameter objective. Large lenses can gather and concentrate light, thus intensifying light with purely optical means and enabling the user to see better in the dark than with naked eye alone. Often night glasses also have a fairly large exit pupil of 7 mm or more to let all gathered light into the user's eye. However, many people can't take advantage of this because of the limited dilation of the human pupil. To overcome this, soldiers were sometimes issued atropine eye drops to dilate pupils. Before the introduction of image intensifiers, night glasses were the only method of night vision, and thus were widely utilized, especially at sea. In the Second World War, night glasses usually had a lens diameter of 56 mm or more with magnification of seven or eight. Major drawbacks of night glasses are their large size and weight. MAKING NIGHT VISION WORKThere are two factors to good night vision: Eye movement and peripheral vision. You cannot use your eyes at night like you do during the daytime...at least not if you expect to actually see anything. If you "stare" at an object you want to see using the normal focal point of the macula, you CANNOT see it because there are no (or very few) rods in this area of the eye. You have to be able to move your eyes slightly off the normal focus point to activate the rods in your interior eyeball. The key to night vision is to keep your eyes moving. Stationary objects are hard to see, and objects or things moving directly at you from the front are also difficult to see. Your best night vision is from some point to the SIDE of your normal eye focus point (peripheral vision). PERIPHERAL VISION DETECTS MOVEMENTPeripheral vision is a part of vision that occurs outside the very center of gaze. There is a broad set of non-central points in the field of view that is included in the notion of peripheral vision. "Far peripheral" vision exists at the edges of the field of view, "mid-peripheral" vision exists in the middle of the field of view, and "near-peripheral", sometimes referred to as "paracentral" vision, exists adjacent to the center of gaze. Peripheral vision is weaker in humans, compared with other animals, especially at distinguishing color and shape. This is because the density of receptor cells on the retina is greatest at the center and lowest at the edges (see visual system for an explanation of these concepts). In addition, there are two types of receptor cells, rod cells and cone cells; rod cells are unable to distinguish color and are predominant at the periphery, while cone cells are concentrated mostly in the center of the retina (the macula).Peripheral vision is good at detecting motion (a feature of rod cells), and is relatively strong at night or in the dark, when the lack of color cues and lighting makes cone cells far less useful. This makes it useful for avoiding predators, which tend to hunt at night and may attack unexpectedly.An object moving directly away from an observer provides fewer visual cues of movement than it would be moving across the field of view. However, changes in retinal-image size are produced that give a clue to its movement. Thus a stationary, but shrinking, luminous object in the dark is seen as if it were receding. Other clues to movement in depth are changes in the convergence…PRACTICAL NIGHT VISIONNight Vision ScanningDark adaptation or night vision is only the first step toward maximizing the ability to see at night. Night vision scanning enables soldiers to overcome many of the physiological limitations of their eyes and reduce the visual illusions that so often confuse them. The technique involves scanning from right to left or from left to right using a slow, regular scanning movement (Figure K-1). Although both day and night searches use scanning movements, at night soldiers must avoid looking directly at a faintly visible object when trying to confirm its presence. Bleach-Out EffectEven when off-center viewing is practiced, the image of an object viewed longer than two to three seconds tends to bleach out and become one solid tone. As a result, the object is no longer visible and can produce a potentially unsafe operating condition. To overcome this condition, the soldier must be aware of this phenomenon and avoid looking at an object longer than two to three seconds. By shifting his eyes from one off-center point to another, he can continue to pick up the object in his peripheral field of vision.If you are trying to evade, keep this chart in mind and avoid using light sources that attract attention:SHAPE OR SILHOUETTEAt night objects must be identified by their shape or silhouette. Familiarity with the architectural design of structures common to the area of operations determines one's success using this technique. For example, the silhouette of a building with a high roof and a steeple can be recognized in the United States as a church, while churches in other parts of the world may have entirely different architecture. Knowing what shape to look for is an important part of intelligence gathering. Let everyone in your group know what it is they may see at night. While your visual acuity may be only 1/7th of normal daylight vision, you can easily identify the shape of vehicles and personnel walking in the woods. SUMMARYPractice night vision techniques in your own neighborhood. Remember these factors:Keep your eyes moving as shown on the scanning diagram.Don't stare at any object longer than 2 seconds.Use your peripheral vision to detect movement.Know what the shape or silhouette is for common items in your area.Protect your night vision. Expect everything you see to be in black and white, not color.Movement directly away from, or directly toward you is the hardest to see. Keep moving your eyes, even if the object is moving directly toward you. It will take longer to recognize the shape or silhouette of the object than in the daytime. Don't get frustrated, this is normal.Don't forget to scan up, down and from side to side. Humans crawling slowly toward you are very hard to see at night.
© 2006 RogueTurtle.com
Without Batteries
At night, vision is limited to the existing light from the stars, moon and other man-made sources. In a disaster, the man-made sources may not be available. If you have a fire, you also have light. What if you don't have a fire?At night, without fire or electricity, when the clouds roll in it is VERY DARK in the woods. The only light would be from an occasional hole in the clouds that may (or may not) allow starlight to peek through. If you are used to sleeping with a night-light you may be in trouble.Fear of the DarkFear of the dark is a close cousin to fear of the unknown. If you can't see, you can't travel. On the plus side, if you are evading a group of desperados they can't see either. If you can't see, you can't shoot - at least not accurately. A gunshot in the dark is like a lighthouse on the ocean - "Here I am, shoot me!" To overcome the fear of the dark - and the fear of the unknown, you need to know how to use all your senses, especially your eyes. I know. You've all been seeing things all your life. But how many times did you really have to use them in almost total darkness? Even on the outskirts of any town, the ambient (reflected) light from the town's lights will make enough light to see objects. But, way out in the woods, at night with an overcast sky, the woods seem a lot larger and scarier than they really are. Small noises seem to be amplified, because there is no city noise to dampen out their movements. You can't hear a raccoon going through your garbage if you have the TV on. In the woods, you'll hear the raccoon walking up on you. The best way to take the "unfamiliarity" of the woods out of the picture, is to walk all around your camp before it gets completely dark. Become familiar with the terrain. Now, you know what's there - what the dangers are - and best of all, what's NOT out there. Most noises in the woods come from three sources:1. The weather. Wind blows things around and into each other. I remember my first visit to Florida after being raised in Indiana. My first night there I was absolutely sure there was a major storm outside my room. In the morning, I got up early to check out the storm damage. All it turned out to be was the wind blowing palm branches together in the dark. It sounds just like rain. The more wind, the more noise in the woods. Snow cover acts like a muffler – it can get eerily quiet in the snow. Ice makes dead branches "snap" off of trees and stepping on frozen grass makes a "crunchy" noise. Rain can block out all the noise in the woods. Including the noise you make. 2. Small animals and bugs. The noise at night in some areas is deafening. Crickets can drive you nuts. Frogs and birds call out to each other all night long. Bugs click and night feeding animals step on leaves and branches. Even deer, as agile and nimble as they are, make noise moving through the woods. Raccoons, the thieves of the forest, will find you and check you out. So what?3. Large animals and humans. On the average, there are very few "large" animals per acre in any woods. Most large animals will avoid you anyway. The real danger is from the human animal - the poorest equipped animal in the forest. If you think large animals are noisy, watch humans walking through the woods. Unless they are trained military troops or long-time hunters, it is almost comical.Walking in the woods at night, without making any noise, is almost impossible. Even the ninjas make noise, if you know what to listen for. The key to being silent in the woods at night is S L O W movement. By placing your every step in a spot you KNOW does not contain twigs or leaves, you can move almost silently. It's not a skill practiced by today's youth who hang out at the mall. Rural kids who hunt may have an idea how to do it – and all ex-Special Forces-types will know. Most haven't practiced the skill since their service days. However, unlike animals, most humans who slip and fall make noise. It could be just a "ummph" when hitting the ground, or escalate to a loud string of curses at everything in general. People are used to talking and communicating, even in pain. In the woods, the "ummph" is a dead giveaway not only that you are there, but where you are. But, in the dark, you cannot "SEE" them...or can you?TOTAL DARKNESSUnless you are underground or in a cave, total darkness is rare. Your eyes, while not as well equipped as an owl, can still see something. It's the interpretation of what you see — and how you use your eyes, that can make all the difference in the world.Adaptation (eye)In ocular (eye) physiology, adaptation is the ability of the eye to adjust to various levels of darkness and light.The human eye can function from very dark to very bright levels of light - its sensing capabilities reach across nine orders of magnitude. However, in any given moment of time, the eye can only sense a contrast ratio of one thousand. What enables the wider reach is the eye adapts its definition of what is black. The light level that is interpreted as "black" can be shifted across six orders of magnitude - a factor of one million.The eye takes approximately 30 minutes to fully adapt from bright sunlight to complete darkness and become one million times more sensitive than at full daylight. In this process, the eye's perception of color changes as well. However, it takes approximately five minutes for the eye to adapt to bright sunlight from darkness.THE HUMAN EYEIt is essential in this discussion that you become familiar with the internal structure of the human eye.Of these structures, I will talk mostly about the Retina, where the rods and cones are locatedCornea - the clear, dome-shaped tissue covering the front of the eye. Iris - the colored part of the eye - it controls the amount of light that enters the eye by changing the size of the pupil. Lens - a crystalline structure located just behind the iris - it focuses light onto the retina. Optic nerve - the nerve that transmits electrical impulses from the retina to the brain. Pupil - the opening in the center of the iris- it changes size as the amount of light changes (the more light, the smaller the hole). Retina - sensory tissue lining the back of the eye. It contains millions of photoreceptors (rods and cones) that convert light rays into electrical impulses that are relayed to the brain via the optic nerve. MORE ON THE RETINAThe retina contains two types of photoreceptors, rods and cones. The rods are more numerous, some 120 million, and are more sensitive than the cones. However, they are not sensitive to color. The 6 to 7 million cones provide the eye's color sensitivity and they are much more concentrated in the central yellow spot known as the macula. In the center of that region is the " fovea centralis ", a 0.3 mm diameter rod-free area with very thin, densely packed cones. The cones are what gives us highly detailed vision – but the rods are what enables us to see in the dark. THE BLIND SPOTThe human eye has a blind spot in its field of vision. This lies on the point of the retina where the optic nerve leads back into the brain. The retina has no light-sensitive rods or cones at this point, and so a small object in the field of vision's blind spot becomes invisible. The diagram shows how the optic nerves for left and right eyes are arranged symmetrically, so the blind spot of the right eye lies somewhere right of the center of vision and the blind spot of the left eye lies somewhere off to the left of center. Since the right eye can see whatever lies in the left eye's blind spot, and vice versa, the two eyes together provide complete vision. The brain fills in the "missing" data. Source: OurWorld.Compuserve.comThe bottom figure shows the distribution of rods and cones in the retina. This data was prepared from histological sections made on human eyes. In the top figure, you can relate visual angle to the position on the retina in the eye.Notice the fovea is rod-free and has a very high density of cones. The density of cones falls off rapidly to a constant level at about 10-15 degrees from the fovea. Notice the blind spot which has no receptors.At about 15°-20° from the fovea, the density of the rods reaches a maximum. Remember this if you want to present peripheral stimuli and you want to avoid the blind spot.Scotopic visionScotopic vision is the monochromatic (one color) vision of the eye in dim light. Since cone cells are nonfunctional in low light, scotopic vision is produced exclusively through rod cells, therefore there is no color perception. What this means to us, the "blind as a bat" survivalist, is only parts of our eyes are functioning in the dark. What we do see, will not be in color, but in black and white (shades of gray). Biological night visionIn biological night vision, molecules of rhodopsin in the rods of the eye undergo a change in shape as light is absorbed by them. The peak rhodopsin build-up time for optimal night vision in humans is 30 minutes. Rhodopsin in the human rods is insensitive to the longer red wavelengths of light, so many people use red light to preserve night vision as it will not deplete the eye's rhodopsin stored in the rods. Aviators and submariners have used red lights to maintain night vision for many years. Many flashlights have red plastic inserts for the lens. This lens should be used at night if you want to maintain your night vision. Red light at night does not travel as far as white light. You must use the eye's cones to see color...and at night, the cones don't work. You can see the red light up close, but it fades out the farther away you move the light. Some animals, such as cats, dogs, and deer, have a structure called the tapetum in the back of the eye that reflects light for even better night vision than humans, in which only 10% of the light entering the eye falls on photosensitive parts of the retina. This is the reason animal's eyes reflect brilliant colors when jack-lighted by a bright light. Source: WikipediaProtecting Night VisionWhile working and performing tasks in daylight, the exposure to light directly affects night vision. Repeated exposure to bright sunlight has an increasingly adverse effect on dark adaptation. Exposure to intense sunlight for two to five hours causes a definite decrease in visual sensitivity, which can persist for as long as five hours. This effect can be intensified by reflective surfaces such as sand and snow. At the same time, the rate of dark adaptation and the degree of night vision capability will be decreased. Since these effects are cumulative and may persist for several days, military neutral density (N-15) sunglasses or equivalent filter lenses should be used in bright sunlight when night operations are anticipated. NIGHT GLASSES (Binoculars) Night glasses are telescopes or binoculars with a large diameter objective. Large lenses can gather and concentrate light, thus intensifying light with purely optical means and enabling the user to see better in the dark than with naked eye alone. Often night glasses also have a fairly large exit pupil of 7 mm or more to let all gathered light into the user's eye. However, many people can't take advantage of this because of the limited dilation of the human pupil. To overcome this, soldiers were sometimes issued atropine eye drops to dilate pupils. Before the introduction of image intensifiers, night glasses were the only method of night vision, and thus were widely utilized, especially at sea. In the Second World War, night glasses usually had a lens diameter of 56 mm or more with magnification of seven or eight. Major drawbacks of night glasses are their large size and weight. MAKING NIGHT VISION WORKThere are two factors to good night vision: Eye movement and peripheral vision. You cannot use your eyes at night like you do during the daytime...at least not if you expect to actually see anything. If you "stare" at an object you want to see using the normal focal point of the macula, you CANNOT see it because there are no (or very few) rods in this area of the eye. You have to be able to move your eyes slightly off the normal focus point to activate the rods in your interior eyeball. The key to night vision is to keep your eyes moving. Stationary objects are hard to see, and objects or things moving directly at you from the front are also difficult to see. Your best night vision is from some point to the SIDE of your normal eye focus point (peripheral vision). PERIPHERAL VISION DETECTS MOVEMENTPeripheral vision is a part of vision that occurs outside the very center of gaze. There is a broad set of non-central points in the field of view that is included in the notion of peripheral vision. "Far peripheral" vision exists at the edges of the field of view, "mid-peripheral" vision exists in the middle of the field of view, and "near-peripheral", sometimes referred to as "paracentral" vision, exists adjacent to the center of gaze. Peripheral vision is weaker in humans, compared with other animals, especially at distinguishing color and shape. This is because the density of receptor cells on the retina is greatest at the center and lowest at the edges (see visual system for an explanation of these concepts). In addition, there are two types of receptor cells, rod cells and cone cells; rod cells are unable to distinguish color and are predominant at the periphery, while cone cells are concentrated mostly in the center of the retina (the macula).Peripheral vision is good at detecting motion (a feature of rod cells), and is relatively strong at night or in the dark, when the lack of color cues and lighting makes cone cells far less useful. This makes it useful for avoiding predators, which tend to hunt at night and may attack unexpectedly.An object moving directly away from an observer provides fewer visual cues of movement than it would be moving across the field of view. However, changes in retinal-image size are produced that give a clue to its movement. Thus a stationary, but shrinking, luminous object in the dark is seen as if it were receding. Other clues to movement in depth are changes in the convergence…PRACTICAL NIGHT VISIONNight Vision ScanningDark adaptation or night vision is only the first step toward maximizing the ability to see at night. Night vision scanning enables soldiers to overcome many of the physiological limitations of their eyes and reduce the visual illusions that so often confuse them. The technique involves scanning from right to left or from left to right using a slow, regular scanning movement (Figure K-1). Although both day and night searches use scanning movements, at night soldiers must avoid looking directly at a faintly visible object when trying to confirm its presence. Bleach-Out EffectEven when off-center viewing is practiced, the image of an object viewed longer than two to three seconds tends to bleach out and become one solid tone. As a result, the object is no longer visible and can produce a potentially unsafe operating condition. To overcome this condition, the soldier must be aware of this phenomenon and avoid looking at an object longer than two to three seconds. By shifting his eyes from one off-center point to another, he can continue to pick up the object in his peripheral field of vision.If you are trying to evade, keep this chart in mind and avoid using light sources that attract attention:SHAPE OR SILHOUETTEAt night objects must be identified by their shape or silhouette. Familiarity with the architectural design of structures common to the area of operations determines one's success using this technique. For example, the silhouette of a building with a high roof and a steeple can be recognized in the United States as a church, while churches in other parts of the world may have entirely different architecture. Knowing what shape to look for is an important part of intelligence gathering. Let everyone in your group know what it is they may see at night. While your visual acuity may be only 1/7th of normal daylight vision, you can easily identify the shape of vehicles and personnel walking in the woods. SUMMARYPractice night vision techniques in your own neighborhood. Remember these factors:Keep your eyes moving as shown on the scanning diagram.Don't stare at any object longer than 2 seconds.Use your peripheral vision to detect movement.Know what the shape or silhouette is for common items in your area.Protect your night vision. Expect everything you see to be in black and white, not color.Movement directly away from, or directly toward you is the hardest to see. Keep moving your eyes, even if the object is moving directly toward you. It will take longer to recognize the shape or silhouette of the object than in the daytime. Don't get frustrated, this is normal.Don't forget to scan up, down and from side to side. Humans crawling slowly toward you are very hard to see at night.
These are the 100 items that disappear first in an emergency
This is a well known list in the survivalist world but thought I may as well repost it here:
These are the 100 items that disappear first in an emergency.
1. Generators
2. Water Filters/Purifiers
3. Portable Toilets
4. Seasoned Firewood (About $100+ per cord; wood takes 6 - 12 mos. to become dried, for home uses.)
5. Lamp Oil, Wicks, Lamps
6. Coleman Fuel
7. Guns, Ammunition, Pepper Spray, Knives, Clubs, Bats & Slingshots
8. Hand-Can openers & hand egg beaters, whisks.
9. Honey/Syrups/white, brown sugars
10. Rice - Beans - Wheat
11. Vegetable oil (for cooking)
12. Charcoal & Lighter fluid
13. Water containers
14. Mini Heater head (Propane)
15. Grain Grinder (hand-operated, Non-electric)
16. Propane Cylinders
17. Survival Guides
18. Mantles: Aladdin, Coleman, etc. (Without this item, longer-term lighting is difficult.)
19. Baby Supplies: Diapers/formula/ointments/aspirin, etc
20. Washboards, Mop Bucket w/wringer (for Laundry)
21. Cookstoves (Propane, Coleman & Kerosene)
22. Vitamins
23. Propane Cylinder Handle-Holder
24. Feminine Hygiene/Haircare/Skin products
25. Thermal underwear (Tops and bottoms)
26. Bow saws, axes and hatchets & Wedges (also, honing oil)
27. Aluminum foil Reg. & Hvy. Duty
28. Gasoline containers (Plastic or Metal)
29. Garbage bags (Impossible to have too many.)
30. Toilet Paper, Kleenex, paper towels (Also impossible to have too much).
31. Milk - Powdered & Condensed (Shake liquid every 3 to 4 months.)
32. Garden seeds (Non-hybrid)
33. Clothes pins/line/hangers (A MUST)
34. Coleman's Pump Repair Kit: 1(800) 835-3278
35. Tuna Fish
36. Fire extinguishers
37. First aid kits
38. Batteries
39. Garlic, spices & vinegar, baking supplies
40. BIG DOGS (and plenty of dog food)
41. Flour, yeast & salt
42. Matches "Strike Anywhere" are best. Boxed, wooden matches will go first.
43. Writing paper/pads/pencils/solar calculators
44. Insulated ice chests (good for keeping items from freezing in Wintertime)
45. Workboots, belts, Levis & durable shirts
46. Flashlights/LIGHTSTICKS & torches.
47. Journals, Diaries & Scrapbooks (Jot down ideas, feelings, experiences, preserve Historic times!)
48. Garbage cans, Plastic
49. Men's Hygiene: Shampoo, Toothbrush/paste, Mouthwash/floss, nail clippers,etc
50. Cast iron cookware (sturdy, efficient)
51. Fishing supplies/tools
52. Mosquito coils/repellent sprays/creams
53. Duct tape
54. Tarps/stakes/twine/nails/rope/spikes
55. Candles
56. Laundry detergent (Liquid)
57. Backpacks & Duffle bags
58. Garden tools & supplies
59. Scissors, fabrics & sewing supplies
60. Canned Fruits, Veggies, Soups, stews, etc.
61. Bleach
62. Canning supplies (Jars/lids/wax)
63. Knives & Sharpening tools: files, stones, steel
64. Bicycles...Tires/tubes/pumps/chains, etc.
65. Sleeping bags & blankets/pillows/mats
66. Carbon Monoxide Alarm (battery powered)
67. Board Games Cards, Dice
68. d-Con Rat poison, MOUSE PRUFE II, Roach Killer
69. Mousetraps, Ant traps & cockroach magnets
70. Paper plates/cups/utensils
71. Baby Wipes, oils, waterless & Anti-bacterial soap.
72. Rain gear, rubberized boots, etc.
73. Shaving supplies (razors & creams, talc, after shave)
74. Hand pumps & siphons (for water and for fuels)
75. Soysauce, vinegar, boullions/gravy/soup base
76. Reading glasses
77. Hot Chocolate/Cocoa/Tang/Punch (water enhancers)
78. "Survival-in-a-Can" type kits.
79. Woolen clothing, scarves/ear-muffs/mittens
80. Boy Scout Handbook (also, Leader's Catalog)
81. Roll-on Window Insulation Kits
82. Graham crackers, saltines, pretzels, Trail mix/Jerky
83. Popcorn, Peanut Butter, Nuts
84. Socks, Underwear, T-shirts, etc. (extras)
85. Lumber (all types)
86. Wagons & carts (for transport to & from open Flea markets)
87. Cots & Inflatable mattresses (for extra guests)
88. Gloves: Work/warming/gardening, etc.
89. Lantern Hangers
90. Screen Patches, glue, nails, screws, nuts & bolts
91. Teas
92. Coffee
93. Cigarettes
94. Wine/Liquors
95. Paraffin wax
96. Glue, nails, nuts, bolts, screws, etc.
97. Chewing gum/candies
98. Atomizers & spray bottles (for cooling/bathing)
99. Hats & cotton neckerchiefs
100. Goats/chickens
These are the 100 items that disappear first in an emergency.
1. Generators
2. Water Filters/Purifiers
3. Portable Toilets
4. Seasoned Firewood (About $100+ per cord; wood takes 6 - 12 mos. to become dried, for home uses.)
5. Lamp Oil, Wicks, Lamps
6. Coleman Fuel
7. Guns, Ammunition, Pepper Spray, Knives, Clubs, Bats & Slingshots
8. Hand-Can openers & hand egg beaters, whisks.
9. Honey/Syrups/white, brown sugars
10. Rice - Beans - Wheat
11. Vegetable oil (for cooking)
12. Charcoal & Lighter fluid
13. Water containers
14. Mini Heater head (Propane)
15. Grain Grinder (hand-operated, Non-electric)
16. Propane Cylinders
17. Survival Guides
18. Mantles: Aladdin, Coleman, etc. (Without this item, longer-term lighting is difficult.)
19. Baby Supplies: Diapers/formula/ointments/aspirin, etc
20. Washboards, Mop Bucket w/wringer (for Laundry)
21. Cookstoves (Propane, Coleman & Kerosene)
22. Vitamins
23. Propane Cylinder Handle-Holder
24. Feminine Hygiene/Haircare/Skin products
25. Thermal underwear (Tops and bottoms)
26. Bow saws, axes and hatchets & Wedges (also, honing oil)
27. Aluminum foil Reg. & Hvy. Duty
28. Gasoline containers (Plastic or Metal)
29. Garbage bags (Impossible to have too many.)
30. Toilet Paper, Kleenex, paper towels (Also impossible to have too much).
31. Milk - Powdered & Condensed (Shake liquid every 3 to 4 months.)
32. Garden seeds (Non-hybrid)
33. Clothes pins/line/hangers (A MUST)
34. Coleman's Pump Repair Kit: 1(800) 835-3278
35. Tuna Fish
36. Fire extinguishers
37. First aid kits
38. Batteries
39. Garlic, spices & vinegar, baking supplies
40. BIG DOGS (and plenty of dog food)
41. Flour, yeast & salt
42. Matches "Strike Anywhere" are best. Boxed, wooden matches will go first.
43. Writing paper/pads/pencils/solar calculators
44. Insulated ice chests (good for keeping items from freezing in Wintertime)
45. Workboots, belts, Levis & durable shirts
46. Flashlights/LIGHTSTICKS & torches.
47. Journals, Diaries & Scrapbooks (Jot down ideas, feelings, experiences, preserve Historic times!)
48. Garbage cans, Plastic
49. Men's Hygiene: Shampoo, Toothbrush/paste, Mouthwash/floss, nail clippers,etc
50. Cast iron cookware (sturdy, efficient)
51. Fishing supplies/tools
52. Mosquito coils/repellent sprays/creams
53. Duct tape
54. Tarps/stakes/twine/nails/rope/spikes
55. Candles
56. Laundry detergent (Liquid)
57. Backpacks & Duffle bags
58. Garden tools & supplies
59. Scissors, fabrics & sewing supplies
60. Canned Fruits, Veggies, Soups, stews, etc.
61. Bleach
62. Canning supplies (Jars/lids/wax)
63. Knives & Sharpening tools: files, stones, steel
64. Bicycles...Tires/tubes/pumps/chains, etc.
65. Sleeping bags & blankets/pillows/mats
66. Carbon Monoxide Alarm (battery powered)
67. Board Games Cards, Dice
68. d-Con Rat poison, MOUSE PRUFE II, Roach Killer
69. Mousetraps, Ant traps & cockroach magnets
70. Paper plates/cups/utensils
71. Baby Wipes, oils, waterless & Anti-bacterial soap.
72. Rain gear, rubberized boots, etc.
73. Shaving supplies (razors & creams, talc, after shave)
74. Hand pumps & siphons (for water and for fuels)
75. Soysauce, vinegar, boullions/gravy/soup base
76. Reading glasses
77. Hot Chocolate/Cocoa/Tang/Punch (water enhancers)
78. "Survival-in-a-Can" type kits.
79. Woolen clothing, scarves/ear-muffs/mittens
80. Boy Scout Handbook (also, Leader's Catalog)
81. Roll-on Window Insulation Kits
82. Graham crackers, saltines, pretzels, Trail mix/Jerky
83. Popcorn, Peanut Butter, Nuts
84. Socks, Underwear, T-shirts, etc. (extras)
85. Lumber (all types)
86. Wagons & carts (for transport to & from open Flea markets)
87. Cots & Inflatable mattresses (for extra guests)
88. Gloves: Work/warming/gardening, etc.
89. Lantern Hangers
90. Screen Patches, glue, nails, screws, nuts & bolts
91. Teas
92. Coffee
93. Cigarettes
94. Wine/Liquors
95. Paraffin wax
96. Glue, nails, nuts, bolts, screws, etc.
97. Chewing gum/candies
98. Atomizers & spray bottles (for cooling/bathing)
99. Hats & cotton neckerchiefs
100. Goats/chickens
Friday, March 21, 2008
Two Weeks Away From Revolution If Food Isn't Provided!!!!!!!!
Found this while flicking through a survival forum.
http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/2196
Two Weeks Away from a Revolution
By Alan Caruba Tuesday, March 11, 2008
A history professor of mine once said that, “No nation is more than two weeks away from a revolution if it cannot provide food to its citizens.” During the mini-ice age between 1300 and 1850, the weather was so awful that it killed off food crops and, in particular, wheat, a staple of the diet of the poor in France and elsewhere. Lack of bread was enough to trigger the French Revolution and the end of the monarchy. Ironically, it put Napoleon in power and it was the same mini-ice age that decimated his troops when he invaded Russia. Most froze to death on the trek back to La Belle France. The word in America these days is that food prices are soaring with increases at double-digit rates. There are two places where people notice a rise in costs. One is food. The other is at the gas pump. The average household spends three times as much for food as for gasoline. It accounts for 13 percent of household spending as compared with about 4 percent for gas. Pay no attention to the folks telling you that Big Oil is making unconscionable profits. ExxonMobil’s profits, despite its earnings, have remained around 10 percent for years. It’s a very expensive business, finding, extracting, refining, and transporting oil and gas. The price of oil is being bid up beyond all reason by the speculators in the commodities markets. It has nothing to do with the availability of oil. The oil producing countries that control over 70 percent of the known reserves are telling you the truth when they say there’s enough. If you were them, would you go out of your way to drive the price down? I didn’t think so. The other component of high food prices is also related to the pain at the pump. It’s ethanol, a gasoline additive made primarily from corn and soy. The government passed a law that it must be part of every gallon of gas you buy in order to reduce so-called greenhouse gas emissions in order to save the Earth from global warming. Only there isn’t any global warming except for the one degree Fahrenheit the Earth has warmed since the end of the last mini-ice age. No dramatically rising ocean levels. No massive melting of glaciers and ice shelves. In fact, if you’ve been paying any attention to the news lately, the United States and the rest of the world have been encountering some horrendous blizzards. There’s been more snow in more places than in the memory of many people. When the government creates a subsidized market, farmers take note. Even wheat farmers decide to plant corn instead. That means less wheat and that increases the cost of bread and other wheat products. Since the corn is being burned for fuel instead of used as food, that drives of the cost of some 3,000 uses that are derived from corn. Oil has hit $107 per barrel. Food prices have jumped from 25 to 40 percent. All of this is the result of artificial actions that have nothing to do with supply and demand, and everything to do with greedy Wall Street behavior (now there’s a surprise) and astonishingly stupid legislative policies based on bad and false science. Americans are being screwed by their own government. It’s being led by a President who insists we are “addicted” to oil and a Congress that will not permit the exploration or extraction of the oil we have, so we have to import most of it. It is a Congress whose leadership such as Rep. Pelosi, Sen. Reid, Sen. Lieberman, and others keep lying about global warming. Sen. Hillary Clinton wants to seize oil company profits and spend it in some fashion, presumably not to find any new oil. Sen. McCain is a global warming believer, too. All of these people are a danger to the future of this nation and there doesn’t appear to be a damn thing we can do about it. Thanks to them, life for Americans is going to get more expensive. One wonders when the revolution will begin? end of article.
http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/2196
Two Weeks Away from a Revolution
By Alan Caruba Tuesday, March 11, 2008
A history professor of mine once said that, “No nation is more than two weeks away from a revolution if it cannot provide food to its citizens.” During the mini-ice age between 1300 and 1850, the weather was so awful that it killed off food crops and, in particular, wheat, a staple of the diet of the poor in France and elsewhere. Lack of bread was enough to trigger the French Revolution and the end of the monarchy. Ironically, it put Napoleon in power and it was the same mini-ice age that decimated his troops when he invaded Russia. Most froze to death on the trek back to La Belle France. The word in America these days is that food prices are soaring with increases at double-digit rates. There are two places where people notice a rise in costs. One is food. The other is at the gas pump. The average household spends three times as much for food as for gasoline. It accounts for 13 percent of household spending as compared with about 4 percent for gas. Pay no attention to the folks telling you that Big Oil is making unconscionable profits. ExxonMobil’s profits, despite its earnings, have remained around 10 percent for years. It’s a very expensive business, finding, extracting, refining, and transporting oil and gas. The price of oil is being bid up beyond all reason by the speculators in the commodities markets. It has nothing to do with the availability of oil. The oil producing countries that control over 70 percent of the known reserves are telling you the truth when they say there’s enough. If you were them, would you go out of your way to drive the price down? I didn’t think so. The other component of high food prices is also related to the pain at the pump. It’s ethanol, a gasoline additive made primarily from corn and soy. The government passed a law that it must be part of every gallon of gas you buy in order to reduce so-called greenhouse gas emissions in order to save the Earth from global warming. Only there isn’t any global warming except for the one degree Fahrenheit the Earth has warmed since the end of the last mini-ice age. No dramatically rising ocean levels. No massive melting of glaciers and ice shelves. In fact, if you’ve been paying any attention to the news lately, the United States and the rest of the world have been encountering some horrendous blizzards. There’s been more snow in more places than in the memory of many people. When the government creates a subsidized market, farmers take note. Even wheat farmers decide to plant corn instead. That means less wheat and that increases the cost of bread and other wheat products. Since the corn is being burned for fuel instead of used as food, that drives of the cost of some 3,000 uses that are derived from corn. Oil has hit $107 per barrel. Food prices have jumped from 25 to 40 percent. All of this is the result of artificial actions that have nothing to do with supply and demand, and everything to do with greedy Wall Street behavior (now there’s a surprise) and astonishingly stupid legislative policies based on bad and false science. Americans are being screwed by their own government. It’s being led by a President who insists we are “addicted” to oil and a Congress that will not permit the exploration or extraction of the oil we have, so we have to import most of it. It is a Congress whose leadership such as Rep. Pelosi, Sen. Reid, Sen. Lieberman, and others keep lying about global warming. Sen. Hillary Clinton wants to seize oil company profits and spend it in some fashion, presumably not to find any new oil. Sen. McCain is a global warming believer, too. All of these people are a danger to the future of this nation and there doesn’t appear to be a damn thing we can do about it. Thanks to them, life for Americans is going to get more expensive. One wonders when the revolution will begin? end of article.
Bugging Out Part 1
Are you ready to bug out(run and hide) if TSHTF and you can't stay at your place(over crowding, too many looters, roving packs nearby, etc). Are you ready to head for the hills???
You will probably answer yes but let me say this:
Remember in a real bad TEOTWAWKI situation you won't have much time to pack your survival stuff.
It's okay to have the bulk of your stuff in cupboards, etc but what if you haven't got time to pack everything. What if you have to leave in a minute or two??
What if there is MAJOR trouble coming your way and you know damn well that you haven't got a show of surviving if you stick around(like say a large gang is heading in your direction and they have caused nothing but mayhem so far).
If you have to go wouldn't it be nice to not have to run around packing suitcases and bags, organizing the kids stuff, family documents and all your preps??
Well you can be much more organized by following this advice:
. Make a BOB(BugOutBag) for every family member which includes important meds, spare clothing, food, water, lighters/matches, candles, survival blanket, pocket knife and large shealth knife, maps, books on wilderness survival, etc. For the kids just pack some toys, snacks, SELECTED stuff animals(great comfort for them), blanket, spare clothes, etc.
. Have large bags, etc already set to "throw" your major preps into in a hurry
. Have all important documents in ONE bag or brieftcase and have it handy
. Have a drill where you see how fast you can be ready to go and work on it til you are happy
That's all for now but this article will be continued tomorrow when I recover from my writers block!!!
Tomorrow: How to get to the wilderness and what to do once you arrive!
You will probably answer yes but let me say this:
Remember in a real bad TEOTWAWKI situation you won't have much time to pack your survival stuff.
It's okay to have the bulk of your stuff in cupboards, etc but what if you haven't got time to pack everything. What if you have to leave in a minute or two??
What if there is MAJOR trouble coming your way and you know damn well that you haven't got a show of surviving if you stick around(like say a large gang is heading in your direction and they have caused nothing but mayhem so far).
If you have to go wouldn't it be nice to not have to run around packing suitcases and bags, organizing the kids stuff, family documents and all your preps??
Well you can be much more organized by following this advice:
. Make a BOB(BugOutBag) for every family member which includes important meds, spare clothing, food, water, lighters/matches, candles, survival blanket, pocket knife and large shealth knife, maps, books on wilderness survival, etc. For the kids just pack some toys, snacks, SELECTED stuff animals(great comfort for them), blanket, spare clothes, etc.
. Have large bags, etc already set to "throw" your major preps into in a hurry
. Have all important documents in ONE bag or brieftcase and have it handy
. Have a drill where you see how fast you can be ready to go and work on it til you are happy
That's all for now but this article will be continued tomorrow when I recover from my writers block!!!
Tomorrow: How to get to the wilderness and what to do once you arrive!
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Welcome!
Welcome to my blog!
This blog has been created to inspire folk to start preparing for the coming crisises that the future holds.
I lead a busy life and already run several sites in my spare time. This blog will be updated as regularly as possible.
This could be everyday or once a week, etc.
Anyway, enough of that.
I'm off to bed. I will try to post some more stuff tomorrow.
This blog has been created to inspire folk to start preparing for the coming crisises that the future holds.
I lead a busy life and already run several sites in my spare time. This blog will be updated as regularly as possible.
This could be everyday or once a week, etc.
Anyway, enough of that.
I'm off to bed. I will try to post some more stuff tomorrow.
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