Announcement

So you have been hearing us talk about a big announcement, well here it is.

Beatingmurphy.wordpress.com is closing.

We are no longer working on it, sorry for wasting your time.  If you are still interested in reading about the topics covered on this site, I would recommend going to www.BeatingMurphy.com instead.

Ok, sorry… couldn’t resist.

www.BeatingMurphy.com is our new home.  Designed, coded, and built by one of the most attractive people that I know.  (Graphics were done by Jeff)

The new site features, among other things: a Forum, searchable article list, a link section to some of the friends of the book (as well as a listing of some of the best deals on equipment.)

So what are you waiting for? Click below to be taken to the website.

Its Hot!!! (Desert survival in crib note form)

Welcome to the Mid-Week Sneak.

I apologize for my absence, as Jeff stated in a previous post, I have been swamped with school and my computer suffered from a video card meltdown.  The culprit has been replaced and a warning has been issued to the witnesses.

And without further ado…

While planning a camping trip with some friends and fellow survivalist, I was struck with the vast selection of camping locations just minutes from home.  With the lovely beaches surrounding Southern California, one of my friends naturally suggested that we pick a nice spot on the beach such as visiting the friendly neighborhood USMC base of Camp Pendleton.

While I am not one to begrudge a Devil Dog his chance to laugh at a dozen Survivalist “roughing it” on the beach a mere 25 feet from running water and a working toilet, the part of me that was conditioned by the Navy refused to give them that opportunity.

While racking my brain for another suggestion that did not include working plumbing, I came to the realization that this mythical land know as the “Mojave Desert” was a mere 70 miles from my home.

My challenge to them (this is your warning guys) to bring only their BoB, V-BoB, EDC, and INCH. (Please refer to the post by Jeff HERE ) This means simply, if it is not in your kit RIGHT NOW, then it isn’t going.  No special trips to Wally-World, no running out for batteries, if you don’t have it, you don’t get it.

Of course, this is on the honor system as I have yet to achieve the kind of memory that can recall every single item in all of your kits, but as long as you can admit to yourself that if your kit was not enough for 4 days of practical application, you will fix the problem.

We will also be testing out some of that gear that a few of you have been blowing up my phone about.   While I decline to comment on exactly what these items will be, let me just say that you will have a hell of a time finding something wrong with them.

That being said, this sneak peak is for those attending this little exercise, and anyone else who lives near, drives through, or may fly over a Desert.

Now on with the Sneak!

WATER: The combination of urine, respiratory water loss, and even skin shed accounts for ATLEAST 1.2 liters of water loss a day.  This is not accounting for sweating, crying, or even the almost miniscule amount of exertion necessary to lift the water bottle to your lips.  This is roughly 4% of all of the water in your body, being replaced every day.

In English: in temperatures over 100® you need to drink 1 liter of water every hour.  Even when your water supplies start to run low, continually sipping water helps to reduce your body temperature and limit sweating, thus, conserving more of your body’s fluids.

For the sake of argument, I cannot realistically foresee anyone carrying 25.3 gallons of water with them for a four day camping trip on foot.  At fresh water weighing in at 8 lbs per gallon, you would be crawling around with 202 lbs PLUS any gear you may have with you.

This sobering fact is what brings us to the topic of water collection in arid environments.

Digging: Digging at or near the base of a dune is one way of obtaining water in the desert, however, it must be stated that strenuous exercise in a hot climate where water is in question is typically not in your best interest.

Evaporation bags:  These can be fashioned out of a clear plastic bag.  Fill the bag half way with fresh picked, green, NON TOXIC foliage.  Your water will taste like whatever plant material that you place in the bag… so unless you find the fabled Beer Bush, your water is going to taste like lawn clippings.

Urination should also be avoided until you can relieve yourself into a solar still.

Place a pebble in your mouth.  While this will do nothing in the way of keeping you alive, it will help stimulate the production of saliva.  This extra saliva will help to keep your mouth and throat moist and help alleviate thirst.

While more detailed plans and even diagrams are available in the complete chapter in Beating Murphy, I will leave you with one final pearl of wisdom: smoking, don’t do it.  While I understand the desire to have a smoke when you’re stressed out, smoking tobacco, or other smoke able items may calm your nerves, it will dry your throat.  While this may not seem like a big issue sitting on your porch, being stranded in the desert with a limited supply of water will make a simple dry throat a thing of nightmares.

PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH HEAT:  A decrease in your bodies water and salt levels can and very probably will lead to some serious discomfort and possibly even death.

If your body loses enough water, and thereby salt in the form of sweat, you are likely to develop confusion, headaches, weakness and clammy skin.  You are also likely to develop cramps due to an imbalance in your electrolytes (decrease in slat levels which in turn means relatively high potassium levels. )  These cramps are simply called heat cramps and are the first warning sign that you are not staying hydrated enough.  (Treat this as if it were Heat Exhaustion)

After heat cramps, we come to the problem that is known as heat exhaustion.  You will notice yourself sweating profusely; your head may start to hurt followed by a state of confusion.  Weakened, and still cramping, your clammy skin is a dead giveaway that something is wrong.

ALONE: Loosen your clothes to allow better airflow, seek shade and take sips of water every 2-5 minutes.

GROUP:  Loosen companions clothing, provide shade, and have them drink small amounts of water every 2-5 minutes.  Make sure that the victim does not use any unnecessary energy, AKA. Keep them quiet and don’t let them move.

Now, if you are in open desert with no source of water for an extended period and progress past heat exhaustion, you fall into the dangerous category knows as Heat Stroke.  You will continue to have a mind splitting headache, however, you now have stopped sweating completely.  Your skin is dry and hot, you may even be to dizzy and confused to drink water if you stumble upon it.  Most likely your cramps have turned into violent spasms that propel whatever liquid may have been in your stomach out through your mouth, AKA vomiting.  It is imperative, that you continue to drink water and cool off any way possible as you will likely die if recovery is delayed.

ALONE: Continue drinking water every 2-5 minutes, if you have been eyeing a cesspool of water that resembles something in the men’s room of a Tijuana restaurant, climb in and cool off (So long as you avoid contact above the shoulders.)

GROUP:  While continuing to administer water to the victim, do whatever you can to cool them off.  Anything and everything that you can do to cool this victim down and replenish water should be done.  Urinating on a piece of fabric to make it damp and fanning them will not only create a breeze to help cool the victim, but after about a minute the damp cloth will feel cool to the touch and can be placed on the victims skin to lower their body temperature.

Elevating the victim about a foot off of the ground with a stretcher will help to create airflow that will draw heat from the victim’s body.  If nothing is available that can be used as a stretcher, digging a shallow trench about 6 inches deep should suffice to reveal significantly cooler earth.   Placing the victim in this shallow trench will help to cool their body from beneath.

Update on the Status of the blog, the book, and everything.

Ok folks, time for part of the silence to end.
I am sure there are a boatload of questions about just what is going on.
This blog was highly active and then suddenly lacking of said activity.
I know many of you out there were avid readers so let me explain what all is going on.

First off, I was on a doctor ordered week break from the computer. Why might you ask? Because on Saturday August 29th at about 5PM I underwent a successful LASIK surgery procedure. My eyes were horrible, anything past two feet was a blur. Now I have perfect if not near perfect vision. During the first week after the surgery the computer monitor only caused pain due to the glare that I had never experienced due to an anti-glare filter on my glasses since I started wearing them at around age 8.

Second, I was lost, mentally speaking. One of my college classes, a required one, made me HATE writing anything. Oddly enough, this was a class entitled Expository Writing. The topic was Argument. My first paper was on the Importance of Understanding the Psychological Impacts of a Disaster on the Human Mind, mainly so that people could be prepared. Yep, I have survival and disaster preparedness running through my brain so much that I actually wrote a college paper on it. The teacher’s response? C- and I quote “There are no psychological impacts of a disaster”. This made me resentful and question myself more than just a bit. I will be honest with you readers, at first I was tempted to say screw it to the blog, the book, and anything having to do with writing. Low and behold, my mother suggested that I pass the paper by some other english professors to see what they thought. I passed it by teachers I respected, due to their wisdom and experience, instead. All of them had a good giggle at the teacher’s response and all said that the paper should have ranged from a B to an A. This helped a lot but after finishing that class (passing it barely) I decided I needed some time to mend myself from that little mental rape. I hate second guessing myself and I have always trusted my instincts, I should have still trusted them then. That is all in the past now and my will to work on this book and this blog have been renewed.

Now that that is all out of the way..time for some good and some bad news (Relatively speaking).
In the not so distant future this blog will be being retired. But wait…
Why?
The shortcomings of wordpress (which while it is a great site, has limitations) is a major reason.
My co-author and myself both want more control over this blog.
One thing we both agree on is that we want to enable guest authors to pen entries from time to time, which is a really hard process with wordpress.
Also we wanted..more.
We are working on the book, we have the blog, but we wanted more.
So while THIS blog will be going away at some point…never fear because there is a reason behind it.

What is this reason? Well readers…I won’t be telling you.
I told my co-author some of the things I wanted to do with this blog and the web pressence of Beating Murphy. He had many ideas of his own. To his credit, he suggested an idea that for some reason just refused to enter my brain.
Because of this, I will let HIM tell you all the big announcement.
I love suspense, don’t you?

So in the end, don’t forget about us as we are not quitting and disappearing. We are simply making a tactically sound move to the rear to reevaluate our position so that we can move forward with a better overall understanding of the battlefield. (Ok so in non overly complicated turns, we have paused for the moment to take a look around a bit more carefully).

Also, and this is not the big announcement, there will be a facebook group and possibly a myspace page put up for the book.
As most of you know, my normal way of getting the word out is by advertising on websites such as ZombieSquad, comics such as EverydayDecay, and many more.
The problem there is that many of these websites are having issues with this. I can understand this wholeheartedly and I think utilizing facebook as a tool will greatly increase the reader base.

I also feel the need to update everyone on Corbin’s status. He is very very busy. Currently he is doing EMT Training with the current phase being 2 24hr long ride-along’s in an ambulance a week. That is a major time commitment and I applaud him for it. Obviously this can create scheduling issues, but they will be worked through with no problems that I can foresee.

So with all of this I hope you all now have a much better grasp as to just what is going on behind the blog and with the authors.

Stay tuned guys for the big announcement.

Apologies & Changes

First off I must make an apology to you all for not posting anything recently.
I have been sick and rather busy with the end of a semester in my last year for my bachelor’s degree.
However, I am feeling much better now.

This time away, even if it was not under the best circumstances, has given me some time to think; namely about this blog.
I am toying around with the idea currently of opening this blog up in it’s scope.
Going from just about the book to survival in general while also covering the book at the same time.
Some things that are on the consideration list are the following:
1)Guest Authors
2)Update Schedule Changes
3)Overall enhancements
4)Topic selections
5)And more

One idea for a section that particularly interests me has to do with verbally striking out against the mainstream community.
Just like most communities, the survival community can become very hardheaded in its thinking.
Part of my desire for writing this book is to challenge these ‘standard’ thought patterns.
This section will not simply be a rant section but instead a chance to breath fresh ideas into the community.
Think of it as an formal argument with research accompanying it to support it.
Again this is just a rough idea for right now and I am sharing it in order to share some of the things that have been going around in my head.

I welcome comments entailing possible suggestions for what YOU, the readers, would like to see on this blog that you feel is missing as it will help us, the authors, determine where the most interest lies so that we can focus on those things first.

Sincerely,
Jeffery.

Weekly Sneak Peek #8: Personal Expectations

Sorry for the tardiness of this sneak peek, it took some time to figure out how I wanted to approach it.

In previous sneak peeks I have spoke about different aspects of groups but I realized I had overlooked a rather simple yet terribly important aspects of group functionality.
The topic of expectations that people have of others is important because it will dictate how a group functions especially in the early stages of the group.

First off, just what is an expectation?
In this context, it is what a person expects of another person both consciously and subconsciously.

This is best explained in a non-disaster context.
You have an electrical situation and need it repaired. You hire a certified licensed electrician.
You expect them to know their job and do the work with professionalism.
If they do this then your expectations are fulfilled. If they instead fail to achieve your expectations then troubles can occur.

Now let us go back into the disaster context.
When a group is in its initial stages of formation then initials expectations are formed and play a big part.
Every member of the group will have an expectation of every other member of the group.
These expectations will range from their beliefs on how the others should act and treat each other to their abilities.
Just as you would expect a man whom appeared strong to be able to excel at manual labor, you would expect to be treated with decency.
A large part of expectations are based around stereotypical first impressions of people.
This does not cover expectations of treatment by others though.

Expectations are formed everyday in every part of our life and for the most part they cause no problems whatsoever.
The problems occur when our expectations are violated or unfulfilled.

For a simple example let us consider that most people expect to be treated with kindness.
Take the viewpoint of a person dealing with someone whom is very sarcastic.
While the sarcastic individual might indeed mean no insult with their remarks, the reciever might well be insulted and thus have their expectation to be treated with kindness fail. This failure of an expectation can cause major issues and cause disagreements.
When talking in a disaster sense, these disagreements can be very troublesome and potentially dangerous.
Disagreements are not bad by nature, it is how they are handled that counts. If both parties can use the disagreement to learn the other’s expectations so no future violations occur then a positive resolution has been reached.

Being aware of your own expectations is a mature and important thing because when you are aware of them then you can moderate them to be more appropriate.
I do not mean appropriate as in some societal aspect but in the sense that the expectations are not completely unfair and are destined to cause problems.
If you have the expectation that everyone will treat you as a king then you are only asking for problems because of this unfair expectation.
However, realizing you hold this expectation can allow you to moderate it into something more appropriate.

To wrap up this week’s sneak peek I offer an exercise for all of the readers.
Through your day today and tomorow be concious about your expectations you place on others.
Carry a notepad and write them down if you want to.
But at the end of these two days go over these expectations with an acute mind.
Ask yourself if these expectations are:
1)Totally Unfair (The King Example)
2)Quickly Judgmental (Expecting violence from someone dressed as a gang member)
3)Totally Off base (Expecting your boss to give you a raise because you are just that ‘awesome’)

Think about these expectations you hold in life and use your new knowledge to moderate them into a fashion where they will benefit you the most and hamper you the least.

No Weekly Sneak Peek This Week

Ok folks there will be no weekly sneak peak this week.
Why?
A few reasons actually.
1)I have a lot of work for my college classes to complete this week. That takes priority for the immediate time.
2)There is going to be a MASSIVE special blog next week. What makes it special and massive?
Well on the 31st I will be attending the first meeting/get together of the Florida Chapter of Zombie Squad.
I am sure, if you have been reading this blog, that you know who they are.
A few folks whom are members of ZS (Not just members of the forum but paid members) will be starting up a chapter here in Florida.

I plan on attending this get together and taking copious amounts of notes.
I also plan on picking a few folk’s heads on various topics.

So next week’s Weekly Sneak Peek will be a journal of sorts of the event.
I think getting the opinions of some others will be refreshing and eye opening and I think all of the readers of this blog will enjoy it greatly.

So that’s all for this week.

Also, as for the mid-week sneak peeks. They are on hold for the immediate future.
Corbin, whom writes the mid-week sneak peeks, is having computer troubles.
His graphics card is well..fried. In this economy, and the fact that he has a family with a child, spending the money on a new graphics card is towards the bottle of the priority list.
I feel he is making the right choice when it comes to his priorities despite my dedication to this book.

Weekly Sneak Peek #7: Psychology & Survival

For this week’s sneak peek I wanted to share something different.
Recently I had to write a paper for one of my college classes. I was able to choose whatever topic I wanted so I chose Psychology & Survival.
What follows is a copy of that paper that I think many of you will find interesting as it shows my thoughts on the place of Psychology in Survival which will be gone into much more detail in the book, but this should give a clear idea of why I feel psychology is so important.
I realize that I have mentioned psychology before in the Weekly Sneak Peek’s but I felt the possible repetition was fine because of the importance of the topic while providing a different look at my beliefs on the topic.

Murphy’s Law states that what can go wrong, will go wrong. That is the basic law. Many people agree that the law should really state that what can go wrong, will go wrong at the worst possible time and in the worst possible manner. Think about dropping your piece of toast in the morning. The toast is likely to land butter or jam side down on the messiest part of the floor when you are already late for work. The many people affected by Hurricane Katrina know Murphy’s Law to be fact. Tragically, many who had survived through previous hurricanes thought they were prepared for the threats associated with Hurricane Katrina only to find out that they were not. They were immobilized in the grip of fear and panic and were, thus, unable to put their plans and preparations into action when they could have had the most effect. You cannot put sandbags up to protect your property from the rushing waters when you are sitting inside your home frozen into inaction by your mind which has been overtaken by the fear caused by a hurricane.
Surviving through natural disasters is a skill or practice undertaken regularly as our country and world experiences disasters frequently and rapid communication enhances awareness. Most people understand the basics of preparing for disasters, particularly those most likely to impact their home territory. Whether preparing for the rain and winds of a hurricane, the rushing waters of a flood, the earth shearing of an earthquake or the howling debris filled winds of a tornado, most people understand the basics of preparing for disasters. People should get to innermost room of your home or into the basement or storm shelter. You should have enough food and water to last you and your family for the duration of the disaster until life can get back to normal.
What about psychology’s role in survival? Does psychology even have a role in survival? The survivors of Hurricane Katrina would surely conclude that psychology does have a role in survival. Is understanding how your mind reacts to the stimuli triggered by a disaster as important as understanding the other more physical preparations that need to be undertaken in the face of a possible disaster? Mentally freezing up because of fear, stress, and panic make it impossible to utilize the other preparations directed towards the more physical aspects of a disaster. This can lead to loss of life, property, or both. This was demonstrated during Hurricane Katrina as people experienced mass panic when the levies broke. Every resident of New Orleans knew the risk associated with the area because of its geographical bowl-like design. Everyone knew that the levies were imperfect in certain situations. Many had prepared for the flood waters that everyone knew could occur during a big storm, especially a Hurricane. While they may have been physically prepared for such a thing to occur, they were not mentally prepared and they were unable to cope with the panic that ensued.
The solution is simple; implementation of the solution is extremely complex. To begin with, emphasizing the importance of psychology is absolutely necessary. People must first understand the importance and benefits before they will be willing to make the effort. The second thing that must be done is to simplify the subject of disaster psychology for easy understanding. Psychology scares many people by virtue of its complexity. By making it simpler, people can readily add it to their disaster preparedness toolkit. Once people understand the psychology, they can learn to be not only proactive, but also reactive, when it comes to the psychological effects of a disaster. In the big scheme of things, this enables people to control their psychological reactions so they can implement their other preparations in order to protect their property and themselves from the effects and impacts of a disaster. The body’s flight or fight response cannot be eliminated, but it can be channeled to realize the best outcome.

Weekly Sneak Peek #6: Buggin’ Out: Terrain Dangers

The topic of Bugging Out is one that is very central to all things survival and disaster preparedness.
People construct and fill special bags to serve them in the event they have to leave the area they are in because of a disaster.
Others go so far as to buy a special vehicle with specific attributes to enable them to bug out more effectively.
While most people will use their normal vehicle, there are a few problems with doing so.

Let’s take a look at the common everyday vehicle of most people.
When buying an everyday vehicle most people consider things such as fuel economy & price.
Things like terrain navigation ability like that which comes with having a 4-wheel drive capable vehicle usually do not come into the mix when looking for an everyday vehicle.
This is why vehicles like Honda Civic’s are so popular. They are amazing on fuel economy and for your daily driving needs they fulfill the role excellently.

When it comes to a vehicle to bug out in, the same does not apply.
Many people realize that when bugging out they might need to go onto some terrain that might not be meant to driven on.
For instance, while bugging out, the roads may become blocked forcing a person to drive on the shoulder or the median which is usually grassy and not ideal for driving.
Another concern is that most daily driving vehicles have limited cargo space. Take the example of the Honda Civic. While it might have the space for trips to the grocery store or shopping trips, it cannot hold a significant amount of supplies like those that could possibly be needed during a bug out situation.
These, and many other reasons, are why when people look for a bug out vehicle they get something more suited to the job.

All of this information is known throughout most survival communities but what is overlooked a lot of the time is the actual travel.
As you know, I like to target things that have been overlooked by the mainstream survival and disaster preparedness community.
For argument’s sake, let us say that while your daily driver is a Honda Civic, you have gone and purchased a 1980′s Chevrolet K5 Blazer from a military auction. The price tag would run you less than $5,000 in most cases.

So you have your vehicle, you have your bug out supplies, and you have your desitination or your Bug Out Location.
That is all well and nice until you consider the actual transit.
While considerations about fuel economy and terrain navigation ability are important there is one thing that is overlooked; Dangerous Terrain Avoidance.

Basically, the actual act of delivering yourself from your current location to that of your bug out location requires you to successfully navigate terrain. While muddy or grassy terrain is easily navigatable in a 4-wheel drive vehicle, there are other dangers.

Scenario #1: Nuclear War has erupted and while your city has not been targeted yet, it might very well be soon. You decide to bug out. You pack all of those things into your Bug Out Vehicle that you deem important to your continued survival. You get on the road and everything is great. During your journey you run into a problem. The roads are clogged. Not clogged with motorists in bumper to bumper traffic but with abandoned vehicles that ran out of fuel. There is no way around them leaving you two choices. Abandoning your vehicle, which should only be done as a last resort, and going THROUGH the other vehicles.
Using your vehicle as a giant bumper car is a hazardous but sometimes needed thing. How do you safely move the other vehicles out of the way to allow yours to pass? Plowing into them full speed is a reciept for disaster itself. So how do you do it safely?
This scenario is just one of many that will be focused on when it comes to successfully navigating terrain.

Scenario #2: Widespread looting has erupted in your area because of the recent economic situation. You decide that it would be best to bug out to ensure your family’s safety while the authorities handle the situation. In this situation you can expect to bug out for about two weeks at a maximum unless something drastic occurs. Everything is packed and you get on the road. As you get to a specific area in your bug out route you realize you are faced with two problems.
One, rioters have blocked the road ahead and there is no way to force yourself through. However, the sidewalk is clear of the blockage.
Two, your only side road option has a road block on it that is manned by rioters. While they are only armed with baseball bats and pipes, they are still a concern.
You now have to decide how to deal with these problems.
Do you go onto the sidewalk and avoid the main blockage? Knowing how to safely get onto the sidewalk by driving over the curb is important. It sounds relatively simple until you consider such things as possible damage to your wheel and rim along with possible damage to your undercarriage. Being able to recognize a curb you CAN safely navigate and one you CANNOT is important along with knowing just how to navigate them.
Let us look at the other problem, the manned roadblock. How do you get through that safely? By safely I mean in a manner which at first causes deception to your intent while protecting yourself, your family, and the ability of your vehicle to deliver you to a location. There is a very specific way to go about accomplishing these things.

It is considerations like these that are for the most part overlooked by widespread civilian survival and disaster preparedness communities. And just like other topics that are similiarily overlooked, this topic has been targeted for inclusion because in the rare event that you need the information, it is best to have it.
In truth, this weekly sneak peek should show a few topics that are going to be covered.

1. Bug Out Vehicle Selection Criteria and Considerations
2. Terrain Navigation
3. Maneuvering through dangerous conditions in your vehicle.

Do I think that every disaster will have issues like the prior scenario’s? Most certainly not. But just as we prepare for the chance of a disaster we should also prepare for the things that come with different ones.

Hope you all enjoyed this weekly sneak peek and once again, I apologize for the tardiness of this one, but priorities are there for a reason.

Quick Notice

Its Sunday night and by all rights the Weekly Sneak Peek should be up…but it’s not.
Sorry folks, the fact of the matter is that no matter how much time I wish I could put into this blog, other things come first.
Mainly speaking..the book itself. Kind of useless to have a blog about a book that has more time spent on it than the book itself.
Also this week is a bit..hectic with college.
So if you’ll bear with me, I will have the weekly Sneak Peek up by Tomorrow Night.
Sorry again folks. While I like to hold to a schedule, have to balance priorities.

~Jeffery.

Rant: Welcome to My Soapbox

This commentary blog is a response to an letter/article written by ‘Elizabeth B.’ entitled Adapt to Survive. This letter/article was posted on SurvivalBlog.
Go here for the letter/article
(Quick Note: I have a lot of respect for JWR, the owner of the blog, but this one letter just plain pissed me off. No disrespect is directed at SurvivalBlog, JWR, or anyone else; I simply disagree with some points made)
(Legal Note: I will be quoting throughout this blog, the use of said material is done under Fair Use guidelines. Click Here for more information)

I want to say something first before we get into this blog fully. Normally I do not like to rant and rave especially at a person. I feel everyone is entitled to their beliefs and their own opinions. I like to share my own beliefs and opinions. The reason for this rant is because every so often something comes across my desk that makes me gag with horror and I feel I need to let my opinions on the topic be known.

Now on to the fun…

If you have children, take them out of soccer and dance classes and immediately put them in Girl Scouts or Boy Scouts. Look until you find a good troop or better yet, join up, take the required training, and begin your own troop.

I hope this suggestion was made in jest. While I was in Boy Scouts I did indeed learn survival skills but I credit to this the unusual nature of my Scout Master and not the Boy Scouts themselves. Granted, basic BSA doctrine will teach youngins about survival skills but you can do so just as easily and monitor their enrichment much better. As for the Girl Scouts? Feel free to correct me (through commenting) if I am wrong here but I have never heard of ANY survival type skills being taught in the Girl Scouts.

Read everything you can until you become familiar with survival concepts and theory. Then you need to begin to practice, practicing daily.

I fully 100% agree with this. Most people either put off practice or totally disregard it. Sure there are people whom do practice the skills that will keep them alive but most have problems finding the time.
However, I think the concept of forcing yourself into practice is bad form because of the possibility of burnout which in this situation would be bad.

First of all, move out of your apartment into a house. If you can’t afford to buy, then you shouldn’t be storing food. Rent if you can’t buy. You don’t have enough room to practice and store your supplies in an apartment, no matter what anyone says.

I believe this to be the most short sited and ignorant comment I have ever heard. Not everyone has unlimited financial funds hence why there is so much discussion across the media forms of preparing ‘on the cheap’. Most of us have a budget to live within.
So exactly what is the point again? That those whom live with the financial limitations of life shouldn’t prepare because they can only afford an apartment?
Sure, an apartment might not have the room to practice long term storing and sustainability but it does have the room to store things like a Bug Out Bag or other shorter term preparations.
This one comment by Elizabeth B. made me drop my drink and spit on my screen…it is very difficult to do either of those things.

There is a certain order of operations that most follow regarding preparations and survivalism.
First you start small with maybe a week, a month, or a few months worth of preps. Then you get more.
Eventually you might get to a place where you can augment your ‘stored’ items with a small degree of sustainability items like a garden. The last step is full ‘off the grid’ sustainability.
Having people jump from step 1 to step 4 is just foolish as the steps also allow people to grow their knowledge, experience, and expertise required to function on the following step.

Matches are an excellent storage item. They’ll never go bad and will be a high demand item.

Never? Sorry that isn’t exactly right especially here in Humid Central AKA Florida. Matches will last about a year unless you take precautions like putting them in a sealed waterproof container, dipping the heads in wax, etc. Half-Truths are just dangerous things in survivalism.
Second of all, I believe most would prefer to carry a fire starter with magnesium. You will get many more fires started with that and you won’t loose one due to it breaking or soaking up moisture.

There is no SPAM or tuna in my storage. I won’t eat SPAM, and I’m morally opposed to eating tuna due to depletion of our oceans and crashing fish populations.

There’s this saying…”Know when to bite your tongue”. This little cherry of a line was not needed at all. We are all biased and that’s fine to some extent but being the bias displayed here is unneeded. Saying there was no spam or tuna would have been fine. There was no need to bring in the second sentence.
It seems like the author was standing on a soapbox to scream about the plight of tuna. Was this really needed?

As for tuna. It’s food, its canned food, its cheap canned food. If you have a serious reason not to include it (Religious view, other views) then that’s your choice and yours alone. For all the rest of us, include tuna on the merit that its able to be eaten with no cooking time at all. Canned foods that require no cooking time, and thus no use of cooking fuel, should be a big focus of your preparations.

Practice serving vegetarian meals at least once a day.

There is something majorly overlooked by this statement.
If/When the shit hits the fan..we are going to be without a lot of things. Some of those things are those things which make life easier. Motorized Tractor versus gardening by hand for instance. If/When SHTF then the workload will become much more physically intensive and thus we will need more calories in order to function. We will also not be able to count on vitamins to balance out a vegetarian diet forever.
Instead of wasting your time serving vegetarian foods, go hunt. I don’t mean just deer.
Go hunt squirrels, deer, boar, etc etc. Get your family used to these meats as burgers will quickly find their way into our memories instead of our stomachs.

Of course, I am talking about a long term situation here, not a month long disaster.
I will add this one caveat though. Salads are good and should be part of as many meals as possible!
Veggies and Fruits give us vitamins and minerals we need just as meats give us the calories and fat and protein we need to take part in physical activities.

First, buy some sturdy gardening tools from Craig’s List. The older ones are better.

Why would you buy old, used, and probably abused tools?
Granted, I support Craigslist in it’s functionality but why old tools?
I would instead say to not buy cheap tools. You will need tools to ensure your survival so buy the heaviest duty professional grade ones that you can afford, not the oldest you can find.
Also consider that most old tools have wooden handles. Wood is bad for a lot of reasons. Newer tools feature stainless steel or plastic high-impact handles that will hold up much longer.

Finally, forget the batteries. They won’t last forever and you can’t buy/store enough for the rest of your life. You are contributing to the toxic waste stream by buying batteries.

Seriously? Again with the grandstanding.
While the point that batteries wont last forever through use and through self-discharging, they do provide a lot of benefits.
I believe people should invest in non battery/fuel powered energy only because of the limitations.
Fuel will eventually run out during a disaster and even rechargeable batteries have a finite lifespan.
Obviously, rechargeable batteries are preferably as they are money savers and you can purchase a solar powdered battery recharger.
But not getting batteries? Let’s get real for a second here.

If you just insist on having a flashlight, then go buy a case of Faraday flashlights that work on the principal of magnetic induction. A radio is actually a terrific idea. Get a hand crank dynamo or solar radio.

I do agree on owning at least one (per person) Faraday Flashlights. They are great especially in a pinch. They even make them now where the plastic housing is made out of glow-in the dark material.
That was always a problem..not being able to find your big flashlight without..another flashlight. So these things are a good investment.
My problem is this concept of ‘insisting on having a flashlight’.
I personally think you are just asking for trouble if you don’t have a flashlight.
What if you get hurt? Let’s say you somehow managed to get a puncture wound in the front portion of your lower right leg. Let’s say its from rebar poking out of some rubble caused by an Earthquake.
You better hope whomever is treating you has a flashlight as a lantern or candles do not give off enough specific pinpoint light for such things.
I have a few of those ‘candle’ lanterns as they are compact and handy. At the same time I do want to be able to direct a bright beam of light to a specific spot.

I fully agree with the hand-crank thing. Actually I agree with the whole alternate power thing.
Why? Murphy…likes to screw with you.
The time you need batteries, they will be dead. The time you need some fuel in something, the fuel will be bad. The time you need that hand crank, it will be broken. Etc etc etc.
So get multiples of things and/or get things with multiple power sources.
I prefer a little bit of Column A and Column B for example.
Like a good weather radio (Stay Away from Eton and Katio Brands, stick to Baygen or Free Play.) will have battery power, wall socket power, hand crank power, and solar power.
Presto..4 options to ensure that when you need it…it works and you get to flip off Murphy yet again.

Basically the jist of the entire article is that if we aren’t living completely sustainable lifestyles on a ranch with 100 acres of land then we aren’t real survivalists.
I find that kind of insulting actually as I am sure other’s do too.

In closing folks, there are just some people out there that have their heads somewhere (Im not exactly sure where as there are WAY to many possible locations) and like to see the world very one dimensionally.
Do what works for you and work your way up to the big stuff.

My personal message to Ms. Elizabeth B. is as follows: Flexibility is one of the major cornerstones of survivalism & disaster preparedness. Being so rigid in your beliefs shows your own failings; might want to fix those before you start berating others in the community. Thanks.